Tales of the Monkey Queen
by SSVCloud
Summary: The story of Son Goku is very well known... but how much would be different if Goku was a girl? More than you'd think, but less than you'd hope. Join us as we explore that change and many others. A/N: This story contains femslash, as well as the future implications of regular slash.
1. Not Quite the Story You Know

Chapter One

Not Quite the Story You Know

Bulma flew down a mountain road, pushing her customized TURBO car far beyond the normal limits of its model. A quick check of her Dragon Radar showed that she was still five kilometers away for her destination. At her destination awaited the one thing she wanted more than just about anything in the world: a Dragon Ball. It was amazing, when she thought about it, how her dad had managed to stumble across one of the seven mystical orbs that, when gathered together, could grant a person any one wish. The fact that he bought it as a souvenir for a couple hundred zenny was even more amazing. Of course, as soon as she learned what it was, she immediately built a device capable of locating the strange energy the things gave off before going to gather them.

She thought of what she could do with her Dragon Balls once she gathered all seven. Maybe she'd wish for the perfect boyfriend! No, that was silly. She was rich! She could _buy_ the perfect boyfriend. No, she had a really good idea of what to wish for with these magical gems of ultimate power: A basket of strawberries! Delicious, delectable strawberries.

Bulma was so busy thinking about how wonderful it would be when she gathered all of the Dragon Balls, she didn't see the small girl carrying a giant fish across the middle of the road until it was too late. She swerved desperately to avoid her but still crashed into the girl sending both her and her fish flying and the girl smashing face first into a tree. Oh God, she'd killed a child! Or a midget. Or a child midget. It didn't matter. It was okay. She was out in the middle of nowhere and her car wasn't even damaged. No one would ever know. It was fine. Totally, totally… _was she moving?!_

"Are you alright?" Bulma asked the little girl. "Don't worry, I can help!" Bulma reached into her bag for her phone but stopped and stared when the little girl glared at her.

"I'll teach you to try and take my fish, you big monster!" the little girl shouted and before Bulma had a single clue what was going on, this tiny girl was under her car and _lifting it off the ground._ Even as it was happening to her, Bulma told herself it was impossible. The girl was maybe fifty pounds and all of four feet tall. All the laws of physics told her that- _Oh God, now she was flying!_

"Now come out of your shell and fight me!" the little girl demanded. Shakily, holding her pistol in one hand, Bulma looked out of the window of her upturned car and saw the girl brandishing some kind of stick at her. "Don't tell me you're done already!" The girl sounded almost disappointed. Bulma might have said something clever like "Not yet, I'm not!" but all she could do at the moment was shriek in fear for her life and squeeze the trigger until it clicked. The girl was down for a moment and, in the silence, Bulma wondered if it was really possible to murder a child in self defense. Then the girl _stood up. Without a single hole in her body._ She held her head and looked like she was hurt but it was more like if Bulma had hit her with a rock instead of bullets _._

"How the heck are you alive?" Bulma screamed, throwing the empty gun at the little girl. The girl grabbed her stick again and charged and it was then that Bulma remembered that the twerp had called her a "monster." "Wait, wait!" Bulma screamed, holding up her hands defensively. Even though she'd been in a dead sprint, the strange child stopped in her tracks inches from the car. "I'm a human, okay! I'm not a monster!" The girl blinked at her, taking a few steps back defensively.

"A human, huh?" she asked incredulously. "Come out here and prove it!" Bulma climbed slowly out of the car, wondering how in the heck she was supposed to do _that._ The girl kept stepping back as Bulma walked towards her. She was afraid, Bulma thought. Like a wild animal.

"I won't bite," Bulma said in a reassuring voice, trying to smile and forget her terror, hoping her open hands weren't shaking. "I'm just a regular person, like you!" the girl took a few steps forward then began circling Bulma, looking her up and down suspiciously.

"But you're all scrawny!" the girl pointed out, poking Bulma with her stick. Bulma just told herself the girl meant she was thin, trying to repress her usual urge to scream with indignation at the insult. She wanted to stay _alive._

"That's because I'm a girl, silly!" Bulma told the other girl. "Just like you!" The kid was in front of Bulma again, taking a few steps back. "Well, maybe not _just_ like you." The girl was bulky for her age. Bulma could see muscles in her arms, for crying out loud. And her black hair pointed out in all different directions like she'd just gotten out of bed. And she had a _tail._ Bulma watched it swish around as the girl thought, taking slow, deep breaths to stop herself from screaming.

"Oh, wow!" the girl said. "I've never met another girl before!" That surprised Bulma. Her eyes went wide, and her blue eyebrows shot up her face.

"What, you've never met another human before?" she asked, sarcastically.

"No," the girl said bluntly. "Except for my Grandpa, you're the only human I've ever seen." Bulma thought about that in an awkward silence. How was that possible? How did they even get any food? How did they have a house? Being a rich genius, Bulma couldn't comprehend the idea of "roughing it." "But my Grandpa always told me what to do with strangers." Bulma winced but was pleasantly surprised when the girl put her stick back in its little sheath. "I should be polite to them and help them in any way I can as long as no one got hurt. Do you want some lunch?" Bulma let out a sigh of relief then fished out for her Dragon Radar as the girl ran and grabbed the tail of her huge fish. It looked like the Dragon Ball was just down the road. Probably in the little girl's house! This was getting easier by the second.

"Sure!" Bulma said, pretending to be cheerful. "I love fish!" Well, she loved salmon cooked in lemon sauce with asparagus and red potatoes. Somehow, she doubted that this lunch would involve any of those things. She followed after the little girl who was heading right down the road, humming a little tune to herself.

"How'd you get that monster to do what you wanted?" the girl asked. Bulma blinked in confusion. What monster? Oh, wait! She forgot, the kid was an idiot.

"That's no monster, silly!" Bulma corrected her. "It's my car!" Bulma looked over her shoulder at the vehicle and was crestfallen. Broken windows, dented chassis, and two wheels had fallen off. Well, it _was_ her car. The girls eyes went wide in surprise.

"Really?" she asked in wonderment. "Grandpa always told me about cars but I've never seen one! You must be from the city! Tell me all about it!" Bulma shook her head, laughing a little.

"Your grandpa sounds like a very interesting person," Bulma told the girl. "Is he going to have lunch with us?"

"No," the girl told Bulma matter-of-factly. "He died a long time ago. It's just me out here!" That… freaked Bulma out, to say the least. This little girl had been living in the woods, alone, for God knew how long. With no one to talk to but wild animals. Who she then ate. How was she not crazy?

"My name's Bulma," she said, trying to break the awkward silence. The little girl laughed and Bulma's face visibly reddened. People didn't laugh at her! So what if her family had a weird tradition of naming themselves after undergarments. "Oh, yeah? Well what's yours?" She asked defensively.

"My name's Goku," the girl said, looking back over her shoulder with a huge grin. "G, O, K, U." Bulma rolled her eyes and snorted. Like "Goku" was so much better than "Bulma." They walked for a while until they got to what Bulma had to assume was Goku's house. It was a cute little home with a pointed blue roof but Bulma thought it looked like an oversized birdhouse.

"Nice little place you've got here," Bulma told Goku. She had to be friendly for just a few more minutes, she told herself. Then she could grab the Dragon Ball, if it was here, and split.

"Thank you!" Goku said cheerfully, opening the doors of her house. She stopped in the doorway and stared at something. Bulma heard a faint, low humming in the room. "Hey, Grandpa! Are you trying to talk to me?" That didn't make any sense to Bulma. Goku had said her grandfather was dead, didn't she?

"Goku, what are you talking aboooou…-" Bulma stopped herself as she walked into the house, staring in open-mouthed shock. There, sitting on a plush little cushion, was the Dragon Ball, glowing with a mysterious light. She shoved Goku out of the way and ran to the Four Star Ball, grabbing it with both hands and lifting it up into the air. "Yes! Another Dragon Ball! I found i-" But there was a blur of black and purple and the ball was gone. Bulma looked around, startled. It was _just_ in her hand! She looked down and Goku was holding the ball in her hands defensively, tight to her chest.

"Don't touch this!" Goku told Bulma angrily as she assumed a fighting stance. "Keep your hands off my Grandpa!" That made even less sense than before.

"Your… what?" Bulma asked deadpan, trying to take the ball. "Goku, that's just a Dragon Ball." Goku took a step back.

"No! It's the only thing my Grandpa left me to remember him by! I can't let anyone else touch it!" Bulma hadn't expected this, not by a long shot, and if the girl wasn't going to _give_ it to her, Bulma didn't exactly have any way to force the super strong, bullet proof martial artist. The ball started glowing again and Goku held it up to her. "See! He's trying to talk to me!" Bulma sighed, reaching into her fanny pack.

"I don't wanna be rude, Goku, but that's not your grandpa," she held up her Dragon Balls, the Three and Five Star ones. "It's a Dragon Ball! Here, I'll show you." Bulma set her balls down on the little table in the center of the room and Goku cautiously put hers down next to Bulma's. The three balls glowed with light until they were bright yellow, their stars invisible. "When you gather all seven Dragon Balls together, a giant dragon will come out and grant you any wish you want!"

"Any wish?" Goku asked curiously and Bulma nodded eagerly, holding out her hands. That ball was as good as- "Can it bring my Grandpa back to life?" she asked in a small, soft voice; picking the ball up and hugging it to her chest. Bulma suddenly got a horrible, awful, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had never felt it before but she was pretty sure this is what guilt felt like.

OoOoO

Goku was so excited to go on an adventure with her new friend Bulma. Bulma hadn't really been talking much after lunch but Goku could kind of understand why. She probably had her own plans for what she was going to wish for but she gave them up so Goku could wish for her grandpa back. What a good friend! She was so excited for all the wonders of the big, wide world that she could hardly sleep. What she didn't know, when she finally did fall asleep, was that Bulma had also had a rough time that night, wondering if the world's largest chocolate fountain was really worth going to Hell for. Eventually, she decided that she wasn't doing anything _that_ bad and finally went to sleep herself.

Goku woke Bulma up bright and early the next morning, having found some fruit for their journey. It would be a long journey ahead on foot, especially since Bulma probably wasn't as fast as her. After all, she needed that weird "car" thingy to get around. Bulma threw a rock at Goku when she woke up then went back to sleep. After another couple hours of this, Bulma finally got out of bed.

"Come on, come on!" Goku urged Bulma, dancing around the other girl as she dragged her feet through Goku's house. "Let's go! We've already wasted time waiting for you to move your butt!" Bulma shot her kind of a grumpy look then went outside to her car. Goku didn't know what the heck she was going there for, it was broken. Bulma came out of the car with a small satchel and it was full of little silver beans. Bulma threw one on the ground and out popped another car-thingy! But it only had two wheels. "Wow!" she exclaimed, hands on her cheeks, eyes wide in surprise. "You're a wizard!"

"Meh," was all Bulma said as she hopped in the seat of the car-thingy. Goku hopped in behind her and then, suddenly, they were moving! Goku cried out in surprise, wrapping her arms around Bulma's middle as the whole world turned into a blur. They were moving faster than Goku could run! Cars really were like magic!

The landscape changed around them as they drove and Goku watched with wonderment as the mountains turned into plains and then into forests. This kind of a journey would have taken her days on foot! Eventually, though, they came to a stop. Goku frowned when the car-thingy stopped and Bulma got out of the seat.

"Where are you going?" Goku asked, cocking her head to the side as Bulma made her way for the bushes. Bulma looked back at her, face a little red. She mumbled something and Goku blinked, head still cocked. "Huh?"

"I have to pee!" Bulma blurted out, face bright red. Goku went to get down off the car-thingy and follow her but Bulma's face just got even redder. " _I don't need a pee-buddy!"_ she screamed. "Just stay by the bike and wait!"

' _So it's called a bike,'_ Goku thought as Bulma wandered off into the woods. Goku waited for a while; kicking her feet on the bike seat, getting out of the bike and balancing on her Power Pole, talking to bugs. She heard a pterodactyl scream. Then she heard a Bulma scream but Bulma had told Goku not to follow her so she just shrugged and kept talking to bugs. Eventually, the pterodactyl she'd heard before burst from out of the trees carrying Bulma in one of its talons. Bulma was screaming and kicking then saw Goku and just screamed louder.

" _Help me, you idiot!_ " She shrieked. Goku rolled her eyes. So she didn't want help to find a place to go to the bathroom, but _now…_ Goku took out her Power Pole and twirled it around, aiming at the pterodactyl. " _Are you going to throw a stick at it?_ " Bulma shrieked again in disbelief.

"Power Pole extend!" Goku called out and she was suddenly flying as the magical staff grew hundreds of times its original length. The butt of the staff hit the pterodactyl in the throat, crushing its windpipe and killing it instantly. Goku grabbed Bulma as the beast plummeted to the ground below, one hand still on the Power Pole, the two of them dangling hundreds of feet in the air. Bulma was peeing her pants. Goku kind of giggled at that and Bulma screamed at her some more. Did she do anything besides yell? "Power Pole retract!" The pole shrank and they were back on the ground. Bulma fell to her knees, breathing quickly as she kissed the ground. That seemed kinda weird to Goku so she went off to find the pterodactyl. Now they had meat!

* * *

SSVCloud's Note: Just out of the gate, there won't be any Super Saiyan Raditzes or Majin Krillins or anything like that. The changes that will be made are gonna start small and gradually accumulate over time, with most things being in the details. We take some notes from works like Steven Universe, and we try to keep Dragon Ball fun! I want to thank the people of TVTropes for helping me develop this idea, including my co-author Zelenal, with some words of his own.

Zelenal's Note: As stated in the synopsis, our story is exploring what would be different if Goku were a woman, among other changes. The Pilaf Saga is largely the same since there's not much to do there but it only lasts four chapters so please bear with us. After that, the changes will more numerous and will greatly increase once we reach the 21st Budoukai. Also, the overall story will be largely unchanged in terms of general events but the details will be drastically different. The destination remains the same as the manga but the journey will be very different.


	2. The Turtle Hermit Appears!

Chapter Two

The Turtle Hermit Appears!

A day or two passed as they continued on their journey. Bulma displayed more of her magic powers by turning one of those beans into a house! They took a bath inside the house and that was when Goku found out that apparently girls get "boobs" when they grow older. Goku didn't really like that idea. They looked like they'd just get in the way of fighting! Bulma looked at her kind of funny when she'd said that. Also, apparently the beans were things called "capsules" but Goku was still _pretty_ sure that Bulma was just pretending not to be a witch.

They drove for a while on the "bike" and Bulma was much more awake than she had been the first day. Apparently, it had something to do with something called "coffee." More magic! Eventually, they came to a stop because there was a big, brown rock in the road! Goku wondered why Bulma wouldn't just drive around it but Bulma told her that her bike could only go on roads.

"Not all that magical," Goku muttered as she hopped off the bike and walked over to the rock, grabbing it.

"I told you," Bulma insisted, "It's not magic!" Goku just shrugged and grabbed the rock and started to pick it up. As she lifted it over her head, the rock grew legs and a head! "Oh my Gosh, it's a turtle!" Bulma exclaimed.

"The heck is a turtle?" Goku asked but then the turtle, whatever that was, spoke up for himself!

"I'm a turtle," he said plainly, "Now please, put me down!" He seemed pretty polite so Goku did as she was asked. Bulma stared at the turtle, shocked. Apparently, turtles weren't supposed to talk. "Could I trouble you for some salt water?" Bulma reached into her little satchel full of capsules and popped one open, revealing a bucket of salt water.

"A girl needs to exfoliate," she explained but Goku hadn't really asked and she didn't know what the heck "exfoliate" meant. The turtle dunked his head in the bucket and drank, gripping the bucket in his flippers. When he finally pulled his face out, Bulma started asking him some questions. "So what the heck are you even doing out here, buddy? This is a long way inland for a sea turtle," after a pause, she added, "And, oh yeah, _how the heck are you able to talk!?"_ The turtle smacked his lips, smiling at her.

"Thank you for the salt water, my dear," he said politely, bobbing his head. "As for your questions, my master taught me how to speak and a few weeks ago, there was a terrible storm that blew me off my island, all the way out here. I've been trying to get home but I'm terribly lost." That made Goku sad and she gave the turtle a little pat on his shell. He bobbed his head around as if looking for something, "Could you tell me which way is the coast?" Bulma looked around then pulled out her Dragon Radar.

"The coast is… that way," Bulma said eventually, pointing west. "About forty miles. Good luck!" She went to hop on her bike but Goku wasn't moving. "Hey, kid, come on!" she said. "We've got a whole big adventure, remember?" Goku frowned and shook her head.

"We can't just leave him here!" she insisted, folding her arms across her chest. There was no way he could make it all the way to the ocean by himself! He didn't even have feet! Bulma huffed and started up her bike.

"Come on, Goku!" she whined. "Who knows who else could be looking for the Dragon Balls!" But Goku just picked up the turtle and put him on her back as he gave a surprised shout. Bulma humphed as Goku started walking then pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue. "Fine! I'll do it by myself! And I'll wish for whatever I want!" Then she tore down the road, leaving them in the dust. Goku shrugged and put the turtle on her back, marching off towards the west.

"So, what should I call you?" she asked the turtle as they walked. If a turtle could speak, it could have a name too, right?

"You can call me Turtle," he said politely. Well, so much for that idea, Goku thought as she tramped along.

"So, what can you tell me about your master?" Goku asked. She didn't want to send the turtle back to him if he was a jerk or something.

"My Master is Muten Roshi, the Turtle Hermit." Goku grinned at that and tried not to giggle. "He is one of the greatest martial artists in the world," he added and Goku went all starry-eyed. She hoped she actually got to meet this great martial artist. Maybe he'd even teach her some moves! That would be something.

They walked for a while, not saying much. For a while, Goku asked Turtle what it was like to be a… turtle. Apparently it involved a lot of swimming. And all you ate was seaweed and jellyfish. It was probably fine for Turtle but it just sounded awful to Goku. She didn't think she'd like being a turtle very much. As they were walking in silence, though, the ground started to shake and the birds flew out from the trees, squawking in distress. Goku looked around, her tail twitching as she waited for whatever was coming. It kind of smelled like a… bear?

Then it came out of the trees: An enormous bear, as tall as the trees, holding a sword bigger than Goku and wearing armor. Drool dripped from its fangs as it looked down menacingly at them, brandishing its sword.

"Well hi there!" Goku said cheerfully as she felt Turtle tremble against her back. "What are you looking for?" The bear let out a low, rumbling laugh, holding the edge of the sword between two claws, running them up and down the blade. It made a high-pitched whine that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"I'm quite hungry, you see," the bear said in a guttural voice. "And I plan to dine…" the bear reached up to its helmet, pulling down the guard to cover its face, "...on turtle soup!" It raised the sword high overhead and Goku cocked her head to the side.

"Well, that's kind of a problem," she pointed out. "We're out in the woods, and the only turtle is- ohhhhh!" Goku realized what was going on just in time to jump back, letting Turtle drop to the ground, the razor sharp blade missing cutting her in half by inches. She leaped up into the air, throwing out a thrust kick into the bear's chest, staggering it and putting a shoe-shaped dent in its armor. The bear slammed back into a tree then roared, swinging its sword wildly. Goku ducked and dodged every swing of the sword until she just bit down on the blade and wrenched it from the bear's grip, snapping the steel in two. The bear stared in disbelief and she dropped back down to the ground into a fighting stance, hopping on the balls of her feet.

Then her stomach growled. Goku's knees went weak as she suddenly remembered she hadn't eaten in hours. Her hands went to her stomach and all her strength and energy drained from her. The bear advanced on Goku and Turtle, claws outstretched, licking its chops. This was definitely trouble.

OoOoO

Bulma was going full-throttle through the woods, scared out of her mind. She'd gone maybe five miles before she realized that the woods were full of monsters and that just two days ago she'd almost been killed _by a dinosaur!_ Those were supposed to all be gone! Stupid public school textbooks… And with no gun and absolutely no survivor skills, she realized that she desperately needed her half-pint bodyguard. But she couldn't find her. _How far could she get with a giant turtle on her back?_

So Bulma had taken her bike off-road, which it wasn't even supposed to be able to do, and she had no idea where she was going or where to look. She was so wrapped up in her panic that she didn't notice the rock that was right in her path until she was flying again. She didn't like flying without planes! People weren't supposed to fly! She screamed her head off as she soared through the air, eyes screwed shut as she headed back to Earth, hoping her corpse wouldn't be too horribly mangled when she landed. She wanted to be pretty at her funeral. Then she realized no one would find her out here and she'd be eaten by wolves. And that just made her scream even louder.

OoOoO

The bear reached out its claws and Goku crawled her way to put herself between Turtle and the bear. Maybe she could make the bear choke to death on her, at least. But then Bulma came out of the sky and hit the bear in the back of the head, cracking its helmet in half. The bear staggered as Bulma came to a halt a few feet later, hugging her bike and crying.

"Bulma!" Goku called out as she struggled to her feet. "I need the capsule with the pterodactyl meat!" Bulma opened her eyes slowly and realized what she was seeing and seemed all prepared for a fresh bout of screaming but Goku cut her off. "Bulma! Please! Food!" The bear gave a groan as it started slowly getting to its feet, holding the back of its head where a large knot was forming. Bulma nodded frantically and tossed the capsule on the ground, a full rack of Pterodactyl ribs appearing in its place. Goku dove onto them, ripping the meat off the bones as it disappeared into her stomach.

Goku flexed as her energy filled her back up and turned to face the bear as it roared in her face, ready to bite her head off. Goku took out her power pole and jumped in the air, extending the pole and bringing it down on the beast's head. A sickening crack filled the air before the bear fell backwards, stiff as a board, dead. Goku grinned up at Bulma when she reached the ground before she ran to the other girl and hugged her around the legs.

"What made you come back?" Goku asked cheerfully and Bulma fought the urge to squirm. She didn't like to be hugged. No one was supposed to hug her except her perfect boyfriend she was going to wish for! He'd have long hair, and he'd be strong and rugged and rich. Probably _royalty._ But he wouldn't be taller than her.

"Oh, y'know, I couldn't just abandon you out here!" Bulma lied. Goku grinned at that, hugging Bulma again, and didn't seem to mind when Bulma pushed her away. Bulma was a great friend! Bulma got back on her bike and patted the space behind her. Good thing it had a load bearing capacity of half a ton. "Come on," she urged. "Let's go take the turtle to the stupid ocean." Anything to get them back on track. Goku grinned and put the turtle back on her back before climbing onto the bike as they sped away.

An hour or so later, they finally arrived at the coast. Goku hopped off the bike and the turtle slid off her back and made his way to the sea.

"Please wait here," he asked them. "I will return with my master. He will be very grateful, I'm sure!" Bulma rolled her eyes as Goku waited eagerly, hopping up and down. She was going to meet the greatest martial artist ever! Time passed as they waited. And waited. And waited. And _waited._ Bored, Bulma looked at her Dragon Radar, wondering if anyone had found the other Balls yet and was stealing her chance at bubble soap that would give her a diamond bubble bath while they were waiting for a stupid old man. Well, one Ball was moving. Great. No, wait. There was a second one moving, too. Moving _towards_ them. Bulma's eyes went wide and she stared out at the ocean as something drew towards them.

"No way," she mouthed silently. But, sure enough, the turtle returned carrying an old man on his back! His head was impossibly shiny and his beard as white as snow. He was wearing a tropical shirt, board shorts, and green sunglasses. He also had a knobbly cane but never mind that, _he was wearing a Dragon Ball on his neck._ The old man hopped off the turtle's back when he came ashore, nodding at them.

"Hello," he said in a creaky old voice, "My name's Muten Roshi, the Turtle Hermit. It seems you nice young ladies returned my turtle to me." He gave the turtle a pat on the head. "I'm quite grateful for that." Before Bulma could say anything, Goku butted in.

"Hey! My name's Goku!" she said, grinning widely, bursting with exuberance. "Are you really one of the best martial artists ever? How did you teach your turtle to talk?" She just had to know! The Hermit grinned, letting out a chuckle.

"I live on an island in the middle of the ocean," he said ruefully. "If I didn't teach this turtle to talk, I'd have gone crazy a long time ago. It wasn't easy. Raised this guy from a hatchling, I did." Bulma had to interject there.

"Hold on a second!" she shouted. "That turtle is over a hundred years old!" Roshi adjusted his sunglasses, frowning behind his beard.

"Did I stutter?" he asked then shrugged before turning his attention to Goku. "So, you said your name was Goku?" Goku nodded eagerly. "I think I remember a former student of mine talking about a strange little girl he'd found in the woods named Goku." Goku gasped in surprise, holding her face in her hands.

"You knew my Grandpa Gohan?" she asked, excited. Her Grandpa had taught her martial arts. How good was Muten Roshi to have been able to teach him? Roshi nodded, rubbing his chin again.

"Hmmm. Now, what can I do for your service and for being a child of my favorite pupil…" he muttered then started talking to himself, counting off on his fingers. "Lost the magic carpet. Killed the immortal phoenix. The magic shoes flew away. The bag of endless storage is full…" He frowned then Turtle leaned up and whispered in his ear. "Ah, yes!" Roshi shouted, pointing his staff into the sky. "To me, Flying Nimbus!" He cried dramatically and then a cloud came, well, soaring down from the clouds. It was a yellow cloud that slowly bobbed in the air. "The Flying Nimbus will take you anywhere you want to go," he said then went to lean on it. "And it can only be used by the pure of- HERK!" Roshi went right through the cloud and face-planted in the sand. Bulma covered her giggles with her hand as Goku hopped up onto the cloud and Roshi sputtered out sand.

"This is so cool!" she exclaimed. She had a magical flying cloud! She could fly! She giggled, grabbing two fistfuls of fluff and pulling on the cloud. It soared up into the air and she threw back her head back and laughed as she spiraled up into the bright blue sky. Bulma turned her attention back to Roshi, holding out her hands.

"Okay, Goku got her fancy flying cloud or whatever." Pfft. Stupid cloud. She had personal jets. Why did she want a cloud? She wasn't jealous. "What about me?" Roshi frowned, adjusting his glasses.

"You're a very rude girl," he muttered. He looked down at the turtle and shrugged. "All the same, fair's fair. What is it you want?" Bulma's eyes drifted down to the Dragon Ball around his neck. Roshi palmed it in his hand, looking down, pulling the necklace away from his neck. "Gohan and I took two of the Dragon Balls," he said. "We knew their power was terrible. We knew they had to be kept separate. It's why we lived in such remote places." He sighed, "What are you even going to do with these, girl?"

"We're going to bring Gohan back," Bulma blurted out. It was all she could think of. The tiny part of her voice that was her conscience told her that she was now lying to a small child and an old man. But she was on the spot! Roshi frowned, looking shocked behind his glasses.

"Gohan died?" he asked in soft disbelief. Roshi looked down and sighed, taking off the necklace and handing it to her. "Here," he said. "If you really are doing what you say, I can't keep ya from doin' it." Bulma took the Dragon Ball in her hand and she wanted to hold it in the air triumphantly but she didn't feel very triumphant at the moment. Goku eventually descended to the ground and Bulma was thankful for the distraction from her sudden onrush of guilt.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, holding up the necklace. "We've got four!" Goku grinned as she hopped off the Nimbus. She walked over to Roshi and gave the old man a hug and he seemed genuinely happy to reciprocate. She pulled away after a moment, looking up at the old master with awe.

"When me and Bulma are done with the Dragon Ball stuff, can I train with you?" she wanted to learn more about martial arts. She wanted to learn from the man that taught her grandpa. Roshi smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Nothing would make me happier," he told her as Goku jumped back onto Nimbus.

"Let's go, Bulma!" She urged and Bulma started climbing onto it but slammed into the ground even faster than Roshi. Her face went red with embarrassment and anger.

"Your stupid cloud is broken!" she snapped then hopped on her bike and drove away. Goku looked back and waved at Roshi, flying after Bulma. Bulma was excited as they made their way back down the road, heading for adventure. They were more than halfway to her magical horse made of butterflies. But still, she wondered where that other Dragon Ball was going….

OoOoO

Deep in the bowels of a crypt of ancient kings from before the Eternal Dragon had united the world under a single kingdom, the would-be Emperor Pilaf and his only two subjects, the mysterious Mai and the canine ninja Shu, had found their first Dragon Ball. The strange blue goblin grinned as he looked at the orb in his hands, holding it high overhead.

"Soon!" he cackled, seeing his own reflection in the luster. "Once we have all seven, I shall take my rightful place as ruler of the world!" He cackled again, looking at his subjects, who were on eye level with him at bended knee. "For as my great-great-grandfather Quinoa was the rightful ruler of this world before the Eternal Dragon stole his throne from him, so shall the Dragon return me to my power!" He laughed again but this time a bit too loudly and a suit of armor came tumbling down, a skeleton falling out of the helmet. The three shrieked in unison and ran out of the catacombs, Pilaf cutting in front, holding the Ball high overhead.


	3. Yamcha and the Rest

Chapter Three

The Monster Pig, the Desert Wolf, and the Ox King

It had been a few weeks of journeying and Goku and Bulma had found another Dragon Ball in Aru Village. First, Goku had to fight a shapeshifting Pig-man named Oolong who had been kidnapping all the townsfolk's daughters and keeping them in his castle. Goku was really disappointed in how weak he'd been and he was a huge creep so she was going to eat him since he was a pig. But Bulma wouldn't let her. Apparently, since he talked, that meant it wasn't okay which made enough sense to Goku so she decided to remember that. Talking means no eating.

In exchange for going away forever and not getting eaten, Oolong gave them his Big M capsule. Then Bulma used one of her capsules with a boat in it, since they had to go down a big river to get to the desert that would lead them closer to Fry-Pan Mountain.

"Now Goku, when we get to Fry-Pan Mountain, there'll be a big castle but we have to be careful because the Ox King lives there and he's very strong and dangerous," Bulma warned but Goku just grinned like an idiot at the prospect. Honestly, Bulma would never understand why a girl liked fighting so much!

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" Goku exclaimed, jumping up and down in the motorboat. Bulma had to grab onto the sides to keep it from capsizing, furrowing her brows in irritation. Stupid kid! "I wanna fight the Ox King!" Bulma groaned.

"No!" she insisted, "No you don't! He's huge and he's a grown-up! What if he's stronger than you? What if he could really hurt you or kill you?" Much as she hated to admit it, Bulma was getting attached to the little weirdo. Besides, if she died, the Ox King was _totally_ going to kill her, too, and Bulma had no intentions of dying yet. She hadn't even committed an act of science that mocked God yet!

"Then I'll just have to fight that much harder to beat him!" Goku said cheerfully, apparently unfazed by the prospect of her own demise. Bulma just groaned. And then groaned louder when the motorboat ran out of gas. She threw her back against the boat, kicking her legs angrily into the air.

"Stupid perverted pig and these stupid capsules with this stupid boat that doesn't have enough stupid gas in its stupid-" Bulma stopped her diatribe because a horrible sound of wrenching metal cut her off, followed by a big splash. Then she realized the boat was moving again, much faster than before. She sat up and saw that Goku had ripped off the engine and stuck her tail into the water _and was using it as a makeshift propeller._ Bulma sighed, shaking her head. Thank God for this stupid kid. She laid back in the boat as Goku did the work and yawned, thinking of her perfect boyfriend until she dozed off. He'd be tall, handsome, refined. He'd have "unusual" colored hair, so people wouldn't look at her weird anymore. Maybe green? He'd be well-traveled but not of a higher standing than her. And he'd have a dangerous side that he'd only bring out to protect her from people who wanted to hurt her. She drifted off to sleep, snoring, as Goku hummed happily to herself, tail puttering away.

A little while later, they came ashore and Bulma woke up, her blue hair shooting off in all directions. She yawned and stretched before hopping out of the boat.

"Okay!" she said eagerly, refreshed from her nap, "Let's keep movin'!" She reached into the pocket of her jacket and… and… and there were no capsules. Her eyes went wide with panic before she ripped off the jacket and shook it upside down, frantically. The Dragon Radar fell out along with a compact mirror and a hairbrush but. No. Capsules. Bulma was silent with rage for a moment then shrieked, stomping her feet and slamming the jacket on the ground over and over. Goku walked up to her, head cocked to the side, concerned.

"Bulma?" she asked, showing genuine, naive concern for her friend's psychotic breakdown. "What's wrong?" What she got for her compassion was the full force of Bulma's rage.

" _What's wrong?!_ " she screamed in Goku's face with enough force to make the other girl's spiky hair fly backwards like she was trapped in a hurricane. What kind of question was that? How stupid could this stupid little hermit demon weirdo possibly be?! " _My capsules are gone! My food, my bed, my clothes, my vehicles, my jewelry, everything!"_ Bulma broke down crying and crawled off behind a boulder to hide from the baking desert sun in its shade. It wasn't fair! All she wanted was a stupid umbrella that rained gumdrops when you opened it. _Was that so wrong?_ Goku sat on top of the boulder, looking down at Bulma with concern, wondering what she could do to cheer up her friend.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha the desert bandit adjusted his spyglass from atop a mountain as he looked down at the sad scene below. A little girl, all alone in the desert, lost and away from home. She probably didn't even have any valuables to her name. He grinned wolfishly as he put the spyglass down and it turned back into his cat. But if she did, he would be there to take them from her. His faithful sidekick Puar, the aforementioned shapeshifting cat, floated beside him as he produced a capsule from which came his trusty Jet Squirrel flying scooter. Yamcha had no idea where Puar had learned to talk. Or to fly. Or how a cat could even afford to go to shapeshifting school. Or how you are _taught_ to shapeshift. He'd just never really figured out how he'd bring these things up in casual conversation. He pushed all that out of his mind as he flew down towards his next victim. Easiest. Banditing. Ever.

OoOoOoO

Bulma had fallen asleep again and Goku was left alone with her thoughts. She wondered what it would be like to see Grandpa alive again. He could see Master Roshi again! And they could all train and do Martial Arts together! And they'd work together and finally find and defeat the monster that killed Grandpa in the first place! She smiled at the thought, kicking her feet. It would be so great to have Grandpa back and they only needed… Goku blinked as she remembered she couldn't count. Good thing she hadn't told Bulma that. She'd probably scream. Again.

Goku looked off in the distance and saw a person flying down from the sky with another one of those car-thingies. Or was this a bike-thingy? Wait, it didn't have a seat like either of those things. Either way, she liked his outfit. She liked green and orange. And he had a cat with him!

"Hi there!" she said eagerly, hopping down from the boulder as the other person landed. "My name's Goku!" The man walked off the machine and smiled back at Goku but she didn't like his smile.

"Hey there. My name's Yamcha," he said back before pulling out a sword and pointing it at her. "Capsules. Money. Now." Goku blinked at him before scratching her head.

"Why?" she asked. Yamcha's swordpoint dipped slightly, his face scrunched up in confusion. He hadn't expected that.

"I'm… I'm robbing you," he explained. Goku frowned as she took a fighting stance and brought out her Power Pole. She didn't like this Yamcha very much.

"I don't care," she said firmly. Yamcha chuckled, shaking his head.

"Really?" he asked. "Sword against stick?" He grinned, holding his sword out in both hands, taking a fighting stance of his own. "Anyone ever teach you how wood and metal work, kid?" Goku decided Yamcha was a huge jerk and jumped at him, swinging her staff around to crack him in the side of the head. Yamcha brought up his sword to meet her, just barely blocking the attack. His eyes went wide in surprise. She was strong! Goku jumped back and Yamcha made the attack with a series of quick slashes and cuts but Goku blocked every one. Goku jumped back again, putting distance between them. Yamcha raised the sword overhead for a big downward slash but Goku put a stop to that.

"Power Pole extend!" she shouted and the staff shot out to catch the sword on the underside of the pommel, sending it pinwheeling out of Yamcha's grip to bury in the dirt. Yamcha stared in dumbfounded disbelief. He looked at his hands, where there was no longer a sword. He looked at the sword, no longer in his hands. Then he looked at the staff in the girl's hands. Ten seconds ago, it had been an inch longer than the girl. Now the staff was _longer than he was tall._

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he cried out, holding his hands up defensively when Goku made ready to strike. "Hey, I lost the sword. You put down the staff." Goku frowned. "Come on. Don't you want it to be fair?" Slowly, Goku put the Power Pole back in its sheath and put it on the ground. She _did_ want to kick this guy's butt fair and square. They circled each other, waiting. "So, I see you're a bandit, too," he said, complimenting her.

"The heck is that supposed to mean?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to fall for any tricks. Yamcha smirked.

"You don't have to be defensive. You should be proud that you were able to steal the legendary Son Gohan's staff," he told her. Goku's brow furrowed in rage, then she leaped up into the air to give Yamcha a roundhouse kick that he just barely blocked with his forearm.

"I didn't steal anything!" she snapped. "My grandpa gave it to me!" Yamcha jumped back, rubbing his forearm, eyebrows shooting up in surprise again.

"You're the granddaughter of Son Gohan?" he asked and Goku nodded proudly, staying in her fighting stance. He grinned again as he dropped into a stance of his own. He lowered his body, sticking one leg far out as he bent forward, and his finger bent and hooked like claws. "Then you are worthy enough to die at the hands of my self-made martial art!" Goku went starry-eyed at that, despite herself. He invented his own martial art? That was so cool! Yamcha charged at her and the wind howled as he swung his arms with deadly precision. "Wolf Fang Fist!"

Yamcha had spent the better part of a decade perfecting the Wolf Fang Fist style. He'd trained his body in the hot desert sun, pounding his fingertips against the boulders and climbing up mountains with his bare hands to make his fingers as hard and as dangerous as steel when he tensed the muscles. He even lived with the wolves of the desert for a short time to really take in the spirit of the wolf. Running with them, hunting with them, howling with them. The Wolf Fang Fist was the ultimate killing style.

 _So how the hell was this little girl blocking his attacks?!_ Every time he swung, she had an answer; every time he kicked, she rolled away. It didn't make any sense! She had less range, less muscle mass, less _everything._ Then she jumped up and gave Yamcha a swift kick in the chin, sending him flying into the air. Then everything went white.

OoOoOoO

Kenshiro and Bat walked through the wastelands of North America on their way to nowhere important. It had been three days since they last had food and Bat was starting to complain. Despite the time they've spent together, Bat still couldn't understand why Kenshiro left the villages he saved without being rewarded.

Suddenly, off in the distance, Kenshiro could see an oddly clad figure flying towards them, their posture suggesting that they had been sent flying by a kick. Kenshiro had no idea who this person was but he knew they didn't belong here so he did the only natural thing.

"WATTA!" Without breaking stride, Kenshiro kicked the person back whence he came.

"Who the hell was that?!" Bat asked, completely flabbergasted by what he had just seen.

"No one important," was all Kenshiro said as he kept walking onwards.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha landed in front of Goku, holding his face. Goku was wondering where he'd gone. He didn't fall from the sky, really, he just kind of… appeared. Yamcha groaned as he got up, holding the side of his face.

"Y-you little shit!" he spat out along with a small amount of blood. Goku gasped, involuntarily falling out of her fighting stance. That was one of the words she'd heard Grandpa say when he hammered his thumb and he'd made her promise not to say those words.

"You said a bad wor-" she started to say but Yamcha hit her hard in the stomach with a double palm strike, sending her smashing into a cluster of rock pillars which all fell on her.

"Damn it!" Yamcha muttered. He did _not_ just go through all that and not even get a chance to rob her! "Puar!" he snapped. His sidekick floated up beside him again. "Turn into a crane and go dig her out!"

"Yes sir, Yamcha sir!" he said with a dutiful salute and then flew over to the rocks. Which then started to move. "Uh… sir?" Puar asked nervously as he looked back over his shoulder at Yamcha. "I-I-I don't think I need to shapeshift!" He flew back towards his master, hiding behind him. Yamcha's eyes went wide as one of the larger chunks of rubble fell down to reveal Goku holding her head and groaning as if she'd been hit with a regular sized rock instead of boulders.

"No way," Yamcha muttered. "No. Fucking. Way." Goku marched towards them angrily and Yamcha was certain he was about to die. But then Goku staggered and she groaned before holding her stomach.

"Not now!" she moaned, feeling her stomach growl with emptiness. Her stomach picked the worst times to be hungry. "I don't have the energy!" She dropped to her knees and groaned miserably. Yamcha charged forward, knowing this was his only chance to strike, but then he heard a yawn and came to a screeching halt. It was a girl's yawn. His heart pounded in his chest as Bulma staggered out from behind the rocks, grumbling and running a hand through her hair.

"The heck is all that noi-" she started to ask but then locked eyes with Yamcha. There was a slight pause before he bolted, his eyes as big as dinner plates, and jumped back onto his Jet Squirrel and flew away, Puar clinging to his bandana. Stupid fear of women!

"Who the heck was he, Goku?" Bulma asked and Goku shrugged and frowned.

"A real jerk!" she grumbled before blowing a raspberry in the direction he flew. Even if it was kinda cool that he had his own martial arts technique he'd thought up all by himself.

"He was kinda cute," Bulma muttered, twirling her hair around one finger. Goku groaned, rolling her eyes. She hoped she never, _ever_ got like that about boys. She went back to the boat to look for food but was surprised to find The Pig Guy's Big M Capsule under the seat.

"Hey, Bulma!" she shouted, holding the capsule triumphantly. "Look what I found!" Bulma broke out into a wide grin and ran to Goku, picking her up off the ground and kissing her cheeks all over. "Hey, quit it!" Goku protested as she squirmed and tried to get away.

The days passed by pretty quickly after that. They ran into Yamcha again and he'd tried to blow them up with a rocket launcher before saying that they'd just gotten off on the wrong foot and offered to give them a lift in his hovercar. Goku, naturally, trusted him. He'd said he was sorry and that was good enough for her.

They then drove to to Fry-Pan Mountain only to find out it was on fire! The Ox King sent Goku and his daughter Chi-Chi to go get Muten Roshi, who turned out to be Ox King's old teacher, to go get his Banshou Fan to put out the fire. Chi-Chi had thrown the blade in her hat at Roshi but he caught it in his fingers! It turned out that Roshi had bet the fan in a poker game against a girl with "great cans"- cans of what, Goku didn't know- and that he saw them when he won but she took the fan anyway when she'd found out he cheated.

Since the Banshou Fan was out, Roshi came with them but only because Goku had agreed to let Roshi touch Bulma's boobs. Goku didn't see anything wrong with that. He then used an amazing blast he called the Kamehameha that not only put out the fire but also destroyed the castle! Goku just _had_ to try it herself and she did it! Roshi was super surprised. It blew up their car but they got the Dragon Ball! Now they had six, which Bulma told her was one less than seven. Apparently, there _was_ something wrong with letting Roshi grab Bulma's boobs because she tried to shoot him when he did. No one ever explained these things to Goku!

* * *

Author's note: Yes, we kinda sped through some things. But we're gonna change things up soon, so we just gotta get through this arc. Yes, no more Oolong. Tragic loss, I'm sure. And yes, we kinda brushed over Chi-Chi. Will she return? Who knows! And no, there is no Boss Rabbit. He kinda breaks the universe. Boss Rabbit could beat Beerus.


	4. The Wish of a Lifetime!

Chapter Four

The Wish of a Lifetime! (No substitutions, exceptions, or refunds)

Our four heroes trekked through a desert forest of forty feet tall, pale-ish pink mushrooms. These mushrooms thankfully blocked out the baking heat of the sun. Using Yamcha's hovercar, they were making good time to the location of the final Dragon Ball and, Bulma thought, to a magic backpack that would never run out of puppies.

"So," Bulma began as she sidled up to Yamcha while Goku slept in the back seat. "What did you want the Dragon Balls for?" She had to admit that there was something about Yamcha that she liked. He was tall and strong and a little bit _dangerous._ Not her perfect boyfriend, of course, but he was cute. He grew visibly nervous when she got close to him though. Maybe he was just shy.

"Well," Yamcha started to say but he stopped and stared at Bulma until she scooched back, "I've always kind of had an issue with women." He went on to explain, "Not, like, on a personal level or anything. I don't dislike them, that's not what I meant. I just can't talk to them. I freeze up and panic. And I kind of was hoping that the Eternal Dragon could, y'know, wish that away." There was a moment of silence before Bulma grinned.

"Y'know," she pointed out, " _I'm_ a girl. And you're talking to me." Yamcha blushed as she grinned wider, finger-walking up his arm. "Maybe it was all just in your head." Yamcha nearly swerved into a mushroom when she did that and Bulma screamed as Yamcha steered them back straight. Goku never noticed, snoring her head off. Yamcha cleared his throat as Bulma straightened out her hair, wanting to change the subject.

"S-so what were you gonna wish for?" he asked and Bulma looked awkwardly out the window, gazing at the forest. "Bulma?" he prodded, wondering if she'd heard him.

"I told Goku that if she'd help me, I'd use the wish to bring her grandfather back to life," she muttered while still looking out the window. Yamcha smiled and nodded. He hadn't expected something that selfless.

"Wow," he said in a pleasantly surprised tone, "That's really nice. It's great that you'd give up your wish to hel-" Yamcha noticed that she hadn't looked back at him yet. "You're kidding," he muttered. There was no way. No one could be _that_ evil. "You have _got_ to be kidding." Bulma's fingernails dug angrily into the doorframe as Yamcha laughed despite himself. "That is the worst thing I've ever heard!" Bulma spun around, her face red with indignation.

"Oh, come on!" she protested. Who the hell did this desert hobo think he was to judge her, anyway? "I'm not doing anything that bad! Didn't I take her out to see the world? Show her what a big and exciting place it was?" What, was she getting lectured by criminals now? Yamcha raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"And what happens after you wish for whatever it is you really want, huh?" he asked. "Are you gonna take her in and help her see more of the world after you've ripped her miles away from her home? Or are you just gonna strand a little girl out in the middle of nowhere?" He laughed again, rubbing his face with the hand not on the steering wheel. "Lady, I am a desert bandit. I rob people at swordpoint. I take their food, water, capsules, money, everything and leave them for dead in the middle of nowhere. You manipulated a naïve little girl to be your bodyguard by using the memory and love of her dead grandfather as leverage," he leveled an accusing finger at her face, "You are the _worst person_ I have ever met."

OoOoOoO

As they argued, Mai watched the car travel from atop a mushroom. She laid on her stomach as she adjusted her binoculars. To think that somehow these _children_ had taken most of the Dragon Balls when all the power and influence of her Great Emperor could not. It was infuriating. She reached for her communicator and radioed Shu.

"Move in," she told him brusquely and hung up before he could reply. She couldn't stand that ridiculous dog and his ninja outfit. She still didn't understand why her Pilaf would not let _her_ pilot the Pilaf Machine.

OoOoOoO

"And another thing!" Bulma screamed, wagging a finger in Yamcha's face. Somehow, Goku had slept through all of this. "You don't- _Look out!"_ Bulma cried, seeing something out of the corner of her eye. Yamcha saw it too and slammed on the brakes as he swerved to the side. Standing in the middle of the road was a robot on four legs with a glass bubble on the front, a gun on one arm, and a three-pincer hand on the other.

"Hello!" came a voice from inside the robot. "I'm Shu." Far away, Mai face-palmed. "Could you please hand over your Dragon Balls?" Before Yamcha could do anything, such as wake Goku the Bulletproof Child, Bulma stuck her head out the passenger side window while shaking a fist at Shu.

"Hell no!" she screamed as she flipped him the bird. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming out of nowhere and asking for my Dragon Balls?!" Yamcha face-palmed before he turned around and went to shake Goku awake. No sooner had he done that then Shu fired the machine's gun. A _laser_ gun. Bulma shrieked as the beam barely missed her. Yamcha grabbed Bulma around the middle and Goku by the tail before jumping out of the car with both of them while Puar flew out an open window. Shu grabbed the car in his claw-hand and shook it violently until the briefcase fell out.

"The Dragon Balls have to be in there!" Mai said to Shu's through the radio. "Grab them now!" Shu pushed some buttons dutifully, dropping the car and picking up the briefcase.

"Bye!" he said with a wave before flying off, powered by a rocket in the underside of the machine. Goku grumbled groggily as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes. Sleep and sand. The sound of the laser and getting her tail grabbed had quickly woken her up.

"What's going on?" she muttered, only to be greeted by an angry, red-faced Bulma.

"What's going on is that he's stealing our Dragon Balls!" she screamed while pointing at the sky. "Go get him!" Goku couldn't let whoever "he" was run off with the Balls! She had to get her Grandpa back!

"Nimbus!" Goku called as she hopped up to her feet. The yellow cloud dropped out of the sky and landed by Goku's side. She hopped onto it and pointed towards the sky with her Power Pole drawn. "Let's go!" she commanded and the cloud took off in a blur. Goku raced across the sky, looking for any sign of someone weird who might have stolen the Dragon Balls. She spotted someone down on the ground and had Nimbus divebomb to check it out. It was a weird metal monster that was lying on the ground. She whacked it with her staff a few times in anger. "Gimme back the Dragon Balls!" she demanded but the creature gave no reply. Saddened, Goku climbed back on Nimbus and flew back towards the group. "I'm sorry, Bulma," she said when she landed, "but I couldn't find the-" she stopped as her hand fell to her hip and the small bag tied to her belt. "Oh, wait!" she exclaimed before untying the belt and holding it up. "I still have Grandpa's ball!" Bulma instantly switched from melancholic to gleeful.

"That's great!" she cried out. "So we can still get our wish! Now I'll just get the Dragon Radar and-" She stopped, eyes growing wide. Yamcha leaned forward, hands at his hips.

"And? _And?"_ he asked angrily. Bulma muttered something and Yamcha leaned in further. "Gonna need you to speak up, princess," he quipped. Bulma sank to her knees and cried. She threw her head back as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I left our capsules in the briefcaaaaaaase!" she wailed. Yamcha ran his hands through his hair before throwing them up in the sky in exasperation. What was _wrong_ with this girl?

"Are you serious?!" he asked in exasperation. "You just put all our valuable shit in one case? Who even _does that?!"_ Bulma looked up at him angrily through her tears.

"Well," she retorted with a sniffle, "I figured my two brave _warriors_ would protect me from getting robbed!" Yamcha rolled his eyes.

"Forget getting robbed!" he snapped. "What if the case fell off a cliff or into a lake or there was a fire or something?!" They descended into screaming at each other again before a single word cut through the cacophony.

"Guys?" Goku said softly and the pair came to a stop to look at her. "Yelling at each other isn't going to get the Dragon Balls back," she pointed out. They sighed in unison and Yamcha helped Bulma back to her feet. Bulma dried her eyes and took a deep breath before they all got back in the mostly intact hovercar.

"All right," Bulma said as she went to strap on her seatbelt but the laser gun had melted the buckle off. Ah, well. "How do we find them?" Yamcha reached into the glove compartment and took out a pair of binoculars. He adjusted the focus as he looked into them.

"Just a suggestion," he said as he pointed towards the horizon. "We could try the castle?" Standing ominously in the distance was an enormous castle. The kind a supervillain who has robot suits at his disposal might use. Bulma shrugged and Yamcha started up the hovercar. He slammed on the gas pedal and they took off at full speed.

OoOoOoO

"'Hi, my name is Shu'?!" Mai shrieked down at the little dog ninja who cowered under her fury as he tucked his ears over his eyes. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I was trying to be polite," he offered meekly. Mai rubbed the bridge of her nose between two fingers and groaned.

"You don't have to be polite!" she scolded. "You were robbing them!" Behind them, Emperor Pilaf had climbed into a chair in front of a table upon which the briefcase sat. Literally climbed because of his short legs.

"Quit your squabbling!" he commanded which caused his minions to fall silent. With a grin, he produced his universal key and undid the locks on the briefcase. He placed his Dragon Ball with the others as his grin grew ever wider. His throne was so close he could almost taste it. He counted them off with almost childlike glee. "One, two, three, four, five, six, sev…" Pilaf trailed off. Where was the seventh Dragon Ball? _Where was it?_ Pilaf turned the briefcase upside down, shaking it as the Balls and several capsules spilled all over the table. "Where is it?!" he shrieked before throwing the briefcase against the wall. He slammed his head against the table and threw a bonafide tantrum. Mai's heart broke for the suffering of her glorious leader until she was distracted by a pinging sound from one of their machines.

"Sir?" she called out as she inspected the machine. Then she yelled to be heard over Pilaf's tantrum. "Sir!" He stopped and looked over at her. "Our scanners are showing that the final Ball is headed this way." Pilaf ran over to the console to get a better look. With a glare, he made Shu bend over so he could use the underling as a stepladder. When he heard the sharp ping and saw the single yellow dot moving closer, Pilaf cackled and clapped his hands.

"Excellent!" he cried out in jubilation. Then, with a sinister look, he said, "Then we must make our guests feel welcomed."

OoOoOoO

The four wandered through the eerie halls of the castle; three walking, one floating. Bulma looked around suspiciously. Everything about this place seemed wrong. It felt so old and yet she could practically feel the electricity humming under her feet. Every bandit instinct in Yamcha's head was firing off. Nothing about this place seemed right. It was just too easy. Puar stuck close behind his master, scared out of his wits. But for Goku it was just another part of the adventure. She had never seen a castle before! Well, one that wasn't on fire, anyway.

"So where do we go?" Bulma muttered, the words bouncing off the stone walls. Without the Dragon Radar, she was hopelessly lost. If this Shu character or his stupid friends had smashed her Radar….

"Hey!" Goku shouted excitedly as she pointed to an arrow on the floor. "I found a clue!" She ran down the hallway it pointed towards without a second thought.

"Goku, wait!" the three cried in unison as they tore after her. What was she thinking? Nothing, Bulma figured. When did the weird little monkey ever think? They chased her until they came to a dead-end hallway. Goku was already looking around and was very confused. Why did the arrow even lead her here if there was no prize? Bulma had just a split-second to realize that they'd walked into a trap before a steel wall slammed shut behind them, sealing them in. Bulma slowly opened her mouth and raised a finger to deliver an almighty rant. The crackle of static cut her off as she took her first breath and they all spun their heads around to stare at a video screen that emerged from one of the walls. The screen showed nothing but an ominous pair of glowing red eyes.

"Attention, peons!" came a deeply distorted voice. "I am the Great Emperor Pilaf! Surrender your last Dragon Ball to me or die!" Clearly this was whoever that Shu guy worked for.

"Screw you!" Bulma screamed before looking around the room for something to bash the screen with.

"Let us go, you stupid castle!" Goku shouted at the box while waving her staff. There was a long pause after that before the voice spoke again.

"Right…" the voice said awkwardly. "Obviously, you're the brains of the outfit," the voice continued as a person-sized panel in the ceiling slowly slid open and a claw came out to grab Bulma and drag her away. Yamcha grabbed her but she was pulled out of his grip. Bulma emerged in another room in the castle and stared in confusion at the bizarre trio in front of her. A dog ninja, a regular looking woman, and a goblin midget in a clown hat, a frilly collar, and pointed booties?

"Who the heck are you?" Bulma asked incredulously. This whole thing almost felt like a joke. _These_ were the bad guys? The woman's face was red as she pushed her way to the front of the pack.

"How dare you?!" she snapped as she got in Bulma's face. "You stand before the mighty Emperor Pilaf and you will show him the proper respect!" Bulma wiped the spit off her face with one hand as the other hand desperately tried to pull apart the claw's grip on her. Pilaf held up a hand and Mai stepped away meekly.

"That's quite alright, Mai," Pilaf assured her in a _much_ higher voice than before. "Our young friend will know my name well soon enough. So will all the people of the world, once I am king." He turned his attention towards Bulma and his look made her skin crawl. "But first, you will tell me where you are hiding the last Dragon Ball." Bulma squirmed in her confinement and kicked her legs desperately.

"Kiss my ass!" she snapped while giving Pilaf the most defiant middle finger she could muster. The positively lecherous look Pilaf gave her was more than a little unnerving.

"I see then," he chortled. "You really will have to be humiliated, won't you?" A panic set in on Bulma as she tried even more feverishly to escape. "You leave me no choice!" he stepped in closer while Bulma turned her face away in disgust as Pilaf… blew her a kiss. Mai and Shu turned away and blushed. Bulma just stared in confusion.

"What?" she asked flatly. Pilaf turned his head to one side with a confused look on his face as well.

"What?" he asked right back. Bulma blinked.

"I thought you were gonna try to… y'know…" Bulma made the appropriate hand gestures and Pilaf balked.

"How dare you?" he asked. "That's despicable!" And surprisingly, _Bulma_ got offended.

"What?" she demanded with a scowl. "Am I not pretty enough to be ravished or something?" Pilaf shuddered and pushed a button on his console as Bulma continued to complain. "Not like a creepy little troll like you has a right to be picky anyway, ya little freak!" Her protests were muffled as the claw carried her away and Pilaf gave another shudder. Bulma was dumped unceremoniously back into the hallway and she crossed her arms with a huff.

"I'm not going to deal with those repulsive creatures," Pilaf muttered to himself as he pushed some buttons on his console. "The nerve of that girl! It's the gas for them!" he cried melodramatically. After a moment's pause, he clarified with "The _sleeping_ gas, of course. No need to make a mess." With the final push of a button, he threw back his head and laughed.

They wandered into the room that the four now unconscious travellers were being kept in and Pilaf ran into the room without a gas mask. He found the little bag on Goku's hip and pulled out the Four Star Ball with a maniacal laugh. "It's mine!" he cried out. "Mine, mine, mi-" he then fell on his face, completely unconscious. Shu and Mai, both wearing gas masks, collected him.

OoOoOoO

Goku woke up several hours later. Her head felt funny and the whole world swam when she sat up. "Guys?" she asked in a shaky voice. The other sat up as she spoke and were all holding their heads.

"What happened?" Yamcha asked drowsily. He tried to stand but fell immediately back down. Goku patted the pouch on her hip and her eyes bulged when it gave way.

"My Dragon Ball!" she cried out in distress. "They took my Dragon Ball!" That filled her with an alert energy and she hopped to her feet to frantically look for an escape.

"It's no use," Yamcha muttered glumly while staring helplessly at the floor. "They had to have already used the wish by now." At this point Bulma interjected.

"Well," she said, "considering the fact that we don't think Pilaf is the king of the world, maybe not." Goku's ears twitched. She could barely hear something so she pressed her ear to the wall to listen closer. "Goku, what are you doing?" Bulma asked. "That's solid concrete, you can't-"

"Shhhh!" Goku hissed, cutting her off. "I can hear them!" she exclaimed. "They're going to try and summon the dragon." Goku hopped back and clasped her hands at her side. "Ka… me… ha… me… ha!" Yamcha's eyes went wide in shock as a burst of blue light tore a small hole in the wall. Goku groaned at the lack of destruction. If only she were as strong as Muten Roshi! She collapsed onto her rear end, her energy drained. Yamcha, Bulma, and Puar peered through the hole. It was late in the evening so they must have been out for a while.

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" they heard Pilaf cry out and a panic washed over them all. "I summon you!" Black stormclouds filled up the sky and lightning flashed between them. A brilliant beam of yellow light shot up from the ground. Yamcha looked at Puar suddenly.

"Puar!" he said and squeezed the floating cat. "Can you turn into a rocket?" Puar nodded vigorously, half from fear and half from an enthusiasm to not let his master down.

"Y-yeah! I think so!" he promised before Yamcha threw him through the hole as hard as he could.

"Go! Go! Wish for something! Anything!" he commanded desperately and Puar sailed through the air before poofing into a small rocket with a cat face and blasting off. No sooner had he disappeared then a clap of thunder was heard, almost deafeningly loud. The beam of light transformed into an enormous dragon that filled up the sky! It looked down with glowing red eyes and its mouth, full of sharp teeth, agape.

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," spoke the dragon in a voice so deep it shook the heavens, "State your wish and I shall grant it." There was an eternally long pause before the dragon spoke again. "... Very well." it said in an almost perplexed tone. Its eyes flashed and it spoke again. "It is done." Then the dragon disappeared into light again and the seven balls spun up into the sky and scattered in all directions.

There was a long period of silence. Had they done it? Was Puar fast enough? Or was Emperor Pilaf now the ruler of the world? The answer to those questions would come a few seconds later when Puar came screaming back into the prison still in his rocket form.

"I did it! I did it!" he yelled out, spinning around in the air as he turned back into his floating cat self. Yamcha grinned and held out his hand for Puar to give him a tiny high five.

"Nice job, dude!" Yamcha said proudly. "So what'd you wish for?" Puar smiled wide and stuck out his tongue. It filled the room with brightly-colored lights and was all the colors of the rainbow. "...huh?" Was all Yamcha could say.

"I wished to taste the rainbow. I was on the spot!" Puar said somewhat defensively. Yamcha laughed and Bulma rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips.

"That's great and all," she said sardonically. "But we're still trapped in here!" she grabbed Goku by the waist and yanked her up to her feet to look at the hole she'd made. "Come on, buddy!" she urged. "Pew, pew!" she shook Goku almost violently, as if the energy blast were ketchup stuck at the bottom of a bottle.

"Lemme go!" Goku protested and shoved Bulma away. She was tired! Why was Bulma shaking her so much? They'd stopped Pilaf, hadn't they? She'd seen the Dragon Balls fly away. That made her a little sad. Now her Dragon Ball was gone. Her Grandpa's Dragon Ball! How was she supposed to get it back while she was stuck in here? Suddenly furious, Goku gritted her teeth and thrust her palms forward, full of renewed power. "Kamehameha!" she cried out, and the blue energy that shot from her hands burned an even bigger hole into the wall. But now she was exhausted.

"Let's go, let's go!" Yamcha muttered with nervous energy. They _had_ to have seen that blast from outside so they were definitely low on time. He grabbed Goku around the middle and shoved her through the hole then he let Bulma climb out next before he got out with Puar trailing behind. He picked up Goku and threw her over his shoulder. "We gotta find a plane or something!" he said as they ran, looking for any way to escape. There was a problem. "Dang it, Puar, close your mouth!" The cat's bright, flashing tongue was a great big neon "WE ESCAPED" sign that followed them with every step.

"Master!" they heard Shu cry off in the night. "I found them!" That was bad.

"Release the hounds!" Pilaf screamed with fury. That was worse. First there was the sound and soon enough they could see the flash of white teeth in the darkness as a pack of angry attack dogs chased after them. Bulma shrieked and jumped onto Yamcha's back. Yamcha gave a grunt when she climbed on top of him before Puar suddenly flew into his shirt to hide. Before he knew it, Yamcha was suddenly _carrying the entire group._

"Faster!" Bulma shrieked while pulling on his hair. "Faster!" Which would have been easy, Yamcha thought, if he wasn't carrying so much extra weight. Puar popped out of the shirt to look over Yamcha's shoulder and open his mouth, blinding the dogs with magnificent technicolor light. Yamcha took that momentary reprieve to run into a building that he prayed would be a hangar of some kind. It was when he looked up at the glass ceiling that he realized this may have been yet another trap.

"Congratulations, peons!" came Pilaf's sarcastic voice from a speaker somewhere they couldn't see. "You managed to foil my plans. I'm sure you're all feeling pretty good about yourselves, hmmm?" When Pilaf spoke again, his voice was boiling with rage. "Well too bad! Because you're never getting out of this one! When the sun rises tomorrow, that glass will act as a magnifying lens and _burn you all alive!_ This is the price of those who would stand against the mighty Pilaf Empire!" He cackled until the sound suddenly cut.

"He seemed pretty cranky," Goku said as Bulma slid onto the ground and wailed. This wasn't fair! She was too pretty to die! Pretty and young and rich! It wasn't fair! Yamcha kicked and punched at the walls to no avail. Puar tried turning into a drill and spinning their way out but that was just as useless. "I'm hungry," Goku muttered to herself before sitting down on the ground. Eventually, they all sat together in a little circle in the center of the room. Yamcha's knuckles were bruised and his wrists and ankles were sore. Puar was extremely dizzy. Bulma was just depressed.

"I'm sorry you couldn't get your grandpa back, Goku," Yamcha said sympathetically while mussing up her hair. Goku smiled up at Yamcha and gave a shrug.

"That's okay," she assured them. "At least I got to go on a real adventure. And I made new friends!" Yamcha and Bulma smiled at that although Bulma's smile was a little guilty. Puar looked up at the night sky and watched the clouds part.

"Hey!" he shouted. Every time he opened his mouth, there was a flash of light. "There's a full moon!" Yamcha and Bulma looked up at the full moon as Goku's ears perked up.

"I've never seen a full moon," she said, running her fingers in a circle on the stone floor. "Grandpa always made me go to bed before the moon came out. He said that's when the monster came. I think that was the same monster that killed him because I remember there was a full moon that night." Yamcha and Bulma looked at each other with fear in their eyes. It was just a coincidence, right? There was _no way._ Even so…

"H-h-hey, Goku?" Bulma said nervously. "Could yoooooouuu, maybe… _not_ look at the moon for me?" But of course, because she'd mentioned it, Goku turned around. The other three froze in fear… but nothing happened.

OoOoOoO

Goku stared at the full moon for the very first time in her life. She was surprised by just how big it was and, with all the stars around it, she couldn't imagine why a monster would come out on nights when there was something so pretty to look at. Why did that monster kill her grandpa when it could have just been looking at the moon?

As she continued to stare at the moon, her eyes widening to take in more of it, Goku felt something strange happen. It was like a wall near her tail had broken and her body was flooded with… _something_. Whatever it was, it made her feel strong. She felt strong before but it was nothing like this. This was something far greater and… deeper than her usual strength. She didn't know what it was but it felt right and she idly wondered why her grandpa wouldn't want this.

She felt more changes happen and it felt like she was going to catch fire and explode from all this… _something_ inside her but she couldn't take her eyes off the moon. She was peripherally aware of Bulma and the others doing something off to the side, maybe saying something, but she didn't care anymore. She felt so _strong_ now; stronger than she'd ever been before, stronger than she thought she could ever be. The box they were in was nothing to her anymore. She could break it without even trying. In fact, she did.

Yes, Goku felt strong now. Strong enough to kill that monster that killed her grandpa. Strong enough to get back her grandpa's Dragon Ball. Strong enough to kill that meanie that took it in the first place. Strong enough to _destroy everything around her_. And that thought excited her more than any other.

With a primal roar that shook the very heavens, the mighty Great Ape was unleashed upon the world yet again and set her sights on the castle that lay before her.

All Goku knew was that she was strong.

OoOoO

Emperor Pilaf was in a foul mood as he went to make his nightly cocoa. Stupid adventurers and their stupid flying cats and their stupid blue-haired hussies and their stupid wish-stealing! Now he'd have to start the search all over again. Well, at least they'd all be dead. One less thing to worry about. While Pilaf's water boiled, he looked out the window.

"Hmm," he muttered to himself. "A full moon. That's pre-" but he was ripped away from his musings when he saw something impossible. An _enormous_ brown monkey exploded out of the glass ceiling prison with a roar. For a moment Pilaf did nothing, paralyzed with fear. Then he was running down the hallway and screaming his head off. "Mai! Shu!" he screamed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Groggily the two wandered out of their bed chambers, rubbing sleep out of their eyes.

"What is it, Emperor-" Mai started to say before she was interrupted by a slab of stone that smashed through the castle. This also opened a hole in the wall that let the two of them see the giant, red-eyed demon monkey destroying everything.

"That!" Pilaf cried in a panic while gesticulating wildly. " _That_ is 'it'!" Without another word the three of them ran for the hanger, hoping to get in one of Pilaf's planes and get the hell out of there.

OoOoOoO

Goku burst through the glass ceiling of their prison like it was made of paper as she beat at her chest and howled at the night sky. She swung her arms wildly and smashed the walls to rubble before stomping out of the ruins with Bulma trailing after her.

"Hey!" Bulma called up at Goku while waving her arms. "Hey! Get back here!" she demanded. Goku turned to look over a shoulder at Bulma, her lips curling up into a snarl that exposed teeth. The color drained from Bulma's face as she held up her hands defensively. "G-Goku, it's okay! W-we're free now! Y-y-you can turn back to normal!" Goku stalked towards her with a growl. "C-c'mon!" Bulma pleaded. "We-we're friends! You wouldn't hurt me, right buddy?" Goku raised up a foot and Bulma threw up her arms in a pathetic attempt to shield herself but then a rock clonked Goku in the head.

"Hey!" Yamcha shouted, holding another rock in his hand as Goku turned her bloodthirsty attention towards him. "Over here!" he threw another rock and Goku growled while stomping after him. Bulma couldn't believe it. He was _insane._

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she screamed in disbelief. Yamcha threw another rock at Goku and ran, leading her away.

"Buying you some time!" he explained. "Find a plane and get out of here!" Bulma was even more confused.

"But what about you?" she asked. Yamcha shook his head and kept running as Puar flashed his multicolored tongue in Goku's face, infuriating her.

"Just go!" he pleaded. Despite her fear, Bulma couldn't help but get a little weak in the knees at such an unbridled act of heroism. Even so, she ran. Hey, Yamcha and Puar were going to die so she could live. It would be rude to hang around to try and help them, right? At least that's what Bulma kept telling herself to stop from turning around and suicidally trying to help them.

Bulma was running as fast as her feet could carry her while ducking her head in and out of various buildings, looking to see if any of them had a plane. All the while, she could hear the sound of Goku's rampage as she laid the castle to ruin. She finally found a hangar with an airplane in it. Bulma had just taken a step inside, however, when the headlights flashed in her face and blinded her. She barely had time to jump out of the way to avoid the plane running her over. She gave a defeated sigh as she watched it fly off.

"Screw you, you stupid goblin!" she screamed with impotent rage while giving it the double deuce. Stupid Pilaf… Maybe, just maybe, she could find the car. And maybe it wasn't completely destroyed. Something tore Bulma out of her desperate contemplations when a shadow flew across the moon. Bulma blinked as the shadow became plainly clear. Goku had torn one of the towers off the castle and thrown it at the plane! She took a perhaps unhealthy amount of pleasure from watching the plane get smashed into pieces as three people probably died. That pleasure was quickly torn from her as the rubble of the tower plummeted towards her and all she had time to do was curl up in a ball. And totally not cry.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha was running out of options. He was winded, Puar was exhausted, and Goku didn't seem to be anything more than annoyed. She stomped after him with giant strides as she chased him. How the hell could something like this even happen? Sure, Goku was kind of weird, but this was ridiculous! Yamcha's only shot was to just keep Goku running until morning. Hopefully the moon disappearing would turn her back to normal. And if not…

"Help!" came a desperate cry from underneath a pile of rubble. Yamcha gave a groan as Goku turned her attention away from him. How? How was she still here? And what was Bulma doing buried under rocks?! Yamcha kicked and punched at Goku's legs as she stomped away from him and Puar flashed his lights right in her face. Goku dismissively swatted Puar away and shook Yamcha off. He tumbled through the sand before coming to a stop, staring up helplessly as Goku raised a foot and prepared to crush Bulma again. With the last reserves of his strength, Yamcha jumped at Goku's tail and grabbed with all his might. If it worked when Chi-Chi did it when Goku was small…

OoOoOoO

Bulma shrieked as Goku's foot was once again raised over her but once again it stopped before she was crushed. Bulma wasn't sure how much more of this her heart could take. She peered through a hole in the rubble and saw Yamcha grabbing Goku's tail, flexing and straining. His muscles looked so… shiny from here. And he just seemed so… brave.

"Puar!" Yamcha screamed at the top of his lungs as he fought to control Goku. "Her tail! Turn into some scissors or something!" It was the only thing he could think of at the moment. Dutifully, Puar turned into a giant pair of scissors and dive-bombed onto Goku's tail, slicing it off at the base with a snip. Yamcha waited with baited breath and Bulma winced. There was a soft "pop" as Goku turned back to her regular size. A good hundred feet up in the air. She dropped to the ground like a rock with a heavy "thud" and, for a moment, she looked dead. Then, in the silence that followed, she snored. Bulma, Puar, and Yamcha laughed. They laughed at the absurdity of it all, at their exhilaration of still being alive, at this insane adventure, at everything.

Once they were all composed, Yamcha started digging Bulma out of the rocks, trying to be careful as to not make the whole thing collapse on her. Once there was enough space for Bulma to get out, he held out his hand and pulled her out. While Yamcha talked about… something, Bulma wasn't really listening. She just looked at him and thought. He was tall and rugged, with long hair. He was taller than her, but he was definitely well-travelled without being above her station or her equal. He was brave and strong and a little dangerous. And he had obviously gone out of his way to protect her.

"So, I'm sorry about what I said before that Shu guy showed-" Yamcha was saying when Bulma interrupted him. She did so by grabbing the back of his head with both of her small, gloved hands and, with surprising strength, she yanked him down and kissed him hard on the lips. Yamcha's eyes went wide and his face turned red and he knew that at any second he was going to wake up. But he didn't. So he slowly put his arms around her and closed his eyes as he kissed her back. Bulma smiled as the sun rose behind them.

"I guess we got our wishes after all," she said softly before kissing him again. Her hands started moving and Yamcha pushed her away suddenly, clearing his throat and jerking his head in Goku's direction as she started to stir. Goku sat up with a groan and rubbed her head.

OoOoOoO

Goku's head was on fire. The last thing she remembered it was nighttime and she felt really strong. So why was it morning? She got up on shaky legs before falling back on her butt. Her whole balance was messed up. What was wrong with her?

"Wh-what happened?" she asked while looking up at Yamcha and Bulma. They seemed pretty happy, which made Goku a little happier. She looked behind her and her eyes snapped open. "My tail!" she cried in distress while running around in a circle. "What happened to my tail?!" Where could it have gone? Did it run away?

"Those bad guys cut it off," Bulma said quickly. Something about that seemed kinda fishy, though. Goku frowned and balled up her fists.

"If I ever see them again, I'll kick their butts!" she promised. Who did they think they were, cutting off people's tails? What a bunch of jerks! She suddenly remembered that they'd seen the balls fly off into the sky after the Dragon went away and frowned again. "Where did the balls go?" she asked Bulma sadly. Bulma got down to Goku's level and looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, Goku. I didn't know they were all going to fly off when the wishes got made," she said softly before pulling Goku into a hug. Bulma let go of Goku suddenly, her eyes bright with an idea. "Hey!" she said excitedly. "Why don't you come live with me and Yamcha in the city? You'll see so many things and meet so many new people! Won't that be fun?" Goku thought about that while tapping her fingers together. It _did_ sound kind of fun and these _were_ her friends… Goku shook her head instead.

"Nah," she declined bluntly. "I gotta go back to Muten Roshi! He said he was gonna train me in Martial Arts!" Then after a moment, she asked "Hey, have you seen my Power Pole?" she wondered and scratched her head while looking around. That was gone, too. So weird.

"Over there," Yamcha said as he gestured to a pile of rubble. Goku ran over and searched for it excitedly. How the heck did it get so far from her, anyway? When she returned, Bulma was holding out the Dragon Radar.

"I won't be needing it anymore," Bulma assured her before smiling at Yamcha. His face got all red when she did that, which Goku thought was pretty funny. Goku took the Radar carefully out of Bulma's hands. Bulma always talked about how hard it had been to make the Radar and how important it was to her and now Bulma was giving it to her so Goku could find her Four Star Ball. She lunged at Bulma suddenly and hugged her legs tight. Though Goku couldn't see it with her face buried in Bulma's shins, Bulma was trying not to cry. Goku broke the hug with the most grateful smile in the world on her face.

"I guess I'd better get going!" she told them cheerfully. Yamcha cleared his throat before she could summon Nimbus.

"Uh, Goku?" he asked. "Don't you think you're forgetting something?" Goku looked around. Dragon Radar in one hand. Power Pole in the other. What else did she have? Yamcha put his face in his hand and sighed while Bulma just smiled and shook her head.

"He means _clothes,_ Goku," Goku looked down suddenly. Oh, yeah! She was naked. Yamcha sighed again while tossing down a set of clothes at her that he'd gotten out of the car. He'd gone and found them while Goku was looking for her Power Pole.

"Muten Roshi might find it a little weird," he explained. "Just trust me on this one." They'd taken everything out of the other car when he'd blown it up so these had probably belonged to the pig dude. Goku pulled on the white undershirt and a pair of blue pants. The pig dude's shoes didn't really fit but that was okay. Muten Roshi would probably give her some new ones. She smiled up at Bulma and Yamcha before the two of them got down to pull her into a group hug.

"We'll see you again someday, right?" Bulma asked. Goku's smile got even wider as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course!" she promised. "You guys are my friends!" Then she hopped away from them and gave a little wave. "Nimbus!" she called out, and the cloud flew down from the heavens. She hopped onto it and flew away, excited for her next adventure. The world was a wonderful place!

* * *

Z/N: And that ends the Pilaf Saga. Next time, we kick off the 21st Budoukai Saga in style! The changes will be greatly increasing in number so get ready for the ride to really begin!

SSVC/N: Hopefully "tasting the rainbow" will dissuade any worries that we were setting out to make Dragon Ball less silly. Don't worry folks, it's going to get goofy.


	5. The Arrogant Monk Arrives!

Chapter Five

The Arrogant Monk Arrives! The Tenkaichi Budoukai Begins!

Krillin was the youngest monk to ever leave the Orin Temple at only twelve years old. Yet, in the brief eight years he had spent with his fellow monks, he had understood true enlightenment at a pace none before him could match. They even gifted him with a boat to aid in his travels.

Okay, so in truth, he ran away because everyone were jerks and he stole the boat. But none of that mattered! He was going to learn from the great Turtle Hermit, the Invincible Old Master! Then he would become the greatest martial artist to ever live. As he rowed his boat up to the Kame House, he was surprised to find the Turtle Hermit was outside his house and talking to someone. He was talking to a girl with weird hair. What the heck would he be doing that for? Krillin stood upon the prow of his little boat proudly and hoped to make a dramatic entrance.

What Krillin hadn't expected was for the shore to come up as soon as it did. His boat came to a sudden halt when the bottom hit the sand and he was flung from his perch, landing headfirst in the sand. He kicked and squirmed his legs as he tried to recover what was left of his dignity when he heard footsteps approaching through the sand. Oh, God no. Was the Invincible Old Master going to see him like this? What happened was even worse. It was the girl who grabbed Krillin by his ankles and yanked him out of the sand. How had she done that so easily? It had to be because he was in such good shape and didn't weigh much. No girl could be that strong, right?

"Are you okay?" the stupid girl asked while still holding him upside down. Krillin frowned and kicked his legs but somehow the girl was still holding him! He just had to not be kicking too hard, that's all. His subconscious wouldn't let him hit a girl.

"I'm fine," Krillin grumbled, "Now let me go!" Of course the stupid girl took that to mean "drop me on my head"! Krillin groaned as he got back up and rubbed his head. "Who the heck are you, anyway? And what are you doing here?" The girl gave Krillin a wide, cheerful smile that just made him angrier.

"I'm Son Goku!" she told him. "Muten Roshi's gonna teach me the Turtle School way!" Krillin scoffed at that. The nerve of this "Goku" girl, to call the Turtle Hermit by his real name!

"Girls can't do martial arts!" Krillin protested. What would a girl even need to learn martial arts for? If anyone tried to beat her up, obviously her husband would save her. Goku turned her head to the side in confusion.

"Why not?" she asked. Krillin flared his nostrils and started to say something before the Turtle Hermit interrupted him with a cough. Krillin spun around to look at the old man as he adjusted his glasses.

"Mind tellin' me what you're doin' here, boy?" the Turtle Hermit asked. Krillin nodded before bowing, keeping his eyes downcast in a show of respect.

"Please, Turtle Hermit," Krillin pleaded, "Please teach me the ways of the Turtle School!" Roshi gave Krillin a cool look through his dark green shades.

"And why should I do that? My teachings ain't for just anyone, y'know!" Krillin balked but kept his mouth shut. How was he any less worthy to learn than Goku? He bit his tongue, not wanting to offend the old master. Instead, he turned around and ran back to his boat. He came back with his backpack and unzipped it, dumping the contents out in front of the Turtle Hermit. Pouring out of the bag came a large stack of dirty magazines. Ludicrously large, as tall as Krillin. Genuinely impossible to fit in that bag. There was a long silence where Krillin was worried he'd offended the old master by appealing to his legendary perverted nature. Without a word, though, the Turtle Hermit scooped up the magazines and carried them into the house. He came back outside and still said nothing. Then he cracked his neck, his knuckles, his knees and his back.

"Alright, you two," he said with a grin. "Let's begin."

OoOoOoO

The year went by so quickly for Goku. She had a new best friend with Krillin, even if he didn't know they were best friends when they started training together. She thought it was silly that he wanted to learn martial arts to impress girls. Before they could start training, Master Roshi made them go find a girl to cook and clean at the Kame House. Goku'd already brought him a couple of girls before Krillin showed up but Roshi hadn't like any of them. He'd even brought Chi-Chi but Goku guessed he was still mad about when she threw that big knife-thingy at his head. And Chi-Chi made this weird face when Goku'd said she was pretty….

Krillin and Goku had found a girl named Launch. She was really nice when she had blue hair but she was kind of scary and really mean to Master Roshi and Krillin when her hair was yellow. She was still nice to Goku, though. She made so many friends training with Muten Roshi!

The training had been hard. They had to deliver milk all over the island Master Roshi moved the Kame House to. They climbed up mountains and had to outrun dinosaurs! They dug up whole fields with their bare hands and had to dodge bees and just when they started to get the hang of it, Muten Roshi made them wear turtle shells like him. The shells kept getting heavier and heavier but, even though it was hard, it was fun. Roshi taught them more about martial arts and the philosophy of the Turtle School. Krillin got discouraged a couple of times when he wasn't picking techniques up as fast as Goku but she told him that she believed in him and that he'd get it right if he kept trying. That seemed to be when Krillin finally realized what Goku knew all along: that they were best friends!

It wasn't just physical training. Master Roshi also taught Goku how to read and write and count. That's how she learned she was twelve years old! There was also time for rest and stuff. That's how Goku and Krillin found the time to talk about their stories.

"So you were raised at a Temple?" Goku asked while Roshi slept in a hammock, lying on her stomach on the sand and propping her head up with her elbows. "That must have been neat, having such a big family." Krillin shrugged as he frowned.

"Not really. They were all jerks. They always made fun of me because I was weak and I look like I don't have a nose," he muttered before looking over at Goku. "So I ran away. I was tired of getting bullied." Goku frowned and put a hand on Krillin's hand.

"I'm sorry your old family were jerks," she said sympathetically. Krillin's face turned red and Goku laughed. She always thought it was funny when people's faces did that.

About a year and a half into their training, Krillin and Goku had one of those rare days of were watching the news with Launch and Goku was still mystified by the television.

"In recent world news," the lady on the TV was saying, "the terrorist group known as the Red Ribbon Army continues their rampage across the world. No one yet knows what their goals are but local military forces have been unable to stop them." The picture then changed to soldiers and tanks and planes all bearing the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army, all bringing destruction wherever they went.

"What a bunch of jerks," Goku muttered. "If I ever meet them, I'm gonna beat them up!" Krillin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You might be strong, Goku," he said, "But no one person can take on an entire army. All we can do is hope that the Royal Army can deal with them." Goku was going to say something to that when Master Roshi walked into the room. Goku and Krillin hopped to their feet and bowed when he entered. Even these huge turtle shells weren't slowing them down anymore!

"Good news, everyone!" the old master said with a smile. Launch scoffed while Roshi did his best to ignore her. She was blonde now so that was always risky. "I've entered the both of you in the Tenkaichi Budoukai!" Krillin gasped in surprise while Goku just tilted her head to the side.

"What's that?" she asked and Krillin shook his head with his face in his hand. God, she was such a jungle girl.

"It's the Strongest Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament," Roshi explained. Goku didn't say anything so he explained further. "It's a gathering of the strongest fighters from around the world to fight it out and see who's the greatest!" As soon as Roshi said "fighters", Goku gasped and got that starry look in her eyes again.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" she shouted eagerly while hopping up and down. Roshi chuckled and shook his head.

"The island the tournament is being held at is far away from here and I have to accompany the both of you since you're so young so the Nimbus is out. We'll be taking a plane!" Launch scoffed again with one eyebrow cocked.

"And what am I supposed to do?" she asked brusquely. "Just sit around here in this dirty old shack while you all go out and have fun?" Blue Launch might not mind cooking and cleaning and all that sissy crap but Blonde Launch resented it like hell that she never got to learn how to fight. Roshi produced not three but four plane tickets.

"I figured you might want to come along," he said cautiously. Launch smiled and gave the old man a thumbs-up. "We'll be packing up tonight. One of the people who you deliver milk to has a plane that will take us as far as the nearest airport. It isn't exactly built for long-distance travel."

Goku was so excited that night she couldn't sleep! She and Krillin got to take off their super heavy turtle shells and they were so fast now! The next morning was a little less fun, though. Master Roshi made her wear a _dress._ It was blue and it sparkled and it had weird frills at the bottom that tickled her legs. She didn't say anything because Master Roshi had bought it special but she didn't like it. And the shoes didn't fit right. What if she had to fight in this stupid dress? They were supposed to look nice or something when they got to the Tournament grounds but Goku didn't know why she couldn't wear a suit like Krillin. At least Launch told her she looked nice, so that was okay.

The plane ride was super fun! Goku liked being so high up because the world looked so pretty down below. She was amazed when they'd landed to find out that they'd gone so far in only a couple hours. If Bulma had a little plane like the nice man who'd taken them to the airport had, their journey would have been so much faster, since Bulma might have been able to keep up with Nimbus then and they could fly above the roads and mountains and rivers. But maybe they wouldn't have made all the friends they did so maybe it was better that they hadn't had a plane.

There were so many people on the island where the tournament was being held! All different kinds of fighters from all over the world were there. There were so many people around that it made Goku's spiky-haired head spin but, above it all, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Goku!" a girl's voice shouted over the rumble of the crowd. Goku spun around but she couldn't see over people's heads so she jumped up into the air and that's when she saw Bulma! She ran to her friend, jumping on people's heads to get closer before leaping into the other girl's arms. Bulma hugged Goku with a giggle and spun her little friend around. "Oh my gosh, look at you!" she said excitedly. "You're wearing a dress!" Goku squirmed a little and looked away with embarrassment. "What? You look nice!" Bulma assured her but Goku shrugged.

"I like wearing gi more," she mumbled and Bulma just laughed and shook her head before letting Goku down. "Are you gonna enter the tournament?" Goku asked excitedly and Bulma laughed again.

"Not me, silly!" Bulma gestured behind her to another very familiar person with an equally familiar cat floating beside his head. Goku gasped as the man grinned. She hadn't even recognized him with his hair so short!

"Hey, squirt," Yamcha said before Goku leaped up into his arms as well and gave him a great big hug. Yamcha hugged her back before letting her down. "Look at you! You look like you've gotten even stronger. Guess the Turtle Hermit's everything he's cracked up to be." Goku smiled as Krillin finally caught up to her.

"Jeez… Goku…" he muttered while gasping for breath. He'd had to politely shove his way through the crowd while trying to follow her. "Y'can't just… run off without tellin' me! And y'can't just jump on people's heads!" Goku shrugged.

"You'd have gotten here faster if you had," she pointed out before turning her attention back to Bulma, Yamcha, and Puar. "Krillin, these are my friends I told you about! This is Yamcha, Bulma, and Puar! Guys, this is Krillin! He's been training with me under Master Roshi!" Bulma got a great big smile on her face when looking at Goku and Krillin but Goku didn't really understand why. "You look like you got stronger too, Yamcha!" Yamcha grinned, flexing a bicep.

"You bet I did! And it's all thanks to this little lady," Yamcha gave Bulma a peck on the cheek that made her face turned red as she smiled and waved a hand.

"Oh, stop!" she insisted playfully. "It's really thanks to my dad's experimental gravity room. He's been developing it for the International Space Association so they can test how their suits and ships handle higher and lower gravity. It's only _supposed_ to go up to two times Earth's gravity at max," she gave Yamcha a little grin and elbowed him playfully in the side, "But _someone_ had to try and set it to three. Nearly blew up the whole room and my dad almost killed him!" Yamcha scratched the back of his head and looked _almost_ bashful.

"Hey, I had to push it to the max, y'know? And it paid off!" Yamcha flexed his muscles again, full of bravado. "I've never felt stronger! I bet I'm gonna win this whole dang tournament!" There was the soft tapping of a cane on the ground as Muten Roshi caught up with his pupils. Like Krillin, he was wearing a suit and tie with a hat.

"I certainly hope you have the skill to back up that confidence," Roshi said, adjusting his shades. ' _He certainly has potential,'_ Roshi thought, ' _I can sense his ki even now. I hope the poor boy doesn't run into me at any point in this tournament. The beating I give him could crush his spirit.'_ "Oh, Bulma! Fancy seeing you again." Bulma's face turned red as Roshi turned his attention to his students, "The elimination round starts soon so you'd better get changed." That was fine for Goku. She was ready to be out of the stupid dress! "Don't be looking for me in the crowd. Rest assured, I'll see everything you're doin' but you focus on your fighting, understood?" Goku and Krillin nodded enthusiastically and left with their master.

"Good luck, Yamcha!" Goku called over her shoulder while waving to her friends before they disappeared in the crowd. Roshi gave her and Krillin their very own Turtle School gi. They were awesome! This tournament was gonna be the best adventure yet!

OoOoOoO

Every blow, precise. Every strike delivered with absolute efficiency. No wasted movement. No room for error. A single stroke, three at most, and his opponents fall. Namu would not fail. He could not. Everyone was counting on him.

OoOoOoO

Bacterian hadn't had a bath a day in his life. Combining the ungodly stench haze that surrounded him with his enormous size and strength and this whole tournament was gonna be plum pickin's. He didn't even have to throw a punch sometimes, just lift his arm to knock 'em out with a smell. All that money. He'd be _filthy_ rich.

OoOoOoO

This wasn't all that hard, Ranfan thought. She was experienced enough at Taijutsu that she didn't even need to use her secret weapon on most of these fighters. But when it got tough… a boob-flash here, a panty-drop there, and their defenses were wide open. _Men._

OoOoOoO

There were several advantages in life to being a giant dragon monster. Chief of which being that you are a giant dragon monster. Aside from his incredible strength and the benefit of a fifth offensive appendage in his tail, sometimes all Giran had to do was roar and they'd give up. What, did they think he was gonna eat them or somethin'? Ah, well. Some prejudices had their benefits.

OoOoOoO

"Hooo yeah!" the mustachioed, afro'd young man declared triumphantly before the battle had even begun. He threw several quick jabs and kicks through the air with a whirr of speed and power. The old man standing across from him didn't even blink. "Y'might as well just give up now, old man! 'Cause yer goin' up against the _End All! The Be All! The_ _ **Please All!**_ The man they call… Hercule!" Hercule, apparently, made his pecs dance. Maybe that was supposed to be intimidating. He charged at the old man, screaming his head off about some nonsense "Dynamite Super Spectacular Megaton Punch of the Gods" or some such. Jackie Chun pivoted to the side and drove his palm into the younger man's sternum, sending him flying out of bounds.

OoOoOoO

"WATTA!" Yamcha called out as he drove his foot up into the other man's chin, knocking him into an arc in the air to land among the other competitors. With all that extra work he'd been able to put in with the gravity room, no one could touch him! Yamcha couldn't even begin to guess how strong he'd be if he'd been able to master the gravity room. Bulma whistled and cheered through a window while she used Puar as a stepladder.

"That's right!" she cried ecstatically. "That is my man! You all might as well give up now! You can't beat him!" Yamcha turned bright red, a mixture of proud and embarrassed. "So where'd you come up with that sound?" Bulma whispered to Yamcha as he walked over towards the window.

"I dunno," he admitted since his mind was unable to comprehend the experience he went through during his first fight with Goku. "It just kinda… came to me."

OoOoOoO

Krillin frowned as he realized who he'd be fighting. The two upperclassmen from the Orin Temple snickered as they looked down at him with their hands on their hips.

"Well, well, well," said the taller, thinner one. "It's the shrimp who ran away!" Krillin's face was red with anger as the smaller, fatter one elbowed him and looked at Goku.

"And look! He went and got himself a little girlfriend!" Now Krillin's face was red for an entirely different reason.

"Well don't worry," the taller one said as he bent down to sneer at them. "I'll take you out quick before you get embarrassed too badly in front of her." He laughed as he walked up into the ring and did some quick stretches. Krillin was trembling with rage but he was afraid, too. He should be able to beat them, right? So why was he scared? Because maybe he couldn't. They were older. They'd always been stronger than him. And they'd been in the Orin Temple longer. They hadn't run away. Goku put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey," she said softly, encouragingly, "You can beat these guys." Krillin nodded and stepped into the ring while he fixed the other monk with an icy stare. The monk threw out a kick but Krillin was already behind him. The monk swung around in shock. How had he gotten there already? The monk glowered and threw down a debilitating karate chop. Or it would have been if Krillin hadn't already jumped back and then leaped forward in the blink of an eye. Krillin hovered in the air for a few seconds before he threw a punch right to the monk's jaw. He went flying and smashed into the wall as if he'd been shot out of a cannon. Goku ran into the ring as Krillin came down and lifted him back up into the air with a big hug.

OoOoOoO

Goku hopped from foot to foot impatiently. The other guy was taking _forever._ He was big and bald and tan with a _huge_ curly mustache and a black singlet. He was doing crazy lunges around the ring and waving his arms. He got in front of Goku in a low squat with his arms outstretched.

"Leetle Martial Arts Girl!" he shouted at her, making her hair blow back. He had a funny accent. "You heve chosen wrong path of life! Wrestling is superior fighting style to all martial arts! To grab your opponent and croosh heem in your power! Thees ees best in life! I let you geeve up now before I hoort you!" Goku didn't say anything. Why would she give up now? She'd barely gotten started! That was stupid. She copied his stance and that made him laugh. "You heve good spirit!" He threw out his hands and grabbed Goku around the wrists before he tried to pick Goku up and throw her out of the ring. However, she didn't move. The wrestler grunted and tried to pull her again but in a direct mockery of all the laws of physics, Goku didn't move. She stayed planted in the ground like a lead weight. He screamed through clenched teeth and strained as his whole head turned red like a beet and veins bulged out. Goku still didn't move. His eyes bulged out of his head and he foamed at the mouth. Nothing. Goku twisted her hips and slammed him hard into the ring with enough force to crack the tile.

"You're right!" Goku said to the unconscious wrestler. "Wrestling _is_ lots of fun!"

SSVC/N: Yes, things are being implied. Will they be followed up on? We shall see. Yes, I introduced Hercule super duper early. Why? Because I love him.

Z/N: Yes, Cloud is answering his own questions. Will he keep doing this? We shall see. Yes, I'm doing it as well. Why? Because I'm a jerk.


	6. The Budoukai Takes Shape!

Chapter Six

The Budoukai Takes Shape!

Over the course of an hour or two, the hundred or so entrants to the Tenkaichi Budoukai were whittled down to eight finalists: Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, the purple-haired Taijutsu fighter Ranfan, the Dragon-Beast Giran, the repulsive Bacterian, the stony Namu, and the enigmatic Jackie Chun. After each of them drew their number, the eight made their way out of the zoo that was the elimination area and out onto the main stage in the open air as the crowd cheered wildly. Everyone waved and shuffled away from Bacterian. This was even more people than before! But they were outside so it didn't bother Goku as much as when they were all in the one building together.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" cried the blonde-haired young announcer as he sprinted into the ring, full of energy. Goku already liked him. She hoped they'd get to be friends! "Welcome to the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai!" The crowd roared in response. Bulma, Blonde Launch, and Puar were all pressed up at the front row and watching eagerly.

"Go Yamcha!" Bulma and Puar cheered in unison and pushed against Launch as they waved their arms.

"Kick some butt, guys!" Launch shouted at Goku and Krillin. A giant board was wheeled out that displayed the formats for the final stage of the tournament.

"It will be," the announcer shouted, gesturing wildly with plenty of exuberance, "Son Goku," she waved excitedly and jumped up and down "versus Ranfan!" Ranfan winked and blew the crowd a kiss. "Yamcha," he flexed and posed and grinned like an idiot "versus Namu!" He barely moved his head in a nod. "Krillin," he grinned and waved but not nearly as energetically as Goku "versus Giran!" The dragon-man roared and spread his wings as Krillin stopped smiling. "And Jackie Chun," he nodded silently with just barely more movement than Namu "versus Bacterian!" The giant man scratched his stomach and burped. "What an exciting collection of fighters, ladies and gentlemen!" he said aloud. ' _What a gaggle of circus freaks,'_ he thought to himself. He was all set to get off the stage when Goku reached up and tugged at his suit jacket. He stopped and looked down at her.

"'Scuse me," she said, "What's your name?" the announcer blinked behind his sunglasses. No one had actually asked his name before. People usually didn't care. It had been so long that for a second he didn't have an answer.

"K-Ken," he finally said. "My name's Ken." Goku smiled and he smiled back.

"It's nice to meet you!" she said as Krillin facepalmed.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Goku. But you better focus, your match is first!" he ran off the stage along with everyone but Goku and Ranfan. Goku grinned as she dropped into a fighting stance. Ranfan frowned as she took the traditional Taijutsu stance. One leg forward and bent, leaning back slightly, arms raised towards her face. It was a good thing she would probably just need to use her martial arts skills for this one. Unless this preteen was _extremely_ aware of her own sexuality at a young age which Ranfan highly doubted.

They circled each other slowly and tried to gauge one another's abilities. Ranfan frowned as she weighed her options. The problem with fighting someone so short was that none of her training was really designed for it. She threw out a knee at Goku's head and Goku put out hand to block it. Ranfan had expected the kid to go flying even if she blocked it but Goku seemed to have her own plans since she didn't budge. Ranfan blinked but quickly retracted her leg and thrust it straight out as she twisted her hip to drive her foot into the girl's head. The kick landed precisely and sent Goku flying across the ring. She hit the ground and tumbled a few more feet before she came to a stop. Ranfan grinned to herself as she brought her leg back down. That wasn't so hard! But then Goku got right back up and dusted herself off as she shook her head. … _What?_

"That's an interesting stance you have!" Goku called from across the ring as she hopped from one foot to the other. "What martial art is that?" Ranfan blinked dumbly even as she automatically returned to her guard.

"Ta-taijutsu," she muttered in response. Was this kid for real? Goku grinned and got into a crouch.

"Cool! You'll have to show me some stuff later! My turn!" Goku was gone in a flash again and reappeared right in front of Ranfan with her feet raised to plant a dropkick in her stomach. Ranfan barely raised up her leg in time to block the blow and she almost wished she hadn't. It hurt like hell! She hopped back on one foot and got back into her guard with a wince. Goku charged forward again and Ranfan just managed to roll out of the way of the attack. Goku came to a halt at the edge of the ring and pinwheeled her arms to stop herself from falling. ' _Now's my chance!'_ Ranfan thought before she threw out a knee to Goku's back. If it hit her it would knock her out of the ring for sure! But that 'if' was the problem since it never did. In the middle of pinwheeling like an idiot Goku leaped backwards and _bounced off of Ranfan's knee_ to land behind her. Ranfan spun around and stared as Goku waved at her with a grin. Ranfan furrowed her brow in frustration. This kid was making her look like an amateur! Ranfan let out a wordless scream and exploded with a barrage of kicks, knees, elbows and forearms. Her limbs were a blur as she made a desperate assault. Goku ducked and dodged and rolled over every. Single. Strike.

"What the heck are you?!" Ranfan screamed in futile fury. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she let out ragged breaths. Goku grinned up at her.

"I'm a Goku!" she exclaimed before giving a little frown. "I'm sorry but I'm kinda bored. Your Taijutsu is really cool and all but I think I'm ending this." Before Ranfan could even comment on this insult, Goku jumped up and punched her across the jaw. Ranfan flew out of the ring in a tight spiral and went into the grass. She actually had so much momentum that she _burrowed into the ground._

"C-contestant Son Goku is the winner!" Ken shouted in a bit of delayed shock. Goku held up an arm victoriously and smiled as the crowd cheered. Some helpers plucked an _exceptionally_ dizzy Ranfan out of the ground and carried her away. Goku hopped out of the ring and walked to the back. So much fighting! She wondered when they'd get to eat.

OoOoOoO

Jackie Chun watched as Bacterian got into the ring and shuddered. He could see the dirt and grime covering every inch of the man's skin. It was _caked on_ for God's sake and made Bacterian's skin a good three shades darker. Even worse, Jackie could _smell_ it. Imagine the worst smell in human history. Bury that smell in a hole in the ground and let it stew for about fifty years. Then dig it up and set it on fire. Then put out the fire with garbage water. That would be nearly as bad as the smell coming off of Bacterian and, as Bacterian stomped towards Jackie, he came to the realization that it was even worse than he'd imagined. The stink, the _stench,_ wasn't limited to Bacterian's body. It hung off of him like a cloud and rolled off of him in waves. It poisoned the very air around him.

"Bahahaha!" Bacterian laughed a great belly laugh that made his whole body jiggle as he stalked towards Jackie. The old man grit his teeth as he pondered his strategy. Thankfully, he could sense the giant man's battle power. Nothing to write home about. Clearly he'd gotten through most of this tournament on the strength of his stench than of his body but Jackie had a secret weapon of his own.

As the cloud of filth crept closer and closer to Jackie, he resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't test the boys' skills if he got eliminated in the first round. Jackie held in a breath as he decided how to win this fight. Any hit he gave Bacterian would get grime all over his nice shoes and suit. Jackie raised one arm and gave a hard downward swipe in Bacterian's direction to release a kiai wave that knocked Bacterian out cold. No sense knocking him too close to the poor audience.

"Ten! And Jackie Chun is the winner!" The crowd's cheer was slightly-muted as most of them were stunned silent that Jackie seemed to have won without even touching his opponent. The ringside attendants had the unenviable task of removing Bacterian's unconscious body from the ring. They settled on using push brooms to literally roll the large man away. ' _Might want to roll him into the ocean,'_ Jackie thought, ' _But then he might kill all the fish. In the_ _ **world**_ _.'_

OoOoOoO

Krillin stared up at his opponent open-mouthed. As the yellow-and-blue heavyset dragon bared his fangs and flexed his fingers to show his bright claws, Krillin tried to calm himself. He'd trained for this. He'd spent the last year and a half with Son Goku and Master Roshi in preparation for this sort of thing. Then Giran roared and stomped towards him. Well, the old man certainly hadn't trained him for _dragon-slaying!_

Krillin nervously dodged out of the way of a few of Giran's claw swipes as he fought his biological imperative to run and scream. He was so nervous that he didn't even register that Giran's claws were coming nowhere close to hitting him but Giran noticed and the fact that he hadn't already punched this kid hard enough to knock him off the island was infuriating the lizard. He swung faster and harder with blows powerful enough to tear a normal man to shreds. Blue-haired Launch flinched as Krillin dodged every swipe. She couldn't help but be scared for the little fella. He was so small and the dragon-man was so big! Giran roared loud enough to shake Krillin's bones and the former monk couldn't stop himself from ducking down into a ball in self defense. Giran grinned and opened his maw to go in for an attack but was blinded by the sun reflecting off of Krillin's shiny dome. He stumbled away and held at his eyes.

"Krillin!" Goku shouted from the sidelines while her friend was still cowering with his eyes screwed shut, "Punch him already!" Krillin looked up to see Giran still recovering from the blinding light and lunged into action. He threw an uppercut that caught the dragon under the jaw and made him stagger then followed up with a series of rapid-fire punches to the rather pronounced yellow belly that made it jiggle and caused Giran to stumble back. He teetered on the edge of the ring. He spun around on instinct and smacked Krillin with his tail with the impact sending Krillin flying to tumble towards the edge of the ring. Giran blinked as his vision finally cleared. He growled as Krillin picked himself up off the ground.

"No more runnin' around for you, boy!" he declared before he opened his mouth as wide as he could. A strange pink light began to glow brighter and brighter from deep inside him. Krillin dove at the last second, expecting a fireball of some kind. He was shocked as an enormous wad of gum flew out of the dragon's mouth and hit some poor sap in the crowd.

"Gah! My hair!" cried the aforementioned poor sap. Giran growled at the ineffectuality of his last attack. That would have captured the boy for sure! Giran charged towards Krillin with his mouth open wide. Saliva dripped from his angry jaws as Krillin held out his hands.

"H-hold on!" Krillin shouted and Giran came to a confused screeching halt. What was the boy's plan? "Look, the whole… growling and snapping and the stuff with the teeth. You're not gonna eat me or anything, right?" Giran blinked and pulled back as he shook his head.

"Nah," he grumbled. "'Course not. Why would I do somethin' like that?" Krillin fell out of his fighting stance as the two of them apparently stopped fighting to have a civil discussion.

"Then why do you do all that stuff?" Krillin asked as Giran gave another shrug.

"Scares people and all that," the dragon muttered defensively.

"But aren't you better than that?" Krillin prodded with his hands on his hips. "You're strong, you're fast. You shouldn't need to perpetuate stereotypes to get ahead!" Giran nodded with a smile on his face.

"Yer right!" he told Krillin and threw up his fists triumphantly. "I don't need to be the monster these people think I am! I can be my own dragon!" Krillin grinned and held out a hand.

"Then let's do this right!" he declared before Giran nodded again and shook Krillin's tiny hand in his own. He could do this! He could make a good example for people like him everywhere! People that society called monsters. They could be just like regular people without relying on-

Giran was distracted from this introspection as Krillin jumped up into the air and kicked Giran in the face before somersaulting forward off the dragon's snout to jump behind him. He finished with a spin-kick to the back of Giran's head that made him tumble out of the ring. He hit the dirt before he even had the chance to flap the small wings that improbably allowed him to fly.

"And with a cunning ring-out, Krillin is the winner!" Ken declared as Goku ran into the ring to pick Krillin off the ground in another powerful hug as Krillin turned red with public embarrassment. "He will move on to face Son Goku in the semifinals!" Krillin squirmed out of Goku's grip as she grinned. Giran got up slowly while holding the back of his head.

"Hey," Krillin told the dragon man, "I meant what I said about you being better than this and all that. I just really had to win," The dragon smiled as if he'd been pranked and gave the bald monk a thumbs-up.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha paced around the ring for about a minute while he grinned and flexed and shouted nonsense. All the while, Namu watched him and never moved his neck. He barely moved his eyes. The contrast between the two fighters was like night and day. Everything about Namu struck Jackie Chun as… eerie.

' _Just what,'_ the old master wondered, ' _makes this man so focused? When I do it, it's an act but this guy's made of ice!'_ With the slightest mental manipulation, he was able to gaze into the younger man's mind. Telepathy was one of the minor perks that came with exceptionally advanced ki sensing. It required you to be entirely stationary and focusing your mental energies towards the act so it was less than useless in combat. As Jackie peered into Namu's thoughts and sifted through his memories he saw… A homeland crippled by drought. A people in desperate need of help. A solemn vow. ' _I will win the prize money and buy water from the city! I swear it!'_ Jackie swallowed with his eyes wide in surprise. ' _If I didn't have a job to do here, I might forfeit rather than beat him...'_ Jackie thought before shrugging. ' _Maybe I can still do something for him.'_ Meanwhile Yamcha was just about done with his pre-match antics. He wandered over to Bulma and she leaned over the barricade to give him a peck on the cheek.

"For luck," she whispered before leaning over further and giving him a smack on the behind. "Now get in there!" Yamcha got into the ring, grinning like an idiot but his smile quickly faded in the face of Namu's unearthly seriousness. Both fighters slid into their stances. Namu held one forearm diagonally across his chest, slightly outstretched and ready to either strike or block. Yamcha crouched forward and tensed his fingers, ready to unleash the Wolf Fang Fist at any moment.

Yamcha made the first move and charged forward to throw a pair of quick jabs that Namu ducked and weaved under. Yamcha followed up with a knee aimed for the chin that Namu leaned away from and glared. He hopped back to get a run-up to hit Namu with a palm strike but Namu put one hand under Yamcha's elbow and thrust Yamcha's arm up into the air before delivering three quick chops to Yamcha's sternum in quick succession. Yamcha staggered back while gasping for air with his hands pressed to his sternum. He teetered towards the edge of the ring while Namu closed his eyes and waited. All he could do was pray that he would cause the other man no lasting damage. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he barely had time to register that he hadn't heard a body hit the ground before he opened his eyes to see Yamcha's boot taking up his entire worldview and smashing into his face. Namu flew backwards and landed hard on his back three-fourths of the way across the ring.

"It'll take a lot more than that to keep me down!" Yamcha said with a cocky grin as he flicked a thumb across his nose. Still, that attack Namu had used had hurt like hell. Whatever he'd done had made it feel like Yamcha's entire nervous system wanted to jump out of his body. He'd have to keep on his toes.

"Your physical strength is most impressive," Namu conceded as he got to his feet while he wiped a droplet of blood from under his nose. "But it will not be enough." They both charged this time and crashed in the center of the ring. Their knuckles locked together as they tried to force the other towards the ground, straining against each other. Yamcha would push and Namu would give ground until he tripped Yamcha's leg out from under him which forced him to give ground in turn. Their auras flared against and entangled with one another, invisible to all but Jackie Chun who watched with rapt attention. Namu raised his knee to strike Yamcha in the chest but Yamcha blocked it with a knee of his own. They dropped their legs before Yamcha attacked with the opposite knee and now it was Namu who blocked.

Realizing they'd come to a stalemate, both men broke away from the knuckle lock. Namu simply leaped back while Yamcha leaped high into the air and did a few backwards somersaults before he landed. Using the momentum of his landing, Yamcha charged forward and slammed into Namu's cross-armed guard. Namu gritted his teeth as Yamcha stomped forward, causing him to skid back.

"As I said," Namu said with a grunt, "you do not lack for physical power." He drew in a deep breath and thrust his arms out to send Yamcha staggering away. He threw himself at the former bandit with a flying kick that cracked him across the chin and staggered him. "But you lack true conviction!" He threw out a double palm thrust to the stomach that Yamcha barely rolled away from, hopping back to give himself some more distance.

"I'll show you conviction!" Yamcha growled as he got back into his Wolf Fang Fist stance. "Wolf Fang Fist!" he cried and ran forward to throw out a flurry of wild strikes. Namu threw up his guard and absorbed them all.

"You fight for a selfish goal," Namu said even as Yamcha wore down his guard. "You fight only to prove your own strength! You fight for arrogance and pride!" Yamcha snarled and drew back his fist for a powerful blow.

"Shut up!" he screamed as he struck. However, before he had even fully extended his elbow, Namu was already gone with an overhead leap, twisting to land behind Yamcha. Yamcha leaped to throw out a spinning back kick but Namu evaded it with a backwards handspring. "Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me?!" he snapped as he charged at Namu again. Hadn't he risked his neck fighting Goku when she was a giant monster to protect Bulma? Wasn't _that_ fighting for something greater than himself? Yamcha howled wordlessly as Namu spun effortlessly around every wild strike.

"Until you fight when others depend on you," Namu said as he raised his arms overhead in a cross, "to understand that on your victory or failure hang the hopes of all you care about, you will never be more than what you are!" He drove his forearms down powerfully into the back of Yamcha's head and neck. Yamcha took a single staggering step forward before everything went black and he collapsed to the ground.

"Ten! Namu is the winner!" Namu gave a slight bow before exiting the ring. From the sidelines, Bulma's expression was a war between fuming at Yamcha for embarrassing her by losing and concern for his well-being after a blow to the head like that.

"Maybe you should have given him more luck," Blue-Haired Launch offered innocently.


	7. The Budoukai Rages on!

Chapter Seven

The Budoukai Rages On! The Limits of Willpower!

There was a short respite between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. During that time, Krillin and Goku were pleasantly surprised to find that Master Roshi had come to speak with them.

"I'm very proud of how you've both done," he told them with a warm smile. "But I don't want either of you holding back now, do you understand?" They both nodded enthusiastically and he nodded back while keeping one hand on his hat to keep the wig from showing. If he ripped it off, that would just leave red marks on his scalp that he'd have to hide anyway and if the glue didn't dry when he put the wig back on before his fight with Namu, well, that'd be the end of the whole game, wouldn't it? "And whichever of you loses, I don't want it to ruin your friendship or your interest in martial artes. It's the way of the world, there's always someone better out there. All you can do is keep trying and keep working so that you can get better yourself!"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ken shouted into the microphone from outside. "The semifinals are about to begin!" Roshi smiled at his students and bowed to them.

"Guess you two'd better get goin'," he said as they bowed in response and hurried outside. He chuckled and shook his head as he watched them run with exuberance. ' _Gohan and the Ox King used to be like that,_ ' he thought wistfully. Then he sighed and looked away sadly. ' _Shen and I used to be like that.'_

As the two young warriors got into their fighting stances, Ken the announcer ran out between them. They relaxed their stances and looked more than a little confused. Weren't they supposed to be fighting?

"Now before we begin, guys," Ken said, "I think the audience would like to hear a bit more about the two of you! You're the youngest people to have ever made it this far in the history of the tournament and the skill you've displayed is quite frankly astounding. So please, if you wouldn't mind, come to the center of the ring and talk to these fine people!" Goku and Krillin shrugged and made their way over towards Ken. "Let's give them a big hand, everyone!" The crowd cheered and clapped for the young fighters.

"Come on, Goku!" Bulma shouted as she waved her arms. "You can go all the way, kid!" Blue-Haired Launch frowned at Bulma before cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting herself.

"C-c'mon, Krillin!" she cheered. She didn't _really_ want one of them to win or the other but it didn't feel fair to her that Bulma was screaming her head off for Goku and decided that Krillin could use some encouragement, too.

"Now first off," Ken said while slightly bent to look at the two, "How old are you?" He brought the mic down to them and Goku just stared at it. "Y... you talk into it," Ken explained awkwardly, "It makes your voice louder." Krillin groaned and pulled the microphone over to himself.

"I'm thirteen," he said before Goku took the mic back. Now she got it!

"I'm twelve!" she shouted eagerly which made Krillin smirk.

"Ha! I'm older than you!" he teased. Goku just shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm taller." Krillin fumed and the crowd laughed. Ken cleared his throat to try and regain control of the conversation.

"I see you two are wearing the same outfit with those orange gi," he pointed out. "Tell us, who is your teacher?" The two grinned before they answered in unison.

"The Turtle Hermit, Muten Roshi!" This drew a collective gasp of surprise from the audience along with some murmurs that seemed to agree that the children's' abilities made sense now. Even Ken was stunned.

"Th-the Invincible Old Master is your teacher?!" he exclaimed. "Absolutely incredible! Who knew he was taking on new students? Who even knew he was still alive?" Somewhere in the back, Jackie Chun facepalmed. "So would you say the two of you have gotten close during your training?" Krillin was about to ask Ken what kind of question was that when Goku butted in.

"Yeah!" she said cheerfully while Krillin resigned himself to putting his head in his hands. "Krillin's my best friend!" this drew laughter and "Awws" from the crowd as Krillin just wanted to sink into the earth.

"Well, let's hope that whatever else comes from this tournament, the both of you will continue to be friends," Ken said playfully. "But I think that's quite enough for right now. If you two will go back to your places, it's time to begin the semifinals!" Goku hopped back over to where she'd been without a care in the world. Krillin stomped back to his position while muttering under his breath. "Fighters ready?" Ken asked from a safe distance away from the ring. "Begin!"

They charged at each other and met in the center of the ring, each throwing a high kick that blocked the other. To the audience, at one moment the pair had been at the opposite ends of the ring and then the next they weren't. Goku pivoted her hips to throw a roundhouse kick that Krillin jumped back to avoid. He rolled forward and then sprung up with his hands to try and hit Goku from beneath with a headbutt but she spun to the left to avoid it. Goku threw out a quick jab that Krillin blocked with both hands though the impact sent him skidding across the ring. Once again, this was nothing more than a blur of movement to the fans.

Krillin ran at Goku and jumped in the air to try and knock her down with a spin kick but she caught his ankle and threw him hard. It was only by digging his fingernails into the stone and splaying himself flat that he was able to keep himself from getting eliminated. He swallowed as he dusted himself off and got to his feet.

' _Gosh,'_ he thought, ' _I never noticed how strong she was before!'_ He got himself back into a fighting stance and steeled himself with a serious face. ' _I'll have to fight smart here.'_ Goku hopped eagerly from foot to foot while she waited for Krillin to make his next move. Krillin leaped into the air and dove at Goku with both fists. She put up her arms to block which was exactly what Krillin had planned on. He opened his hands and grabbed her forearms to flip behind her and slam her into the ground. He went to drive a chop into her back while she was recovering but she rolled away just in time and came up to her feet to throw a powerful palm strike into his stomach. Krillin staggered back both from the blow and the huge crack he saw in the ring where Goku's face had hit it. She rubbed her head and frowned.

' _That kinda hurt,'_ Goku thought to herself before breaking out into a big grin, ' _But this is fun!'_ She jumped at Krillin with a flying kick that he ducked under but she landed perfectly on the kicking foot and swung around with a heel kick that caught Krillin as he turned around. He staggered back and she followed up with a pair of quick punches and an uppercut that sent him sailing into the air before he crashed to the ground. Goku watched as he slowly picked himself up. Then something weird happened. Krillin _smiled._ "Aaaaare you okay?" Goku asked with her head cock to the side. Krillin chuckled and nodded.

"Oh, yeah," he said, "Because now that I know how strong you are…" he adopted a wide-legged stance with his arms outstretched and his palms facing towards her "I'm going to win." Goku blinked.

"... How?" she asked rather bluntly. It was all Krillin could do not to groan. She could be pretty rude sometimes without meaning to but he wasn't going to explain his plan to her, because then she'd just figure out a way to beat him. When he said nothing and didn't move Goku eventually got bored and charged at him. Just as Krillin expected. She threw a powerful punch that Krillin just barely saw and wouldn't have time to block. Krillin didn't have to block, though. He put his palms to her arm and guided her face-first hard into the stone. He'd let her own momentum do all the work so that the force of impact was much stronger than if he'd tried to do it himself. Goku sprang up quickly again and went to grab at Krillin. However, just before she reached him, he threw himself onto his back and kicked up his legs. Using the soles of his feet, he once again guided her momentum to send her in the direction he wanted. Which was to say, the ground.

Krillin rolled up onto his feet and got back into his stance as he waited for Goku to pick herself back up. They'd sparred each other far too often for Krillin to use any of his regular techniques against her but when Krillin entered Master Roshi's tutelage, he'd tried to be a clean slate to open himself to all of the Turtle Hermit's teachings. For eight years of his young life, however, Krillin had worked at a different form of martial arts. This style that he was implementing now was the way of the Orin Temple. The ultimate defensive martial art, relying entirely on using your opponent's strength and momentum and with someone as strong and as fast as Goku, it was even more effective. He couldn't lose.

Goku was getting frustrated now and that just played even more into Krillin's hand. Why wasn't she hitting him? He wasn't even doing anything, he was just pushing her! She flew at him with a dropkick but he ducked down and put up his hands under her legs to push her through the air. She wildly waved her arms before she slammed into the ring with a groan. She was _way_ too close to the edge! She got up again and Krillin waited. She furrowed her brow and balled up her fists.

"Stop that!" she yelled and something _pushed_ Krillin back. Not the shockwaves from her screen or being startled or anything like that. Something physical _hit Krillin in the chest._ Watching from the fighter's area Jackie Chun's mouth dropped in disbelief.

' _Did… did she figure out how to use kiai just by watching me?'_ he wondered. ' _Just like with the Kamehameha. What_ _ **is**_ _this girl?'_ Luckily for Krillin, Goku hadn't actually figured out kiai, she'd more just stumbled into it blindly. However, the hit still left him open and Goku shot towards him like a rocket with her shoulder. It was only with harshly-drilled instinct that Krillin was able to redirect her momentum. He was pushing her back towards the edge of the ring. She couldn't stop her momentum! She was going to lose!

There was a soft "pop" and the tearing of fabric. Krillin felt something as strong as a steel cable wrap around his arm and he was jerked forward with Goku's momentum. They both hit the floor with a thud, Krillin acting as an anchor for Goku to stop herself from ringing out. Her hair bobbed inches from the grass and she let out a sigh of relief.

"H-hold on a second!" Ken shouted as Goku and Krillin stood up, "Goku, I'm sorry, but the tournament specifically prohibits the use of outside tools and weapons!" Goku looked up at him and turned her head to the side.

"What outside tool?" she asked in confusion. The heck was he talking about?

"That!" Ken explained while pointing at her tail. "Are you trying to tell me that's not an outside tool?" Goku responded to this question by pulling down her pants. The crowd shrieked and laughed as she turned her butt to the crowd to show that, yes, the tail was attached to the rest of her body.

"See?" she asked as Krillin's face turned redder than red. "It's my tail!"

"Okay, okay!" Ken hurriedly muttered. "Put your pants back on!" Goku shrugged and pulled her pants back up. Ken got out of the ring as they got ready to face off again.

' _Okay,'_ Krillin thought, ' _So she has a tail. No problem! This shouldn't change my- Oh jeez!'_ Krillin's train of thought was interrupted as Goku charged forwards at him. He brought up his hands to push her aside the same as before. Clearly Goku had other plans as her fist hit him right in the face. Krillin stumbled backwards with his eyes wide in shock. How did she get so fast? And was she _even stronger?!_ Goku grinned as she hopped on the balls of her feet.

"I'm always stronger when I've got my tail!" she explained as if she could read his mind. She hopped into the air and balanced on her tail, grinning wider. Krillin frowned at that. Was she showing off? He charged while she had her guard down with a flurry of wild punches and kicks. He wouldn't lose! He was just as good a martial artist as her! That was the last thing he told himself before he was suddenly kicked under the chin. The force of the kick sent him flying in a huge arc out of the ring and into the first row, where he landed in Launch's arms. Bulma snickered as they looked at each other flustered.

"Hey, Launch!" she teased, "Looks like you caught a prize!" Launch said nothing as she let Krillin gently down onto the grass.

"And Goku wins by ring-out!" Ken shouted although that was obvious before Krillin touched the grass. Goku ran out of the ring to check on her friend. She hoped he wasn't mad at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked Krillin. He shrugged. It wasn't fair! He'd tried so hard, he'd worked just as hard as her, he'd used his secret weapon. So why did she win? Just because she was a weirdo with a tail? That wasn't fair! Goku grabbed Krillin suddenly in a big hug. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "We were just trying to win, right? Are you mad?" Krillin sighed.

"No," he promised her as he patted her on the shoulder, "I'm fine." How could he be mad? She didn't cheat. It wasn't like she _planned_ on growing her tail. And It was just a tournament. No big deal. He'd just have to try harder next year. "Why didn't you tell me you had a tail?" he asked as she let him go. Goku shrugged with a grin.

"You never asked!" The both of them laughed as Bulma looked down at them with that same big smile. She just _really_ hoped the tournament was over before nightfall.

OoOoOoO

Namu and Jackie Chun stared at each other from across the ring with icy expressions. The tension was palpable as they waited for each other to make the first move.

"I've seen inside your mind, boy," Jackie said calmly. "You're fighting for a good cause, I admit, but you should bow out now before you get hurt." Namu furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw. Whoever this strange man was, he had no right to insult Namu's honor like this.

"If you have seen inside my mind," Namu told him as he subtly shifted his body forward, "Then you know that is not an option!" He sprinted forward suddenly and attacked Jackie with a spinning hammerfist. Jackie leaned backwards as the younger man's strike harmlessly passed in front of him. Namu ground his teeth in anger before he jumped at Jackie with a high kick to his face that, again, the old master easily evaded with a backstep. Jackie swung with a chop that missed Namu by inches. What didn't miss was the kiai that made him stagger back. A bead of sweat dripped down Namu's forehead as he seethed with frustration. Jackie shrugged and rubbed his nose.

"Don't get too worked up about it," he said in a jovial tone, "Give it three hundred years, you'll get this good." Namu's anger rose as this man _mocked_ him. He went to attack again but stopped himself. He realized he was playing into the other man's hand. He closed his eyes and brought his hands to his sides. He breathed in slowly. Breathing in his frustration, his fear of failure, breathing in the anger and responsibility weighing him down. He held it in. Then he breathed it all out. He opened his eyes and his spirit felt as clear as a crystal spring of water. He could do this. He would succeed. From Jackie's perspective, things were very different. He could feel, to his surprise, Namu's ki _rising. 'That doesn't make any sense,'_ he thought. How could he raise his battle power so calmly? Namu bowed to Jackie.

"Shall we continue?" he asked before returning to his stance. Jackie nodded and Namu leaped into the air to deliver a divekick. There was no idle dodging this time for Jackie, however. Namu's speed had drastically increased! He quickly brought up his forearm to block and grimaced as the impact made him step back. Namu landed lightly on his feet and charged forward with a hard chop with the edge of his hand. Jackie went to block the strike, though it wasn't a strike at all! It was a feint and Namu swung around his other hand to drive his palm into the side of the older man's head. Jackie staggered and left himself wide open for a front kick that caught him square in the chest. He was knocked through the air but landed on his feet. Now he was the one panting slightly while Namu was completely calm. "Perhaps I should make the same offer to you," Namu proposed with the vaguest hint of a smile, "before you are hurt." Jackie chuckled and cracked his knuckles.

"All right, then," he said as he rolled his neck and shoulders from side to side and loosened up. "I guess I need to get serious!" He ran at Namu with his arm pulled back for what would no doubt be a mighty punch but it was so telegraphed that Namu would be an idiot _not_ to counterattack. He threw out his open hand with his fingers straight as iron. However, to his surprise, his fingertips went _through_ the other man's face. Not viscerally, of course, but like smoke. As if the other man… weren't even there. The Jackie in front of him quickly faded from sight as his voice somehow came from _behind_ Namu. "Not bad, huh?" Namu spun around to try and attack but caught an elbow in the ribs. He doubled over in pain before Jackie drove a palm up under his chin. Namu's head snapped back and Jackie swung a hard kick into Namu's side. He groaned in pain and leaned to the left holding where he'd been kicked. Jackie went for another chop but this time Namu was prepared. He leaped up, over the kiai and the chop, and landed behind Jackie. He threw a thrust kick into Jackie's back but it was just another afterimage. Jackie was in the air above Namu and brought down two chops onto Namu's shoulders. He winced as it felt like fire swept through his arms. He couldn't lose now!

Jackie landed on his feet in a fighting stance. Honestly, though, this fight was almost over. He'd hit the exact ligaments connecting Namu's shoulders to his torso. How much of a fight could a man put up with no arms? However, Namu apparently found a way to put up a fight by headbutting Jackie in the face. Namu surged forwards with a flurry of kicks that the older man dodged and ducked and jumped away from. He'd figured out Namu's rhythm fairly quickly so there was nothing he could do to hurt him. But then… Namu punched him in the face. That shouldn't have happened. Namu shouldn't be using his arms _for another hour._ But there he was. Sweat dripping down his face, jaw and eyes locked with concentration. Raising his arms.

Namu willed himself to fight. Willed his arms to move through the numbness and the pain. He flexed his fingers and clenched his fists. Not now. Not yet. He could not be defeated. There would be time for agony later. He drew his arms back and threw out both fists into Jackie's face with the force of a shotgun. The old man went down in a heap on his back.

' _That should leave him stunned,'_ Namu thought, ' _But I must not take chances. This old master has proven to be most formidable. I must finish him_ _ **now.**_ ' And then Namu jumped. He sailed hundreds of feet into the air, higher and higher as if he were flying. ' _No. Higher!'_ Somehow, Namu jumped higher, pushing off of _the air itself._ He locked his arms in a cross and turned his body downwards. He dropped like a rock, like a missile, his body glowing with power that looked like the fires of reentry. "Super Holy Cross!" he called out although he was far too high up for anyone to hear him. Reflex, possibly. He hoped this would not kill the older man.

In the ring far below Jackie Chun blinked and started to stir. He shook his head and tried to focus. ' _What the heck hit me?'_ he thought to himself as he collected his thoughts. He squinted and saw Namu hurtling down at him with the force of a meteor. ' _Ooh boy. If that strike of his could knock Yamcha out while he was on the ground, I don't wanna find out what that'll do to me from the air!'_ There was no time to hop to his feet and he couldn't rely on a kiai or even a regular ki blast. He needed to end this right here and now.

Jackie cupped his hands to his side and a blue light shone in his palms as he gathered up his power although he made sure to restrain himself a little bit not to kill the other man. With Namu less than fifty yards above him Jackie thrust out his hands.

"Kamehameha!" he called out as a brilliant beam of blue-white light rushed up to meet Namu in the air. There was a bright explosion when man and ki collided and in that blinding light, Jackie rolled backwards onto his feet. Namu hit the ground with a heavy thud as smoke and steam billowed off his body. Jackie bent down next to him and pressed two fingers to the man's neck. Good. Still breathing.

"T-ten! Jackie Chun is your winner!" There were no cheers as Jackie walked to the back, however. Everyone was just… too shocked. They'd never seen a Kamehameha in their lives. None of them… except for two.

"Huh?" Goku and Bulma muttered in unison. There was something fishy about this old man…


	8. The Oozaru Strikes Back!

Chapter Eight

The Oozaru Strikes Back! Reveal the Strongest Under the Heavens!

Yamcha staggered out of the medical ward while rubbing at the back of his head. The medics were insisting he lay down and that he might have a concussion after the blow he received from Namu but there was no way he was going to sleep through the entire tournament. That would be ridiculous!

"Yamcha! Yamcha!" Goku called out when she saw him and ran to him with Krillin tailing behind. "Yamcha! I made it to the finals!" Yamcha smiled and reached down to ruffle the girl's hair. Somehow he knew she'd be in there at the end.

"That's great, Goku! I…" he couldn't remember what he was going to say because all Yamcha could notice was the fuzzy, brown tail bobbing up and down excitedly in the air behind Goku. _It was back._ "I'll… be rooting for you!" he told her with a slightly forced smile. Goku grinned and hugged his leg before running off again. "Rooting for you to finish this fight before sundown," Yamcha muttered to himself when they were gone.

OoOoO

Namu left the tournament grounds with a grimace in every step. Small burns still covered his body from the Kamehameha. Despite this, he had refused medical treatment. The physical pain he was experiencing was fleeting, nothing compared to the shame and despair weighing down on his soul. He had failed his village. His weakness had condemned them. Namu's head spun around when he heard someone clearing their throat. Jackie Chun was leaning against a tree in the garden. Namu scowled at him.

"Do you not have a fight to prepare for?" Namu asked bluntly. "Have you just come to gloat?" Jackie shook his head and held up his hands.

"No, no. Nothing of the kind. You did very well. I don't even need the money. But I need to win." Namu scowled with one eyebrow cocked. "I need to test my students. Need to make them understand that there might always be someone stronger out there. If they keep pushing themselves, they could be the greatest martial artists in the world." Namu blinked a few times and opened his eyes wide.

"So you… are the invincible old master?" he asked in dawning realization. Jackie nodded and tapped on the side of his nose. "Why the need for the disguise? What could you need to hide your identity for?" Jackie shrugged with a smirk.

"If they knew it was me, they'd hold back. I need to be a mystery man. Someone they've never met before and might never meet again. Just someone to challenge, a mountain to climb." He sighed and fished into his pockets. "But I owe you somethin'," he tossed a capsule at Namu who caught it out of the air. Namu looked down at the capsule in his hand with one raised eyebrow. "That should hold, I dunno, a hundred gallons of water?" Jackie said as he jerked his thumb back at a well next to the tree. Namu sighed and frowned.

"I thank you but I have no money to pay for the water with." Jackie chuckled.

"Then it's a good thing there's no charge for the water," Jackie turned and headed back to the arena as Namu's eyes popped open wide and his jaw dropped. It was _free?!_ "Stick around when you're done. You've got enormous potential. You might learn somethin'," Jackie looked over a shoulder and gave Namu a sly wink, "Oh, and I might need a favor."

OoOoOoO

Goku walked into the ring to meet Jackie Chun. He seemed really strong so she'd have to do her very best to win this one! It was so exciting!

"Come on, Goku!" Bulma, Puar, and Launch cheered excitedly from the stands as they pumped their fists in the air to give their friend their support.

"Keep your guard up, kid!" Yamcha called from the fighter's area. If this Jackie Chun guy could beat up Namu then he was definitely nobody to play games with. He just hoped Goku didn't get hungry during the fight. Krillin didn't say anything. He just kept his eyes intensely on the fight.

' _Don't make me look bad for losing to you by not winning!'_ he thought as Goku did some stretches.

"Hey!" she called to Jackie, "I have a question. Are you Master Roshi?" It was a credit to Jackie's mental control that the sum total of his reaction is a single raised eyebrow. On one hand, you'd have to be stupid _not_ to come to that assumption. On the other hand… well, that would be Goku for you. Jackie just gave Goku a slight turn of his head towards the audience. Holy cow, Master Roshi _was_ out there! ' _I guess it was just a funny coinci-'_ and then Jackie hit her in the chin with an uppercut. The impact sent her hurtling into the sky and over the crowd.

' _I'm honestly disappointed,'_ Jackie thought as he watched Goku fly away. ' _Thought I trained her better than that.'_ Yamcha groaned and put his face in his hands.

"So, the whole 'keep your guard up' thing…" he muttered to himself, "Did she just… not hear me or what?" Jackie waited patiently for the sound of a "thud" when Goku hit the ground but that wasn't the sound he heard. Instead, to the shock of Jackie and everyone else in the arena, the sound was more of a "Thwap thwap thwap thwap" as Goku used her tail as a propeller to fly back into the ring! Well, a surprise to everyone but Bulma. She'd seen Goku do something like that when their boat broke down.

"Very… impressive," Jackie said in a measured tone that tried to mask his surprise. ' _Where on Earth did you find this little one, Son Gohan?'_ he thought to himself as she grinned. "But I won't let you use that trick again!" He threw out a kick to the girl's head as she stuck out her tongue but his leg went right through her! How did she do that?! How did she learn the Afterimage Technique _by watching?_ Well, she could copy his moves all she wanted but he knew she was right behind him! He threw back his elbow into the stomach of… _another afterimage?_ The real Goku came at him from the left with a flying kick, driving her foot into his jaw. He staggered back and held his face as he stared at the girl in shock.

"How do you like my double afterimage?" Goku asked playfully as she hopped from foot to foot. Jackie said nothing as he slid into a fighting stance. Maybe he'd taught her better than he thought.

Jackie sprinted forward and threw an elbow strike that Goku leaped over. She spun around and lashed out with her tail at him like a whip and Jackie hopped back to avoid it. Goku landed on her feet and tried to press her attack with a forward charge but Jackie saw it coming and flipped over her as she passed and threw a backwards kick to hit her in the back of the head. She rolled forward with the impact and spun around to face Jackie as he came head-on. Jackie threw out a series of lightning-fast jabs that Goku ducked and weaved under before driving her shoulder into Jackie's gut. He flew backwards as Goku followed up with a high kick that caught Jackie under the chin and sent him up into the air. She followed him up, astonishing the audience with an astonishing fifteen-foot vertical leap before she locked both fingers together and brought them down on Jackie's back. Before Jackie could slam into the stones with something approaching terminal velocity, he threw out his hands and pushed himself back up into the air with a kiai and flipped backwards to land safely on his feet. Goku whizzed by his head a few seconds later with the intent of smashing her feet into him. Before she could even recognize the fact Jackie wasn't where she'd expected him to be, however, he drove a dropkick into her face that sent her staggering back. The two paused for a moment in a stalemate as the crowd roared.

"Incredible!" Ken declared enthusiastically, "We have _never_ seen a tournament final of this caliber! Absolutely incredible!"

"Wow," Yamcha muttered as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Goku really _has_ gotten a lot stronger since last year." Maybe he should see if the Old Master was still taking on new students.

"While we have a moment here," Jackie said as the two fighters circled each other, "that little trick of yours with your tail was very impressive!" Goku grinned and rubbed at her nose.

"Thanks!" she replied cheerfully. "I was thinking of using my Kamehameha to push myself back into the ring but I didn't want to hurt anyone." Jackie chuckled and shook his head.

"I wouldn't worry about that," he assured her in a somewhat boastful tone. "I doubt your Kamehameha would be strong enough to really hurt anyone or even give you the proper push back!" Goku bristled at that, the hair on her tail visibly puffing up like a cat.

"Would so!" she insisted, "My Kamehameha is as strong as yours!" Where did this old guy even learn it, anyway? Jackie raised a single eyebrow. She couldn't actually _believe_ that, could she?

"All right," Jackie began as he put his hands at his side, "Let's see what ya got!" Goku copied his stance and the crowd watched in awe as ethereal blue light filled their hands.

"Kaaaa…. meeee…."

"Haaaa…. meeee…."

The air tingled with energy and anticipation in those last few moments as the two fighters charged their attacks. They thrust their hands out in unison and blasts of blue-white energy shot from their palms.

"Haaaa!" The blasts hit each other with tremendous force before bursting apart in a blinding explosion of light that knocked everyone in the stands onto their backs. Goku and Roshi were the only ones standing as the light dimmed, both sweating slightly from the heat of their blasts and panting.

' _Impossible!'_ Jackie thought as Goku grinned. ' _Her Kamehameha was the equal of my own! And she doesn't even seem tired!'_ Jackie unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it away as Goku bounced on the souls of her feet. Darn thing was too hot, anyway. He stretched his muscles as a light breeze hit him and dropped back into his stance. He took a deep breath and… seemed to fall asleep on his feet.

Goku blinked in confusion. What… what kinda technique was _this?_

"Uhhh… mister?" He started snoring. Maybe it wasn't a technique at all. Maybe the Kamehameha had taken more out of him than she'd thought. She took a few steps forwards and tried to poke him out of the ring. Jackie stumbled forwards and flopped down under her arm. She blinked as he rolled away like a log and stumbled to his feet. She charged at him and threw a flying kick but Jackie just lurched sleepily to the side. When she landed, he stretched his arm as if to yawn and struck her in the face with an incredibly quick backfist. Now Goku _knew_ he was awake! It had to be some kind of technique!

She threw wild kicks and punches at Jackie and he stumbled and flopped and lurched and drooped under every one, always responding with a kick or a punch of his own that came so completely out of nowhere that Goku had no defense.

' _Incredible!'_ Krillin thought as he watched in open-mouthed astonishment. He'd heard tales of the unstoppable Sleepwalker Fist style before but he'd assumed they were only legend, mostly because it sounded completely ridiculous. But seeing it in person made it clear that the technique was shockingly effective! Jackie chuckled to himself behind his sleeping eyes.

' _I knew that she wouldn't be able to get around this style,'_ he bragged inwardly. ' _She's still too wild, too headstrong, too- Wait, what?'_ And Jackie was thinking this because the last strike he'd thrown, a mule kick disguised by his stumbling forward, was being directed away, shifting his momentum. Before he had time to react he had spun through the air and slammed onto his face. Goku grinned as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head. "H-how in the?"

"That's the Orin Temple technique!" Krillin gasped as Goku turned at him and gave him a thumbs-up. Jackie bristled as he got back to his feet. Goku grinned at him again.

"Are you awake now?" she teased. Before he could say anything, she changed her stance again before jumping into the air with a knee that nearly caught him under the chin. He blocked it but then had to block an elbow that nearly cracked down on his skull with his other hand. He pushed her away but she bounced right back with a forward kick that caught him in the breadbasket and caused Jackie to double over. She hit Jackie with an elbow so hard it made the old master spin 180 degrees to face away from her. Goku gripped Jackie around the middle and threw him backwards, dropping the disguised hermit on the back of his head with a perfect Suplex. On top of copying Krillin's Orin School, she had also combined Ranfan's Taijutsu and the giant's wrestling despite the fact that she'd barely fought him!

"All right then," Jackie muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. His eyes went wide when his fingers came back bloody. "No more playing around!" This girl might actually be able _to beat him._ Jackie charged forward again and even Goku couldn't keep up this time. He battered her with a series of rapid-fire jabs and hooks that kept her off-balance before he finished with a spinning kick that knocked Goku across the ring to slam against the wall that separated the ring from the fighters' area. She slumped down to the ground and Jackie figured the referee would start counting any second now.

Then Goku stood up. Even more distressing was when she wiped away the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth and _smiled._

"This is fun!" Goku declared as she hopped back into a fighting stance. This was the best fight Goku had ever been in! It wasn't easy but that was what made it so much fun! "My turn!" Goku sprinted at Jackie and fired back with rapid-fire strikes of her own. For every ten he managed to block, three more got through and the girl's blows were like getting hit by a car! Jackie pushed himself into the air with a kiai but then Goku just _jumped straight up_ to meet him! They traded strikes as they descended back to the ground, bobbing and weaving and blocking. Jackie leaped back as soon as they landed to create more distance and threw out a kiai that knocked Goku back. Finally, Jackie realized, he had an opening. She might be strong, fast, tough, and a fighting prodigy but she had _no idea how to control ki._

Goku charged forward again but was hit by another kiai. And another and another. Every time she tried to move, the old man would hit her with another one of those invisible waves. And it hurt! After four or five of them, though, Goku began to see something. A little shimmer in the air or a flicker of light. She could see them coming now! Goku grinned and rolled out of the way of one and then the other. She leaped at the old man and grabbed his wrists.

"Gotcha!" she said triumphantly before headbutting him. Jackie staggered back then fired a kiai without moving a muscle, forcing Goku to break her grip. The setting sun created a dramatic red backdrop as Goku got to her feet again. Goku seemed to charge blindly at Jackie again but his Kiai hit an afterimage. He kicked behind him and hit another afterimage. He let out a soft "tut, tut" as he threw out his elbow to his side in what was surely… another afterimage. Three. _Three?!_ Roshi looked around frantically with his eyes darting in every direction. Where the heck was she hiding?

He stopped himself and took a deep breath. He was smarter than this. He was the Invincible Turtle Hermit! He wasn't going to let some little girl shake him up! He closed his eyes and sensed her ki. She was… right… above him. Roshi looked up just in time to see Goku's feet smashing into his face from above to drive him painfully into the ground. She hopped off his face and landed back in the ring with a giggle as he struggled to his feet.

"How… how did you do that?!" he asked exasperatedly. "How did you get so high in the air I couldn't see you?!" Goku grinned as she rocked back and forth on her feet. Clearly, she was impressed with herself.

"Well, I made all those afterimages 'cause I knew what you were gonna do and then I just jumped as high as I could. And I did one of those invisible thingies so I went even faster! Then I did the same thing to come down fast, too!" she said proudly. Jackie balked.

"You… you couldn't do a kiai!" he said indignantly. Goku grinned.

"Can too!" she said as she threw out a peace sign. And the swing of her arm when she did that sent out a kiai that caught him square in the chest. "You keep saying I can't do things and then I do them," Goku pointed out as Jackie caught his breath. "Do you think I can't do _this?_ Janken!" Jackie smirked. Now she'd played her hand. Of course he'd be prepared for Son Gohan's signature- then Goku hit him in the stomach with Rock when she had called out Paper. That wasn't supposed to happen. Then she hit him in the eyes with Scissors when she called out Rock! _That_ wasn't supposed to happen either! She smacked him across the face with Paper and Jackie staggered back. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at her, half-impressed and half-annoyed. She'd put up a good fight, however this had gone _far enough._

"I'm ending this!" Jackie declared before he thrust out his hands. Goku steeled herself for whatever technique was coming next. She couldn't have anticipated what it was. Lightning crackled up and down his bare arms as he scowled at her. "I used this technique only once, against Son Gohan himself!" Before Goku could ask Jackie how he knew her grandpa, a blast of electricity shot from Jackie's hands and ran up and down Goku's body. Jackie lifted his arms and raised Goku into the air as she shrieked with pain. Her muscles spasmed and her body was on fire.

"Wh-what's he doing?" Krillin asked, his voice trembling with fear. If this technique could hurt _Goku_ like this then it would kill a normal person! Yamcha stared open-mouthed in awe.

"I-it's the Bankoku Bikkuri Shou! I-I've heard about this! He's changed his ki into electrical energy! It's like getting hit by a lightning bolt, over and over!" There was no way Goku could survive this, Yamcha thought. She'd _have_ to give up!

"Surrender!" Jackie called to her over the buzz of the lightning. "You can't escape this!"

"Never!" Goku shouted through defiantly clenched teeth. It hurt so bad, though! But she couldn't give up! She'd come so far! She could get out of this, she had to!

"Goku, just give up!" Bulma pleaded. She didn't want to see Goku get hurt! She didn't think Goku _could_ get hurt! Why couldn't she be okay with coming in second? Why did she have to be so stupid?

"Please!" Krillin begged her, on the verge of tears. She was his best friend! What if she got really hurt by this?

Launch and Puar were already crying.

"I… I'll never… I… I…" Maybe she would have given up. But then Goku opened her eyes and looked at the moon and nothing hurt anymore. She felt that strength flooding through her again. She didn't need to give up. The lightning attack burst apart like a bubble and she landed on her feet as she looked down at Jackie Chun. He was so small. She was stronger than him! She was _stronger than everyone._

"We… we forgot about the moon," Yamcha muttered belatedly. The crowd shrieked in terror as Goku threw back her head and roared with rage.

"Amazing!" Ken cried out obliviously. After all the insane things he'd seen today, why should this be too weird? "What sort of technique is this?!" Bulma rolled her eyes despite her terror.

"It's not a technique, you moron!" she called out before grabbing Puar's tail and tickling Launch under the nose. She sneezed, turned blonde, and immediately knew what to do.

"Alright, everyone clear out!" she shouted abrasively as she lifted two uzis high above her head and fired them into the air. Unsurprisingly, this made the crowd listen to her and they bolted for the exit. Where did she even get those guns? Jackie was… surprised.

' _Certainly not the worst fight I've ever been in,'_ Jackie thought to himself as he looked up at the monstrous monkey girl. ' _But probably the strangest.'_ He ran up her leg and delivered a series of punches to Goku's stomach that warranted him nothing more than a snarl of derision. He dropped down and jumped onto her tail, running along that and up her back to punch her in the ear. Goku's red eyes shone with murder as she lifted up a hand and swatted him to the ground. A burst of kiai was the only thing that kept his bones from making a terrible crunch. Goku roared and drew back a fist to punch the old man. "Oh no you don't!" Jackie declared before forcing himself to MAX POWER and meeting her punch with one of his own. Even in his muscular form, she was pushing him back with just one enormous fist! Jackie jumped onto her fist and launched himself off of it to fly at her face with both fists out. As she opened her mouth, he could see a bright light coming from deep inside. Could she _breathe fire?!_ Jackie decided there was no reason to find out and punched her right in the snout, disorienting her before he followed up with a kick under the chin that snapped her jaw shut.

As Jackie touched the ground, however, he saw that these attacks were more annoying than they were painful. It was like her strength had increased tenfold! And with the strain this maxed-out form put on his body, he only had one shot left. She had to be put down before she hurt anyone else. As Jackie cupped his hands to his side, however, he heard Yamcha's cry over the screams of the crowd.

"Her tail!" Yamcha screamed at him, "Her tail! You don't have to kill her! Just cut off the tail!" Jackie blinked. That didn't make much sense to him but he didn't have a lot of options. Jackie watched Goku raise a foot to crush him and saw his opening.

"Kame…" Jackie dropped down and rolled under the stomp, "Hame…" He popped to his feet and stood directly beneath Goku's tail and thrust up his hands, "Ha!" The brilliant beam of light lanced high into the night sky and vaporized Goku's tail into ash. There was a soft "Pop!" and Goku hit the ground at her normal size again.

"What an astounding turn of events!" Ken declared as the audience returned to their seats with the giant monster gone, "Truly, we have never witnessed anything like this in the history of the Tenkaichi Budoukai! What strength! What skill! What courage! What drama!" Jackie glowered at him as his muscles deflated.

"Shouldn't you be counting?!" Jackie asked in agitation. She had to have been out for ten seconds by now!

"O-oh, right!" Ken admitted bashfully but before he got to seven, Goku was back on her feet. Jackie rolled his eyes. Useless dang ring announcer.

"Wh-what happened? Did I lose?" she asked in a daze before she looked over her shoulder. "Not again!" she cried in dismay at her missing tail. It had just grown back!

"I'll tell you what happened later, Goku!" Bulma shouted from the sidelines, "The fight isn't over, kick his butt!" Goku nodded with a determined look on her face as she got back into her fighting stance and the crowd was reduced to peals of laughter.

"G-Goku, here!" Krillin shouted as he threw his shirt and pants at her without looking. Now Goku was _really_ confused. What happened to _her_ clothes? Krillin's face was bright red and he couldn't open his eyes until Yamcha poked him on the shoulder.

"You can look now, slugger," Yamcha told him teasingly. Krillin frowned at that but looked back at the fight. Jackie was gasping for breath after the fight with the giant monkey and his maxed-out form's exertion but Goku wasn't faring much better between the lightning attack and losing her tail. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to end right here.

"You can't beat this!" Jackie declared as he leaped at her with a flying kick. He only hoped she'd take the bait.

"Watch me!" Goku retorted as she copied his motion exactly. They sailed through the air before their feet crashed into each other's chins. Both fighters dropped to the ground like birds that been shot out of the sky.

"Nine… t-ten!" Ken counted off as neither fighter stirred. This was amazing! There hadn't been a draw in the history of the Tenkaichi Budoukai! "P-please wait while the officials consult the rules!" They gathered around an enormous old book and deliberated amongst themselves before whispering instructions to Ken. "According to the rules, the winner of the tournament is the first person to get to their feet and say 'I am the Champion!'" That was… oddly specific. Eventually, Goku moved. It was slow and painful. Her whole body was sore. All she wanted to do was take a nap! But that would have to wait. First, she had to win.

"I…" she said slowly. It hurt even to talk but she had to press forward, "I am…" she threw back her head and screamed with all her might, "I am the champio-" but her strength failed her and Goku collapsed onto her face. Defeated by a single syllable. Then it was Jackie's turn. He looked down at his student with pride as she tried to push herself up even though she had no strength left to move a single muscle.

"I…" Jackie said before he took a deep breath and broke into a grin. He had to put on a show despite the pain. "I am the champion!" he crowed victoriously. He threw his fists into the air as the crowd cheered, "I am the champion! I am the champion!" Then he collapsed onto his backside in exhaustion. "I'm sorry I doubted you," he told Goku with a smile, "You've done your master proud today." She smiled back at him even if she couldn't really move. Jackie- no, Roshi, knew that she would surpass him. Without a doubt. But for today, he was the champion.


	9. Aftermath and Interlude

Chapter Nine

Aftermath and Interlude. A Chromatic Threat on the Horizon!

To the surprise of the fans in attendance, Jackie Chun did not stick around for an interview. Instead, he took his cheque and ran. Jackie had a perfectly good reason for this, though: He had to pull off his wig and put his suit and shades back on. When he found Goku and the gang, she was still recovering and needed to lean on Krillin a little bit for support. Krillin let her lean against Yamcha's leg while he ran to put on his suit.

"I'm sorry I couldn't win," Goku told Roshi bashfully. He smiled and patted her affectionately on the head like Grandpa used to do. That made her feel a little better.

"Don't feel bad," Roshi told her. "And this goes for the both of you," he added when Krillin returned. "You gave your absolute best. I couldn't ask for better students." He gave a playful shrug, "So you lost. Nobody cheated. You weren't sick. They were just better today. So you've gotta be better next time!" He gave them each a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, "And as a reward for your hard work, I'm treating you to dinner!" He looked up at Yamcha, Bulma, Puar and Launch. "All of you, I suppose…" he added somewhat awkwardly. Not that he had any reason to worry. How much could they eat?

OoOoOoO

"And your total," said the bewildered cashier, "comes to… to four hundred seventy thousand zeni." Roshi's jaw dropped in dismay. Stacks of empty dishes as tall as Yamcha covered the table and practically obscured Goku from view.

"But… but that's almost all my prize money!" Roshi blurted out. He'd been planning on getting a big fancy TV or cable or something to spice up his life. A hovercar so he could leave the island once in awhile. Something. Not anymore. He sighed and handed over the cheque as Bulma leaned over his shoulder with a smirk.

"Prize money from what, I wonder?" she asked suspiciously. She cocked her eyebrow and added a " _Hmmm?"_ Roshi pulled nervously at his collar under Bulma's scrutinizing gaze.

"Oh, well, y'know…" he muttered before he swallowed. "Gambling. Horse races. Things you think an old man like me does." Bulma squinted at him before shrugging and backing away. While they'd been talking, Goku had already run off and got her Dragon Radar and Power Pole.

"Where are you going?" Krillin asked her in confusion. "We've gotta go back to training!" Goku smiled and shook her head.

"Nah," Goku told him in her quickly-becoming-signature bluntness, "It's been more than a year. I'm gonna go find my Grandpa's Four Star Ball! I'll come back and train after I find it." She turned her head up to the sky. "Nimbus!" The bright yellow cloud zipped down from the sky and Goku hopped onto it with a grin. "Bye everyone!" she said cheerfully and flew away as they all waved back awkwardly. After a few seconds of silence, Krillin spoke up.

"So, when is our flight to head back to the island?" he asked Roshi who peered over his sunglasses as he spoke.

"Who said anything about flying? You wanna get stronger by next year, you're _swimmin'_ back!" Krillin's eyes popped out of his head and he swallowed nervously.

"Wh-wh-what?!" he asked incredulously. The old man didn't really _mean_ that, did he? He yelped and ducked under a swipe from Roshi's staff.

"You heard me! Into the water! Let's go!" Krillin gave a cry of distress as Roshi chased after him while the others laughed.

OoOoOoO

"Hello," Giran said as he adjusted his tie. He'd finally started wearing clothes. He was a person, not a monster. No reason not to be civilized. "And welcome to Giran's Reform Club for Monsters." He looked around the room at others like him. Wolfmen, foxmen, dinosaur people, and others of his own race that he'd brought out of the desert. "To start, we will go around the room and introduce ourselves and go over some of the problems we face." He cleared his throat and fluttered his wings. "I am Giran. Because I am a dragon man, people think I will eat them." ' _Thank you, Krillin,'_ Giran thought, ' _Thank you for making me confront my problems.'_

OoOoOoO

Although Namu had brought plenty of water for his village, he knew this was only a temporary solution. He had embarked on a several-day journey to find out just what was blocking the river. The river was blocked up with rocks glued together with what appeared to be Giran's strange gum. Apparently, this was some last cruel prank before Krillin… "knocked some sense into him" was the expression? Namu had struck the dam and pulled at the gum but the wall was immovable. He frowned at the dam. He did not come this far to fail his village now. Once again, he breathed his frustration in and out as he had at the world tournament. He dropped to a low stance and brought his hands to his side. He only hoped this would work.

"Kame… hame…" Namu thrust his palms out but the last word was not a powerful cry or a burst of train. Rather, it was a simple declaration. "Ha!"

OoOoOoO

Roshi was sitting by the shore of the island the house had been moved to for training on a beach chair and working his way through the stack of magazines that Krillin had presented him with when he heard a faint whirring noise from over his head. The sound grew louder and eventually Roshi looked up to see a bright yellow flying car hovering just over Kame House. A few moments later, he heard the hatch open up and saw Yamcha leap out of the car with a duffle bag over one shoulder. He flipped through the air and landed in a crouch on the sand before standing up straight as Puar floated down after him like an open umbrella.

"Call me when your dad fixes the gravity chamber!" he called over his shoulder with a grin. The car honked twice and flew away. Evidently, it was being driven by Bulma. Yamcha turned to Muten Roshi and grinned before bowing. "Hello, Turtle Hermit," he said as respectfully as he could manage being, well, Yamcha, "I'm here for training." Roshi nodded and tossed away the magazine. He got up off the chair and poked Yamcha with his staff a few times.

"All right," he said as he started to turn towards the house. "Lemme get your turtle shell." Yamcha grinned and waved a hand dismissively.

"Nah," he said cockily, "I don't need any of that. I was training while carrying up to three times my own body weight! Let's skip that part." Roshi peered skeptically over his glasses at the arrogant young man.

"Oh, have you?" he asked suspiciously before entering the house. He came back out a minute later with a suitcase. He popped it open and inside was what appeared to be just another regular purple shell. Yamcha started to lift it out of the case and was shocked by how heavy it was. With a grunt of exertion, he slung it over onto his back. It was like the gravity chamber all over again!

"How did you even find turtle shells this heavy?" Yamcha asked incredulously. Roshi gave a shrug and smirked.

"Sister's a witch," he said casually before swinging his staff at Yamcha who barely dodged it. "Now start runnin'! I want fifty laps around this whole dang island!" Yamcha barely had time to bow in acknowledgment before Roshi swung again. "That means move!" Yamcha yelped as Roshi chased him around the island.

OoOoOoO

Elsewhere on the island, Krillin was sparring with Blonde Launch. Since returning from the tournament, Krillin found that training by himself wasn't as fun as when he'd been sparring with Goku. Remembering how Blonde Launch often complained about not learning the Turtle School way herself, Krillin suggested that Launch could learn a little bit and spar with him to help him along in his training. Roshi had been against the idea at first but Launch eventually convinced him. With bullets.

Krillin pushed Launch back with a rapid-fire series of kicks from the air. Although Launch was a fast learner, Krillin still had over a year of training to her week. He sent her sprawling with a downward punch and landed on his feet with his hands cupped to his side.

' _This time it has to work!'_ He thought to himself. "Ka… me… ha… me…" he could feel it building in his hands this time! "Ha!" He thrust out his palms and there was a flash of blue light that… flickered and faded away. "Hameha!" he insisted, however there was still no light. "Ha!" This time Launch kneed him in the face while he was distracted.

"I dunno why you keep doin' that when it doesn't work," she told him brusquely before kicking him up into the air while he was still dazed and swinging a wild haymaker at his head. Krillin dodged and landed on his feet to press the attack again. He'd get it right. He _had_ to. Goku was stronger than him to begin with and he _had_ to catch up!

OoOoOoO

Private Vermillion grumbled and groused as he and Private Chartreuse searched through the desert scrublands with grimaces as they groused to each other.

"This is ridiculous," Vermillion muttered as he hacked apart a bushel of cacti to look for the object. "How are we supposed to find something so small just blindly looking like this?" Chartreuse shrugged as he broke apart a pile of rocks with a pickaxe to see if the object was somehow underneath them.

"Hell if I know," he said as he chipped away. "Do we even know what these things look like?" Then a voice spoke that made the blood in their veins run cold despite the desert sun.

"They are small, orange spheres about the size of a person's fist with anywhere between one and seven red stars upon it," said a man in a tone of cold authority. He wore a red neckerchief and a dark blue longcoat. His brown boots dug into the ground as he walked closer towards them. "And that is all you need to know." There was a flash of light every time he spoke. It was the sunlight glinting off his literal silver tongue. No one quite knew where he'd gotten it but they all found it extremely unnerving. He pushed aside the left half of his coat to show the two privates his sidearm. "And the longer you two decide to spend talking rather than working, the more expendable you become. Is that clear?" They nodded nervously and frantically before he turned away. "I have to report to the Commander and make a cup of coffee. Do either of you want anything?" Chartreuse opened his mouth to speak and Colonel Silver drew his gun and shot between the man's feet in the blink of an eye. "That was rhetorical. I don't actually care. Work!" They broke out into a sweat and then went back to work at a terrified pace as Silver stepped into his tent.

A few seconds later, a little girl in an orange gi dropped out of the sky and landed right in front of them.

OoOoOoO

"Yes, Commander Red," General Silver agreed into a microphone before blowing steam off the top of his coffee. The general's rantings reverberated into the headpiece he had over one ear and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. "Yes, Commander. I will work my squad doubly hard. Though perhaps if we had a more specific location than 'somewhere'-" he winced as the Commander shrieked into his ear. "I'm sorry sir. I meant no insubordination, I was only-" he heard sounds of struggle outside and was thankful for the break in conversation. "I am sorry, Commander, but I have to go!" He flicked a switch and cut Commander Red off before running outside, coffee in one hand. "What the hell is all this-" he was dumbstruck by what he saw when he got outside, "... racket?" His men were incapacitated and there were huge chunks missing from the land. Vermillion pointed into the sky with a trembling finger.

"D-Dragon Ball!" he wheezed, "Sh-she has the Dragon Ball!" Silver looked up into the sky to see a yellow cloud almost directly above him a few hundred feet in the air. He reached for his pistol and then thought better of it, instead opening his capsule that held a bazooka. He took aim and fired, the yellow cloud bursting apart. When he saw the small orange speck falling out of the sky, he expected to see the girl's corpse hit the ground and then to pluck the Dragon Ball from her dead body. What he hadn't expected was for the girl to _still be alive_ and to _punch him in the face_ as she came down.

"You killed my cloud!" she shouted angrily as she landed on her feet in front of him. She had a staff strapped to her back and some sort of weird… watch… thing in her hand.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Silver asked incredulously with his voice muffled by his hands over his nose. Instead of giving him an answer, she kicked him so hard in the chest that he doubled over in pain and was gasping for breath.

"Big jerk!" she muttered before going into his tent. When she came back, she was holding a capsule in her hand. "So I'm taking one of your plane capsules!" She threw it on the ground and a plane appeared in the smoke with one of their pilot robots in the front seat. She climbed in the back seat as the robot spun its head around to speak to her.

"Hello!" It said in a chipper voice. "Where would you like to go?" The girl held out her watch-thingy to it. "Allow me to plug that into my console!" It took the watch-thingy in one claw and inserted into the main console. In a fit of desperate rage, Colonel Silver emptied his clip into the side of the girl's head. But _that didn't hurt her. Nothing happened!_ "Please put on your seatbelt!" The robot chirped before they flew away. Silver groaned and crawled back to his tent. The Commander needed to know about this.


	10. A Twist in the Plot

Chapter Ten

A Twist in the Plot

Far to the north, where the land is constantly covered in snow, a red-headed young girl stood stock still in the middle of a snowstorm. Her eyes were closed in concentration as she held her stance and focused on the area around her. She had to focus past the freezing cold, past the roar of the blizzard that reduced visibility to near zero, and past the nigh-constant ache caused by her harsh training. She had to free her mind just as her master had instructed and put all of her focus into her surroundings.

She heard- or maybe felt- something behind and to her right. The instant she registered the presence, she went into motion. She leaned forward slightly and was pleased to feel the kick that was aimed at her head do nothing more than slightly tug at the hood of her parka. She smoothly transitioned from that to a leg sweep aimed at where the kick came from but scowled when she didn't feel it connect.

Aware of the next attack, the girl quickly stood up and turned to the side, letting the knifehand strike aimed at her head pass harmlessly in front of her face. The strike quickly turned into another knifehand strike aimed at her neck but a quick step to her right and a quarter-turn to her left made it so the fingertips only ghosted across the skin of her throat.

Sensing an opening, the girl went on the offensive with a palm strike aimed at the solar plexus. When the attack was sidestepped, she turned it into a backfist aimed at a floating rib but that, too, was dodged. She then quickly shifted her weight to her left leg and twisted to the right at the waist in order to dodge the palm strike aimed at the bridge of her nose. While the arm was still fully extended, she launched a spear hand strike aimed at the pressure point in the crook of the elbow. She came close to hitting but the arm moved out of the way at the last second. Before she could pull her own arm back, she felt the upper arm of her jacket be grabbed as was yanked forward. A palm strike to her jaw turned her around, a knee to her stomach folded her in half, and a hammerfist strike to the back of her head knocked her out and into the snow.

A few seconds later, she groaned and gingerly rose to her feet. The blizzard had stopped almost as abruptly as it began so she looked around until she found her opponent.

"Very good, Suno," her master said as she rubbed the back of her head. "You lasted much longer than last time." Her master was old- easily the oldest person in the village- but he was just as fit as he had always been. The only thing that had stopped the Red Ribbon Army from conscripting him was the fact that he was missing an arm.

"Not long enough," Suno said bitterly, wincing when her fingers brushed over particularly sore spot.

"Patience, child. The Odori style takes many years to master and you've already exceeded my expectations. Now come, that is enough for today. Let us return to my house and eat."

Suno politely shook her head, "I can't right now, Master. I need to take care of something first." Her master nodded, already knowing what she needed to do, and took his leave.

Once she was alone, Suno sighed deeply before heading out. Her master was right. She was much stronger now than she was five months ago but it wasn't enough. As it was, there was no way she take on the Red Ribbon Army and free her village. She wasn't even sure if was strong enough to save herself if it came down to it. She hated feeling helpless but the only thing she could do was take advantage of her youth and push herself as hard as she could. She had to save her beloved village and do one other thing.

A bit to the south of the village, Suno finally reached her destination. Before her was a cross planted firmly in the ground, a simple necklace hanging on it. Suno slowly approached it and knelt before it. "Hey dad. It's me again," she began, her voice laced with both fondness and sorrow. "I just finished training with Master Frost. He says I'm doing better than he expected."

It had been over a year since the Red Ribbon Army arrived in Jingle Village for reasons unknown. Whatever the reason, they quickly took over the village and slowly started "drafting" the men into their army. The people had tried to resist at first but the Army wasn't something some small village could fight. Anyone who tried to lead a rebellion was quickly turned into an example and publicly executed. Her father had been one of the first.

Shortly thereafter, going against the wishes of her mother, Suno sought the aid of Frost who was known as a master of a style of martial artes native to that region. It had taken her nearly a week of constant pestering but he eventually caved and promised to teach her but only after she swore to not do anything reckless. That had been a very easy promise for her to make. No matter what, no matter how badly she wanted to save her village and avenge her father, she couldn't allow herself to die to the Red Ribbon Army.

Suno's training had started out very simple- learning the basic forms, the philosophy, improving her balance and flexibility, etcetera- but everything changed about six months ago. Something called a Dragon Ball has apparently appeared nearby and the Red Ribbon Army wanted it more than anything else. They forced every able man in the village to contribute to the search and even held the village chief hostage. It was then that Suno finally took her training seriously and poured all of her effort into it.

For nearly an hour, Suno talked to her father's grave, only stopping when her ears started to burn. She was about to go home when something in the sky caught her attention. It looked like a plane of some sort. It was heading in her general direction but there wasn't a landing strip anywhere in her village. There might have been one at Muscle Tower but that was quite a ways away. As she watched it, she noticed it started to wobble before quickly plummeting. Without a second thought, she took off towards where the plane crashed and hoped that she could make it in time to save whoever was in there.

OoOoOoO

Suno tightened the hood of her parka as she carried the literally frozen girl back to her house. The snow had picked up again by the time she reached the crash site where she had found a strange girl with spiky hair and weird orange clothing. The plane bore the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army but Suno barely even registered it as she picked her up and started heading back to her house as fast as she could.

By the time Suno got home, she was almost frozen as well. Between her training, talking to her father, and rescuing the girl; her fingers didn't want to work right and her parka was barely doing her any good. If her master hadn't insisted that she train when the weather was harsh, she doubted that she would have made it back. As it was, it took a solid minute of fumbling with her key before she managed to get the door open.

"Suno! There are you are! Where have you been?! I've been worried si-" Suno's mother started as soon she got in the door but stopped when she saw the girl she was carrying. Her mother was instantly upon them as she picked up the strange girl and helped Suno with the buttons and straps of her parka.

In the matter of minutes, both of them were huddling near the fire and covered with several layers of blankets. Suno stared into the fire and took sips from the mug of hot cocoa cradled in her hands as she listened to the light snoring of the strange girl in the chair next to her.

"Who is she?" Suno's mother asked as she sat down nearby.

"I don't know. I saw her plane crash when I was talking to dad. She was already frozen when I got to her."

"Was there anyone else there?"

Suno shook her head, "Just some robot that I think was piloting it."

"That poor darling. Her parents must be worried sick. I wonder where she came from."

Almost as if on cue, the strange girl started moaning before slowly sitting up, rubbing at her eyes. "Where am I?" she asked groggily.

Suno's mom was instantly on her feet, "Oh, good, you're awake! You're in Jingle Village, dear."

"Jingle Village?" she looked really confused for a moment before her face cleared up. "Oh! Now I remember! That robot died! I hope the Dragon Radar's okay. Bulma will be really mad if I broke it."

Suno and her mom exchanged a look before her mom spoke up, "So, dearie, what's your name?"

The strange girl beamed at the and hopped off the chair, "I'm Son Goku! Who are you two?"

"I'm Yuki and this is my daughter, Suno. Do you know where your parents are, Goku?"

"I don't have any! Well, I had my Grandpa Gohan but he died a while ago."

"So you're all on your own? You poor dear. Wh-"

Goku interrupted her with an annoyed look, "Stop calling me that. My name's Goku, not dear."

"R-right. Well, Goku, what are you doing here?"

Goku smiled again, "I'm looking for my grandpa's Dragon Ball!"

Every muscle in Suno's body tensed as her mother's smile became forced, "T-the Dragon Balls? Are you with the Red Ribbon Army then?"

"Who? Oh! You mean those jerks on TV? No way! I'm just looking for my grandpa's Four Star Ball. He gave it to me before he died."

The atmosphere in the room slowly relaxed but Suno remained ready to move at any moment. "Oh," Yuki said. "Well, I'm sorry, Goku, but I don't think you'll be able to find the Dragon Ball here. The Red Ribbon Army is all over the place. Even if you managed to find it before they did, you wouldn't be able to leave with it."

Oddly enough, Goku looked excited, "Huh? The Red Ribbon Army's here? Great! Now I can beat them up!"

Suno and Yuki's jaws dropped as they stared incredulously at Goku. Yuki eventually composed herself enough to speak, "Uh, G-Goku, I don't think you can do that…."

Goku got an oddly annoyed look on her face, "Yes I can! I trained under Master Roshi and took second place in the Tenkaichi Budoukai!"

It was Suno's turn to speak up, "Wait, you trained under the Turtle Hermit?" Now that she got a good look at her, Goku's shirt did have a character that read "Turtle"...

"Yep! That's where I got this gi from!"

"Well, even if that's true," Yuki began, "I really don't think you can take on an entire army. They've got guns and tanks and everything!"

Goku looked annoyed again, "Why do people keep saying I can't do things? I can too beat them! Their guns don't hurt me anyway."

Suno and Yuki exchanged another look. Just what planet did this girl come from anyway? "Well, be that as it may, why don't you at least stay here for the night? Between the blizzard and the cold, there's no way you'll be able to do anything."

"Well… okay! Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving!"

OoOoOoO

Later that evening, after they finished dinner, Goku and Suno were once again sitting in front of the fireplace. "So… Goku… Did you really train with Muten Roshi?" While Suno didn't know a whole lot about martial artes outside of her own style, even she knew of the Invincible Old Master and her own master had talked about the Turtle Hermit's legends often.

"Uh huh! I just left him not too long ago! Once I get my grandpa's Dragon Ball, I plan to go back and train with him some more for the next Budoukai!"

"Can… can you really defeat the Red Ribbon Army?"

"Of course I can! I don't know what they want the Dragon Balls for but if they're hurting people then I need to stop them!"

Suno was silent for a moment, "Do- do you think I can go with you? I've been training really hard under my own master and I really want to save my village! If you really were trained by the Turtle Hermit then this may be my only chance!" She kept her voice down so that her mother wouldn't overhear. She never even really approved of her learning martial artes in the first place.

Goku smiled and swayed from side to side, "Sure! I could always use another friend!" She then made a face and grabbed her stomach, "Hey, where's your bathroom?"

"Oh, uh, over there."

"Thanks!" As Goku rushed off, Suno sunk into her chair. This whole thing sounded stupid. Was she really going to risk her life on some girl claiming to be the student of the Turtle Hermit? And then there was what she said about guns not hurting her. That was just beyond stupid but she couldn't help but want to believe her. If Goku was telling the truth then the village was going to be saved with or without her. It would be much safer to just stay home and let Goku go alone but….

Suno's musings were cut off when the door was busted open. "Alright, everyone out here!" a dog-man wearing a Red Ribbon Army uniform shouted. Yuki quickly came out of the kitchen while Suno sprung to her feet but both froze when he and his human partner pointed their guns at them. "A little girl with spiky hair and wearing orange clothing was seen being taken into the village! She is considered hostile and an enemy of the Red Ribbon Army! Anyone harboring her will be considered an enemy and a conspirator!" Suno nervously looked past the dog-man and saw a group of ten or fifteen other Red Ribbon Army soldiers alongside a tank. How dangerous could Goku possibly be?

The Red Ribbon Army men herded Suno and her mother out of their house with guns to their backs. Suno saw that they had taken everyone in the village out of their homes. Everyone looked nervous and afraid. Had she made a mistake in bringing Goku here?

"Alright," the dog-man said as he swept his gun back and forth over the crowd. "This is your only chance. If you cough up the location of the girl now, whoever speaks will be rewarded. If not? I'm gonna start counting to ten and every time I reach ten, someone will die until I get an answer." Suno's eyes widened. She had to tell them where Goku was.

Before Suno could even open her mouth, the dog-man turned his head in the direction of her house. His ears bobbed and twitched as he listened to something. He frowned and narrowed his eyes as he squeezed his machine gun in gloved fists.

"Someone go check that out!" Two soldiers broke off from the main group and walked towards her house and through the open door. Suno swallowed when, of all things, she heard a toilet flush which was followed by the deafening sound of machine gun fire. As the last echoes of the gunshots swept over the snowy plains, Suno knew, with utter certainty, that Goku was dead. "Now then," the dog man began to say but he was cut off by an almighty "Crack!" as one of the soldiers was sent flying out of Suno's house while being followed swiftly by Suno's bathroom door. Seconds later, the second soldier followed out as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, digging a deep trench in the snow with his body when he landed. In the stunned silence that followed, Goku walked out of Suno's house. There were holes in her shirt but she was otherwise undamaged. She was, however, very, very angry.

"Hey!" she shouted to the dog-man as she marched over to the rest of the Red Ribbon soldiers. "You're those Red Ribbon Army jerks I've seen on TV, right?" The soldiers all nodded dumbly in unison. "What the heck are you doing with these people?" The dog man sneered as he pointed his gun at her.

"These people were being questioned about harboring an enemy of the Red Ribbon Army!" he snapped. Goku took a fighting stance as the soldiers formed a circle around her.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "And who's that?" The dog man blinked and cocked his head to the side.

"Y… you," he said awkwardly but, before he could say another word, she was right in front of him with her fist in his chest. He let out an agonized gasp as the air was forced out of his lungs and collapsed into the snow. Suno hadn't even seen Goku move. The soldiers raised their weapons to fire at her but she sent down a kiai wave into the snow which sent up white powder in all directions to distract them.

Then she was everywhere at once.

An elbow to the small of the back, a kick to the side of the head, a sharp jab to the sternum. Before the snow had even finished falling, the soldiers were dropping like flies into unconscious heaps on the ground. Suno was so distracted by this impossible display of speed and power that she barely noticed the tank turning its gun to face Goku.

"Goku! Watch out!" she shouted. Even if the other girl was bulletproof, she'd still be killed by a tank shell! No one was that tough! Goku spun around just as the tank fired at her and leaped into the air to meet the shell head-on. Suno was sure that she was about to watch someone die when Goku threw out a high kick that sent the shell hurtling end over end and high into the air where it exploded harmlessly. Goku landed in front of the tank and cupped her hands to her side.

"Kamehameha!" The white beam of light smashed through the tank effortlessly and caused a tremendous explosion. The tank burst apart into fire and shrapnel that created a crater that was quickly filled by the melted snow from the heat of Goku's Kamehameha. She turned to Suno and her mother and grinned. "Toldja I could do it!" she said cheerfully.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno sat together in Suno's room on the side of her bed. After Goku's amazing display, the villagers were torn between shock, adoration, and fear. This was only worsened when Goku boldly declared that she was doing to defeat the Red Ribbon Army. It had seemed like such an impossible task before but now, after seeing Goku's strength, Suno and the villagers started feeling something they hadn't in a long time: Hope.

"So we're going to this Muscle Tower place tomorrow, right?" Goku asked as she kicked her legs back and forth.

"Yeah. That's where General White and the village chief are. If we defeat General White and free the chief, we can probably get rid of the rest of the soldiers on our own."

"Alright! We'll do that! Say, you said you've been training, right? What kind of martial arte do you use?"

"Um… I practice the Odori style of martial artes. My master said that it's been passed down this village for generations."

Goku went all starry-eyed, "Oooooh, cool! Do you think you can show me‽"

Suno looked around her room. It was a little cramped- far too small to fully demonstrate the kata- but it should be large enough for the basics. "Alright."

Suno hopped off her bed and closed her eyes. She had never actually practiced her martial artes technique in front of anyone other than her master before so she was a little embarrassed but she pushed that from her mind. She pushed out her worries, her fears, her embarrassment, everything and focused solely on her surroundings. She could sense Goku's presence next to her and it took all of her willpower to not break her concentration. Master Frost's presence was like a wood fire whenever she sensed and the few times she had practiced in her room, her mother's was like the flame of a candle but Goku's was different. Goku's was like a bonfire that was just shy of a raging inferno. She didn't understand what caused the difference but she started to understand just how powerful Goku was.

For the next couple of minutes, Suno silently went through her basic kata. She couldn't get too fancy and it left out several of the intricacies of her style but it was a good demonstration of the basics. All throughout, she was dimly aware of Goku's focus on her. It was like a physical weight had been placed on her shoulders and it made keeping her focus even harder but she managed. After she finished with what flourish she could manage, she slowly released a breath and opened her eyes.

"That was so cool!" Goku said, clapping her hands. "I saw a lot of fighting styles at the Budoukai but I've never seen anything like that before! It was like you were dancing!"

Suno blushed slightly, not used to such praise, "Well, 'Odori' does mean 'dance.' I won't slow you down when we attack Muscle Tower, will I?"

"Nah! You'll do great! Those guys will be too busy watching you move to do anything!"

Suno smiled happily before glancing at the clock, "Well, we should go to bed. We'll need to get up early if we want to do this."

OoOoOoO

Earlier that afternoon, at the Red Ribbon Army headquarters, Commander Red nodded and puffed on his cigar as Colonel Silver gave his frantic, exasperated report. Something about a little girl with super strength that stole a Dragon Ball and one of their planes. He sighed as he rubbed his forehead, his cybernetic eye flittering in the socket as it scanned around the room.

"Thank you for your service, Colonel Silver," Commander Red said calmly. "You've done well." On the other end of the line, Silver's blood ran cold. Those were the words no Red Ribbon soldier ever wanted to hear. It activated a trigger in the red badge on his jacket, causing it to flash bright red and grow searing hot, burning into his skin and down into his heart. Commander Red smirked to himself as he heard the other man's dying shrieks and hung up the phone. "Officer Black?" he inquired as he turned his chair to look at the large, dark-skinned gentleman by his side, his most trusted advisor and right-hand man. "Who is our most decorated Lieutenant Colonel?" Officer Black picked up the rolodex off of Commander Red's desk and flipped through it.

"That would be Lieutenant Colonel Fuschia, sir," he said in a measured tone that bordered on monotone. Commander Red nodded and grabbed at the lapels of his suit, posturing and trying to look authoritative.

"Then notify Fuschia that he's been promoted."

"She, sir," Officer Black corrected.

Commander Red blinked. "Oh, really?" he shrugged. "I was trying not to be presumptuous. Anyway, yes, notify her. And send a message to General White to keep an eye out for this little girl. She can't be that difficult, right? Ten, fifteen soldiers. A tank. That'll get her out of our hair." Officer Black nodded and left to do his duties. "Secretary Periwinkle!" Commander Red barked into a microphone as he pushed a button on his desk. Maybe her name was Denise when he'd hired her? "Bring me a coffee. Decaf. You know what Doctor Cadmium is always saying about my heart rate." He sighed and leaned back in his chair as his robotic eye darted erratically around the room, accounting for every mote of dust in the air and every speck of dirt on the ground. He hoped Gero would get around to fine-tuning this eye so that it wasn't so… focused. "Super girl…" he muttered to himself, stroking his mustache. Maybe this was one of those aliens the scientist had told him about before he'd decided to form the Red Ribbon Army.


	11. Attack on Muscle Tower!

Chapter Eleven

Attack on Muscle Tower!

Goku and Suno ran through a snowy field at full speed. It had been about an hour since they left Jingle Village and now Muscle Tower was within their sights. Today was going to be the day, Suno thought. Today they were going to liberate her village and it would be their first step towards defeating the Red Ribbon Army.

"Stay behind me!" Goku yelled as they got closer to the tower. She drew her staff from the sheath on her back as the soldiers and turrets took aim. A storm of bullets were sent flying their way but they didn't slow down as Goku began twirling her staff at supernatural speeds, deflecting all of the bullets that would have hit them.

Once there was a break in the gunfire, Goku pulled her staff to her side and shouted, "Power Pole extended!" Much to Suno's astonishment, Goku's staff grew in size, easily becoming five times it original length. With a mighty yell, Goku swung her staff and took out all of the soldiers standing guard at the entrance. Even Suno had to slow her pace slightly so as not to be hit by the backswing. "Power Pole retract!"

Goku quickly hopped to the side, Suno not even half a step behind, as the ground in front of her exploded in cannon fire. "Extend!" The Power Pole shot forward and caught one of the tanks below the barrel. With another shout, Goku raised her staff and flipped the tank into the side of the tower. The other tank fired off another round and it was Suno's time to act.

What she was about to do should certainly count as suicidal. She was nowhere near as strong as Goku and the only way this could end was with her getting blown up. However, Suno couldn't be sure that Goku would be able to react in time given her preoccupation and she wasn't sure if the strange girl would be able to survive a direct hit from a cannon.

Against all logic, Suno lept forward and kicked the cannon shell out of the way. Much to her surprise, this actually worked and her foot only tingled a bit. As she landed, Goku jumped in front of her and blocked the incoming gunfire from the turrets before pressing on.

As they neared the tower, Suno wrapped her arms around Goku's waist at her command before Goku used her staff to pole vault onto one of the tower's higher levels. No longer being attacked, they took this time to catch their breath. They had been there for only a few seconds when they heard a voice over the speakers.

"I see you, little lambs," a deep, male voice said. "You've made quite the little mess, haven't you? Assaulting my men, stealing from my comrades," the booming voice laughed, carried across the snowy fields as Suno and Goku glared up the tower. "You have made a mistake, little lambs. For now, you have walked to the den of the wolf and are all prepared to climb into his jaws!" He laughed again and Goku balled her fists. She hated being laughed at. "So what is it that is so worth dying for, eh?"

"We're here to get back the village chief, you jerk!" Suno shouted, surprised by her own boldness. The man laughed again.

"Ah, so it is the chief you want? That's fine. Come right in, come and get him!" He put on a mocking, melodramatic voice, "He hasn't eaten in a few days! He's sick and weak! He needs your help!" Then he laughed again, almost hysterical, "All you have to do is climb the stairs up here to the top of the tower and he's all yours. Surely such brave little lambs can climb some stairs, nyet?" He laughed again as the heavy metal doors slowly creaked open.

As soon as the doors opened, Suno and Goku sprang into action. The guards inside rose to their feet as quickly as they could but they may as well have been moving in slow motion for the good it did them. In a flash, Goku kicked one into a wall, dug her fist into one's stomach, and launched a third into the ceiling as Suno got to work. The first guard she targeted started to draw his gun but was far too slow. She nailed him in his solar plexus with a palm strike before sending a rising palm strike to the underside of his jaw and a roundhouse kick to his temple to put him out.

Immediately upon landing, Suno launched herself forward and bounded off the guard's stomach as another one fired at where she had be. She flip in the air and sent the heel of her foot crashing into the top of his head. Once on the ground, she sent a palm strike at the bridge of his nose, breaking it, then a spear hand strike at his throat, taking him out.

"Great job, Suno!" Goku said now that the area was clear.

Suno blushed as she caught her breath, "Not really. You're much better than I am."

Goku put her arms behind her head and smiled at her, "Don't worry about it! You'll get better! Man, it's really hot in here. Let's get out of these things." Agreeing with her, Suno and Goku quickly stripped out of their heavy clothing, leaving just their lighter wear on. With nothing left to do here, they headed to the stairs and quickly made their way up.

OoOoOoO

Murasaki sat in calm meditation on his level of Muscle Tower. His legs crossed and his hands upon his knees, he was the picture of serenity. Or at least he was trying to be. Being the picture of serenity was so boring. He was thankful for the radio crackle from the speakers overhead, hidden behind trees in the lush forest environment on his level of the Tower. He turned his head in the direction of one of the hidden cameras as General White spoke.

"Sergeant Indigo, are you in position?" the General asked. Murasaki groaned and rolled his eyes. He hated the ludicrous title that Commander Red had slapped on him the day he'd joined the Red Ribbon Army. Why did everyone need a rank and color?

"I am ready, but my name is-" he began to say before General White cut him off in a weary voice.

"I know, I know, comrade. But these are the rules. Do you think I enjoy them? I have not been called my birth name of Alexiev in three years. Such is protocol, eh?" There was a sigh and the sound of shuffling papers. "If the children should make it past Metallic, that will mean you have to deal with them. Can you and your brothers handle that, comrade?" Murasaki laughed aloud at the question.

"The Murasaki brothers can kill some small children. Even if they get past the mad doctor's ridiculous creation," he squeezed his fist around the grip of his katana. "It will be easy." General White laughed over the speakers.

"Very good, comrade! And when they are dead, we shall drink to celebrate our victory!" Murasaki laughed with him and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

"You are a good friend, Alexiev. Not a good man but a good friend. Sergeant Indigo signing out!"

General White nodded to himself as he switched over the monitor to follow the children's progress and sipped at his cocoa. There was nothing to fear.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno reached the top of the stairs to find a large room almost completely devoid of features. The only thing of note in it was the very large chair in the center and the equally large man sitting in it. As he slowly got up, Suno couldn't help but think that there was something very strange about him. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, though, so she put it out of her mind when he spoke up.

"I am Sergeant Metallic. You will not be able to continue until you defeat me," he said in strangely unaccented voice. Goku and Suno took a few steps towards him and slid into their guard stances.

"So you wanna fight? Okay!" Goku said as Metallic drew back his fist. When it came crashing down towards them, Suno dove out of the way while Goku seemed to disappear as she jumped to the ceiling. Before Suno could even return to her guard position, Goku had bounded off of it and slammed her fist into the back of his head causing Metallic to crash into the floor.

Suno stayed rooted in place, too stunned to move, as Goku walked over to her with a big grin on her face. "Well, that was easy!" she said before starting to the next set of stairs. "Come on, let's go!" Before Goku could take get too far, though, Sergeant Metallic moved. He slowly put his giant hands against the floor and pushed himself back up to stand on his feet. Suno's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open as Metallic stalked towards them. She'd seen Goku kick a flip a tank. What was this guy made of? Goku, by contrast, just smiled all the more at the prospect of a tough opponent. "Okay!" she said as she charged at Metallic. "Here I go!" She leaped into the air to throw a flying kick at Sergeant Metallic. However, in a burst of surprising swiftness, the Sergeant's massive hand gripped around Goku's leg. Without any emotion or aggression, Metallic methodically swung Goku into the wall hard enough to crack it. The impact jostled the Power Pole off of Goku's back as Metallic swung her again, Goku too dazed from the impact to react yet.

Suno took that moment to act and dove for the Power Pole while Metallic's attention was still on Goku. If Goku's attacks weren't harming Metallic then she doubted that her own would. Left with only one option, she just hoped that the staff would work for her voice as well as Goku's.

"Power Pole extend!" Suno shouted after putting enough space between them. She swung the extending staff as hard as she could and slammed the far end onto Metallic's wrist. This broke the enormous man's grip and let Goku tumble away. Suno brought the pole down and swung the staff at Metallic's knee, staggering him. Metallic stomped emotionlessly towards Suno and his mouth opened an impossibly wide distance and inside his mouth, Suno could see… a rocket?! Suno swung wildly with the Power Pole as the rocket flew at her to smack it away and explode against the wall. What the heck was that?! Goku peppered Metallic's torso with fast and powerful punches that left visible dents in the Sergeant's chest. That didn't seem right. As Goku landed again, Sergeant Metallic pointed his fist at them.

"Rocket Punch," he declared in a disturbing monotone. Suno wondered what the heck that meant when the man's fist shot off of his body and flew at them! Goku threw out a kick out to meet the fist which exploded on impact. Goku shook out her foot when she landed with her eyes wide as she stared at the stump of the Sergeant's arm.

"Wow!" she declared with excitement as Metallic didn't even seem nonplussed that he was now short a hand. "This guy's cool!"

"He's not just cool," Suno added as she saw the visible amounts of circuitry and moving mechanical parts in the Sergeant's forearm, "He's a robot!" She'd never imagined that the Red Ribbon Army had the capabilities to build a completely human-looking android. If it weren't trying to kill them, it would be amazing! "I think I'll just let you handle this one, Goku," she muttered and stepped to the side. She considered herself to be a pretty good martial artist but this was a robot and she was only human. Goku nodded and dodged one of Metallic's fast punches. She landed on his arm and ran up it to kick him in the head so hard his head spun around to face the wall. Goku flipped backwards and landed on her feet in front of Metallic.

"Kamehameha!" The beam of blue-white light blasted the automaton's head off and blew a hole in the wall behind him. The robot fell backwards with a creaking sound and crashed like a felled tree. There was a bit of an awkward silence after his defeat. "Huh," Goku said with her hands on her hips. "Did I kill him?" Not that the idea really bothered her. She'd killed a couple people already. But they were all jerks. He seemed like a jerk, too. Before Suno could answer, Metallic started to move again and got back to his feet. "Can I have that back?" Goku asked Suno, referring to the Power Pole. Suno nodded wordlessly and handed it to her. "Power Pole extend!" Goku cried and kicked off the ground as she gripped the staff. It launched Goku through the robot's chest with the pole stabbing into the wall behind him to pin the robot on its feet. Goku walked back over to Suno's side and looked up at the robot. "Is it dead?" After a few seconds, that question was answered when the headless, armless, hole-in-his-chest body of Sergeant Metallic gripped the staff in his one good arm and tossed it away.

"Oh, come on!" Suno cried in exasperation as the android stomped towards them. Goku put herself between Suno and Metallic and glared at the robot. He drew back an arm to bring down a punch at them… but came to a screeching halt. They both stared at him for a moment and waited for him to move again. But he didn't. Just to be sure, Goku jumped up and ripped off Sergeant Metallic's arm. Then she threw a cross-armed chop to break off both of Metallic's legs from the knees down.

"I think we've beaten him," Goku said and Suno nodded before they headed up the stairs. What neither of them could have possibly known was that Sergeant Metallic's batteries, which had not been changed since last spring, had burned out.

OoOoOoO

"Wh… what?" General White asked incredulously having watched all of this from his monitors. His hands were trembling as they squeezed his mug of cocoa. How could that have happened? How was that possible? How could one little girl be that strong?!

OoOoOoO

\- From the notes of Dr. Archimedes Gero

"While Sergeant Metallic (I will never understand Cyril's fascination with ranks and colors) is so far my most successful automaton in terms of a human likeness and lethal capabilities, his power cells are currently less than acceptable. They require a charge or replacement every nine months. I must look into more efficient power sources.

Perhaps my son Adrian's ideas of a perpetual motion engine are worth investigating. Granted, his thoughts on the subject were more towards clean energy and saving the Earth or such nonsense but… builing robots to fight the Aliens is certainly protecting the Earth, isn't it?"

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno reached the fourth floor to find something completely different. Unlike the normal second floor or the mostly barren third floor, the fourth was covered from wall to wall by a lush forest. The atmosphere was surprisingly serene and the temperature reminded Suno of when she visited her aunt in the south.

"Wow! This place is really pretty!" Goku said as they walked further in.

"It sure is. I wonder who the guardian of this floor is."

"That would be me, little girl," a voice coming from the treeline said. Suno and Goku were instantly on their guard as a handful of shuriken were thrown at them. Given the forewarning, they had no trouble dodging them despite the speed and accuracy at which they were thrown. "Hmm… Very good. I can now see how you made it this far. How about thi-" Whatever the guardian was going to say was cut off when Goku decided that she had enough of this and chucked a rock at where he was hiding. What they heard instead was a yelp of pain and a resounding thud as the guardian fell out of the trees and hit the ground.

Now visible, the two could see that this floor's guardian was some old-looking guy clad in purple ninja garb. Given the aura she felt from him and his current performance, Suno couldn't help but wonder how these people managed to terrorize them for half a year.

"Ah, you are more clever than I expected," the ninja said as he got up, rubbing his forehead. "However, that won't be enough! Now I, Murasaki, Guardian of the Fourth Floor, shall-"

"Ah, ah, ah. You know the rules, comrade," a voice said over the intercom. Goku and Suno recognized it as the same voice they heard outside.

"But that name is ridiculous!" Murasaki shouted to the sky.

"Yes, but rules are rules."

Murasaki muttered something under his breath before saying, "Fine. Now I, Sergeant Indigo, Guardian of the Fourth Floor, shall-"

He was interrupted again by Goku speaking up, "Hey, are you going to fight us or what?"

Indigo's shoulders drooped in defeat, "Yes, I am going to fight you."

Goku smiled, "Great! Hey, Suno, since I fought the last guy, why don't you fight him?"

Suno looked between Goku and Indigo. He didn't seem all that threatening and it would be a shame if she relied on Goku to handle everything. "Alright," Suno said as she took a few steps forward before sliding into her basic guard stance.

Indigo smiled maliciously at Goku, "So you are just going to sit back and watch your little friend die?"

Goku was nonplussed, "Nah, she can kick your butt."

Indigo fumed at this while Suno had to suppress a giggle, "Fine then! Her death shall be on your head!" He drew the ninjatou from his back and flashed forward with three lightning-speed attacks each guaranteed to kill her.

He was fast, Suno had to admit, but nowhere near fast enough.

She dodged the first strike- a rising, diagonal slash meant to cleave off part of her skull- with just the slightest movement; the sword not even disturbing her hair as it narrowly missed its target. The second strike- a horizontal slash aimed at her neck- was likewise dodged with only the minimum required movement; the tip of the blade ghosting across the skin of her throat as she leaned backwards. The final strike- a vertical, two-handed slash meant to split her skull- was never even launched as Suno took the opening presented to launch her counteroffensive. A quick palm strike to his diaphragm to force the air out of his lungs. A sweeping kick to his shin to force him down onto one knee lest he topple over. Simultaneous knifehand strikes to the inside of his elbows to both force his arms apart and to force him to let go of his sword. Lastly, the sword fell and the pommel hit him in the head precisely where Goku's rock had.

Suno disengaged, taking a few steps back, as Indigo doubled over in pain. A bit behind her, Goku was equally doubled over in laughter. "You little brat!" Indigo said as he struggled to his feet. "Do not get cocky! You have yet to see my power as a master of the-" Whatever he was going to say was interrupted when Suno hit him in the forehead with a rock she had palmed when he was getting up.

"You talk a lot for a ninja," was all Suno had to say while Indigo cursed and rubbed at his forehead.

"Fine then!" Indigo shouted as he threw several smoke bombs around the area. "Let us see how well you do when you cannot see where I am!" Suno could certainly no longer see where he was and he wasn't making any obvious noise. She might have actually been in serious trouble if she hadn't extensively trained in similar conditions. She quickly closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and pushed her consciousness outwards. In an instant, she could feel not only Goku's presence but Indigo's as well.

Suno sidestepped the sword swung at her before jamming her elbow into Indigo's stomach. He coughed and staggered backwards but was gone before she could follow up. He moved away from her and made a throwing motion so she quickly rolled to the side to avoid the shuriken thrown at her head. She heard him start to head to the treeline- probably trying to hide since the smoke was likely clearing by now- but she intercepted him and nailed him in the small of his back with a palm strike. He spun around with a backhand but Suno was too slow in reacting to it so it clipped her jaw and spun her around. With her concentration broken, Suno blindly rolled forward and managed to avoid the follow up sword strike through pure luck.

"You stupid brat!" Indigo spat as Suno returned to her guard stance. "I cannot believe I am being forced to use this technique so soon!" He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. "Ninpou!" He threw out more smoke bombs, once again completely obscuring Suno's vision. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared, Suno took a few steps back in surprise as she saw not one but five Indigos. They were currently grouped up but were slowly starting to spread out. They all had swords and weapon pouches but the most worrying thing was that one of them had a gun. "Self-Replication Technique?" she said as she slowly shifted her position and calculated her odds. "So you made four clones?"

"You certainly are a smart one but do not get too cocky. Each one of us is just as real as the others," one of the Indigos said.

"Hey! Five-against-one isn't fair! Want me to help out, Suno?" Goku asked from the sidelines.

Suno licked her lips. This would definitely be tough. She had never actually fought more than one person at a time so all she had was theory. However, she couldn't back down now. She couldn't take the easy way out and rely on Goku. This was her village in danger and she had to save it. That being said, to completely reject help when offered would be the height of foolishness. "No thanks, Goku. I think I've got this. Will you lend me your Power Pole, though?"

"Sure! Good luck, Suno!" Suno was surprised that she managed to not only have that entire exchange but also catch the Power Pole without any interference. It seems that Indigo was extending her a courtesy that she hadn't extended to him. What did it say about you when the villain was more honorable? She put such thoughts out of her mind when the Indigos attacked.

Suno's primary objective was obvious: She had to incapacitate or otherwise disarm the Indigo that was carrying a gun. While Goku could dodge and deflect bullets, she wasn't going to try to find out if she could do the same. The one with the gun was currently the one furthest away from her so it'd take some work to get to him while simultaneously making herself as little of a target as possible. Calling to mind one of her master's advanced lessons, Suno began her most intricate Dance.

Suno took two steps forward and a half step to the left and slightly back. She brought up Goku's staff to sweep aside the first Indigo's sword as it came down at her. One step forward, quarter-turn left, one step back; she avoided two more sword swings from the second and third Indigos and blocked a dart fired by the fourth Indigo with Goku's staff. Crouched step forward-right, quarter-turn left, stand up; she avoided a swing aimed at her head made by the first Indigo and tripped him with a leg sweep before catching the third Indigo under the chin with a rising strike from the Power Pole. Two steps back, half-turn right, one step left; she avoided being shot by putting the fourth Indigo between her and the fifth before striking the third across the jaw with the Power Pole and sidestepping a strike from the fourth. One step forward-right, quarter-turn right, one step right. She dodged an attack from the second Indigo and parried an attack from the fourth before striking the second in the gut with the Power Pole. One step back, one step left, bend backwards, straighten out. She dodged two more frantic swipes from the fourth Indigo before bending backwards at the waist to dodge a third and striking him on top of the head as she straightened out. One step forward-left, one step forward-right, spin clockwise. She weaved left and right to remain out of the sights of the panicking fifth Indigo before shouting "Power Pole extend!" and executing a spinning strike aimed at the side of his head. Bow.

OoOoOoO

Murasaki stood there with his mouth hanging open and his eyes bulging wide as he muttered wordlessly in shock. His brothers. She'd knocked out all of his little brothers. How? When? What was going on?!

"Y'know," Suno said as she idly poked one of his brothers with the Power Pole to make sure he was out. "Usually, when a copy like this gets taken out, they disappear. These are real people, aren't they?" She looked back up at Murasaki. "You're not a very good ninja, you know that?" Murasaki's face turned a deep shade of reddish-purple and he screamed as his whole body shook with rage. She had injured his body, assaulted his family, but this. This was too much. To mock his skill, to assault his pride, was unthinkable. Unforgivable. He reached into a hidden pocket in his shirt and produced a remote control with a single button.

"You have mocked Mura…" he stopped and sighed, "You have mocked Sergeant Indigo for the last time, children! Now you shall see the strength of the Red Ribbon Army! Now you shall see our brilliance! Now you shall gaze into the mouth of Death and-" Goku hit him in the head with another rock. In the exact same spot as the other two times he'd been hit with a rock! "Y'know what?" he muttered wearily. "Fuck it." Suno and Goku reflexively gasped at the swear and he pushed the single button on the remote. Somewhere within the room, there was a hiss of compressed air as a wall split apart. Sergeant Indigo threw his head back and laughed as something enormous stomped towards them. The ground shook under their feet and trees parted as it got closer.

Goku's mouth grew wide as she put herself between Suno and whatever was coming. An enormous hand reached out from the trees and shoved them aside. Indigo was still laughing when the thing walked into the clearing. It was an enormous… man! He was dressed in all black with stitches across his forehead and cheek. He was almost as big as Sergeant Metallic!

"Whoa," Suno whispered as she looked up at him. He looked like the monster from that old book she'd read once. 'I guess whoever built him wasn't feeling very original that day,' she thought since he had to be a robot like the Sergeant.

"Hello," the creature said in a deep, almost melancholic voice as Indigo wiped a tear from his face. "I am designated Android Eight." That answered that question, then. Definitely a robot.

"Nice to meet you!" Goku said with a big grin. Suno had to fight the urge to groan. Sergeant Indigo grinned wickedly and rubbed his hands together.

"You won't think it's such a nice meeting in a second!" he said deviously before pointing at them. "Android Eight! Kill them!" Suno and Goku got into their guard stances and frowned up at the robot. There was a long paused that bordered on awkward. Then the android spoke.

"Why?" he asked. Sergeant Indigo blinked and stared at the android. Clearly, he hadn't expected this.

"B… Because I told you to!" he said while still pointing at Goku and Suno. They were almost as confused as he was.

"But they are children," Android Eight said and gestured to them. "It would be wrong to kill children." Indigo pulled at his face in frustration and groaned.

"You are a killing machine!" he explained to Android Eight with an edge in his voice. "In the most literal sense of the term! You were built to kill. Now do as I command!"

"But I do not want to," Android Eight said stubbornly. Indigo shrieked with anger and pulled out his hair.

"I don't care what you want!" he screamed. "You're a robot! Your wants don't matter! Now kill them! Kill them, kill them, kill-" he fell silent when Android Eight raised one of his massive hands and slammed it onto the top of his head, knocking him out.

"I am sorry you had to see such violence," Android Eight said as he turned to Suno and Goku. "But he was becoming quite annoying." Goku shrugged as she and Suno dropped out of her guard.

"That's okay," Suno told the android. "So, are we going to fight?" The android shook his head.

"I do not want to," he told her.

Suno nodded. "Then we don't have to fight," she said. 'What a weird conversation to be having,' she thought.

"You said your name was Android Eight, right?" Goku asked and Eight nodded. "How about I call you Eighter?" The enormous robot smiled.

"I would like that," Eighter said and Goku smiled.

"Let's go!" Goku said as she ran up the stairs, Suno following after her and Android Eight stomping behind. Now she had another new friend!

OoOoOoO

Deep in a hidden mountain lab….

Archimedes Gero hemmed and hawed as he went over his diagrams and schematics for his previous eight androids, as well as the unnumbered automatons he'd built for the Red Ribbon Army, including their pilot droids and Sergeant Metallic. He stroked at his luxurious orange mustache as he thought. There might be something hidden in these older designs that he had overlooked that would hasten in Android Nine's completion. He knew what they had all been lacking, of course. Not nearly enough chainsaws. But Android Nine would have chainsaws. Hidden chainsaws in the hands, chainsaws coming out of the back, chainsaws in the knees and elbows and mouth, rocket chainsaws. Chainsaws enough to tear all of Earth's enemies to shreds! Chainsaws: The ultimate weapons!

But when he came upon the schematics for Android Eight, more specifically, Android Eight's artificial intelligence, he saw a handful of notes that drew his attention. Notes that filled him with an immeasurable rage. Notes that were not in his own handwriting.

"Fraaaaappeeeeeeee!" he bellowed into the catacombs of his secret lab. The other scientist came scurrying out of the shadows like the miserable rat that he was. He wore huge spectacles, had an absurdly large head of gray hair, and his mustache was pitifully thin.

"Yes, Archimedes?" asked Daedelus Frappe as he wiped a speck of dust from his spectacles with a hand towel he had produced from his yellow jacket's breast pocket. Gero growled and stood up from his workbench and leaned forward to tower over Frappe as he stalked towards him. While an older man and nowhere near as tall as his enormous late son Adrian, Archimedes Gero was still an imposing figure. Especially so to a coward like Daedelus.

"Why," he demanded, "In the seven circles of hell, did you give Android Eight subroutines for compassion, logic, and restraint?!" Daedelus shrank away from his colleague's fury, stepping back as the other man stepped forward.

"I thought it would make his artificial intelligence more complex!" he offered nervously. "M-more fleshed out! Weren't you complaining about how basic and rudimentary Sergeant Metallic's intelligence was just the other day?" Gero grabbed a wrench in his fist and squeezed it until his knuckles turned white.

"I am building war machines, you simpering boob!" he roared as he hurtled the wrench at the other scientist's head. Frappe ducked with the wrench barely missing his skull and bouncing off his hair. He scurried away again with a ridiculous "whooping" noise of fear. Gero sat back down at his bench and groaned wearily, rubbing at his temples. If it weren't for the man's inexplicable brilliance with biomechanics, he would be dead already. Once Gero had learned everything he could from Frappe, then he would be expendable. Then Gero could finally take the first steps towards building his ultimate creation. His perfect creation.


	12. Battle of Monsters!

Chapter Twelve

Battle of Monsters! Muscle Tower Crumbles!

The strange trio made their way up the stairs to the fifth floor of Muscle Tower. Two girls, one of whom possessed superhuman strength, and an enormous killer robot who didn't like violence. There was a question Suno had to ask, though. It was digging in the back of her mind and making her nervous. She _had_ to know even if she might not like the answer.

"So… Eighter?" she asked as she turned her head to look at the android. He was so tall that she didn't even have to look down despite the fact that he was lower down on the stairs than her.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I was wondering…" she swallowed and hoped that her question didn't offend the giant robot. "So, you were built by the Red Ribbon Army, right?"

"This is correct," Eighter said with a nod. Suno nodded in response and chewed her bottom lip for a moment.

"Does that mean you agree with what they're doing?" she asked while trying to hide the nervous edge in her voice. After a moment, Eighter shook his head.

"No," he said and Suno fought the urge to sigh with relief. "I have heard what the Red Ribbon Army is doing and it is wrong. I do not like them."

"Treacherous machine!" barked the voice from before. Goku rolled her eyes when she heard him. This was getting _really_ annoying. Why wouldn't he just come out and fight? "You will pay for turning your back on the Red Ribbon Army! Sergeant Indigo! Activate his bomb and destroy them all!" Suno, Goku, and Eighter froze in panic. Nothing happened. "...Sergeant Indigo! Murasaki!"

General White groaned from his room on the sixth floor, covering the microphone with his hand to mask his mutterings of frustration as he looked back at the monitor of the fourth floor. All of the Murasaki brothers were unconscious. This was _ludicrous._ Five people who could answer his call and all of them were out cold. "Never mind!" he said as he turned his attention back to the microphone. "You will never reach me!" He switched off the microphone and began looking through his desk for the second detonator. God, he had so much junk. Why did he even _have_ this many paperclips?

The trio shrugged and continued their way up the stairs. They came to the fifth floor or rather a wall beside the staircase where the fifth floor was supposed to be. Goku ran up to the wall and pressed her ear to it as she tapped her fist against the wall. She frowned when she didn't hear anything behind it.

"Hey, Eighter!" she called. "What's behind this wall?" Android Eight shrugged.

"I do not know," he said. "This area has always been blocked off." Suno cleared her throat as Goku continued to listen and tap.

"If it's blocked… why don't we just go to the sixth floor?" she asked while pointing upwards towards the next floor. They _did_ have a job to do, after all.

"Oh, right!" Goku said as she hopped way from the wall and took the lead again. Suno just smiled and shook her head as they continued their ascent.

"Goku," Eighter began, "Are you here to rescue the village chief?" Goku nodded.

"Yeah," she said enthusiastically. "Me and Suno are gonna get him back and kick the Red Ribbon Army out of town!" Eighter smiled.

"I am glad to hear that," he said. They came to the end of the staircase and reached the sixth floor. Once again the voice greeted them.

"Well done, lambs and traitor!" said General White in a tone of mock congratulation as he continued to root around in his desk. The damn controller had to be _somewhere._ "You have made your ascent to the sixth and final floor!" Goku pushed the door open as he talked. Suno was getting anxious. They were so close to saving the chief! She almost couldn't believe it. As Goku opened the door, they saw… a wall. "All you have to do is get through my maze!" General White said before laughing hysterically.

"What's a maze?" Goku asked and scratched her head. Suno let out an exasperated sigh. They had been _so close!_

"A maze is like a big room full of hallways," she said. "At least one path leads to the exit but a lot of them lead to nowhere. And General White probably has some kind of controller in his room that lets him change the walls around so that we'll never get there!" She closed her eyes and tried to think. She needed a piece of chalk or something, a way to mark which hallways they'd already been down so that, if they had to backtrack, they wouldn't get lost. But if General White could control the walls anyway… it was so hard to think with his stupid laughing!

"Hey," Goku said, breaking what little concentration she had. "Wouldn't the door just be on the other side of the room?" Suno sighed.

"Yes, Goku," she said in an aggravated tone. What kind of question was that? "But unless we can get through the maze-"

"Just follow after me," Goku said as she walked towards the wall. Suno blinked and stared at her. Before she could even ask what Goku meant, Goku put her head down and smashed through the wall. Suno and Eighter ran after her as she smashed through wall after wall, occasionally passing pockets of _very_ confused Red Ribbon soldiers. Goku charge forward until she hit a heavy steel door and only stopped because her head made a loud "Thunk!" when it hit. Goku rubbed at her head in pain as she looked up at the door. "Ooow," she muttered. "That door's really hard!"

Suno grinned as she and Eighter caught up with Goku, "Well, I guess that's _one_ way to get through the maze." She kept forgetting just how strong Goku was. Made getting around certain things a lot easier than they'd normally be.

"Very good, little lambs!" said General White, although now they could hear him faintly through the door. He sounded a little nervous. "You have made it this far! But I tell you what! Girl in Orange, you will give me six star ball and your Dragon Ball… locator… thing. And I will release the chief!"

"No way!" Goku said sternly. The Dragon Radar was a present from Bulma! Why would she give it up to this jerk?

"We're less than a foot from the door!" Suno pointed out. What was General White's plan? Was he going crazy?

"Very well!" General White replied. "But you have no one to blame for your fates but yourselves!" There was a sudden creak of metal as the three looked down to realize that they were standing on top of a trap door. As soon as they registered this, the floor fell out from under them and they all fell into the blackness below. Eighter landed on his back first then Goku landed on him and Suno fell on her. Suno got up quickly, thankful that the darkness hid her blushing.

"It's really warm in here!" Goku said and wiped off a tiny bead of sweat from her forehead. It was even warmer than the fourth floor had been.

"What now?" she demanded as she and Goku slid off of Eighter's stomach. "Which one of your stupid henchmen are we going to fight now?" She could definitely hear _someone_ breathing.

"Do not be so eager to run to your deaths," General White warned them. "For now you must face the unstoppable might of the Guardian of the Fifth Floor, my Buyon!"

"Bouillon?" Suno muttered in confusion. "Like the broth?" Then the lights came on and blinded them all for a moment. Suno rubbed at her eyes and blinked to make them adjust to the light. "No," she said in a voice trembling with terror at what she saw. "Definitely not broth."

Buyon was an enormous, pot-bellied pink creature. Its mouth hung open to show drooling, sharp yellow teeth and a big, green tongue. It had sharp claws on his hands and feet and a powerful tail that thudded against the ground. Its antennae wobbled in the air as it let out an unearthly screech. Without a second's hesitation, Goku charged with a flying kick, whizzing past Suno and Eighter to plant her foot right in the creature's stomach. Surprisingly, Buyon didn't react with pain or shock. It just laughed as Goku realized that her foot was stuck in its fat belly. Like some kind of slapstick cartoon, no sooner did Goku notice this then she went flying back out again, hitting the wall with the same force she'd thrown the kick.

"What the heck?" Goku muttered as she stood up and rubbed the back of her head. Buyon just laughed again. "Come on, Suno!" she yelled as she charged again. "We just gotta hit it harder!" Suno nodded and ran after Goku, driving a spinning kick into Buyon's head while Goku hammered away at its pot belly with lightning-fast punches. However, just like with Goku's kick, they were both sent flying. Before they could recover, electricity crackled between Buyon's antennae and zapped the both of them. The two girls screamed in pain as they were left completely immobilized. Buyon opened its mouth wide and its slimy green tongue shot out at the two of them like a snake.

Until an enormous foot stomped that tongue into the floor and Buyon shrieked with pain. Eighter stood between them and Buyon as the pink monstrosity flailed and tried to pull its tongue out from under his foot.

"Eighter?" Suno said as feeling returned to her limbs. "I thought you didn't want to fight." Eighter moved his foot off Buyon's tongue and it slunk back into its horrible maw. Eighter turned back to look at them with an almost forlorn expression.

"I do not," he said. "But I will if I have to." He dropped into a low stance, strangely similar to a sumo's. "Murasaki was right. I _was_ designed to kill." His eyes scanned Buyon as it bared its fangs at him and let out a gurgling growl. "Threat identified," Eighter said in a cold and calculating tone, "Parameters recognized. Objective," though neither Goku nor Suno could see it with his back to them, Eighter's eyes flashed red. " _Kill."_

Eighter let out a deep roar and charged at Buyon who let out a warbling shriek in response and met his charge. They slammed into each other like a freight train colliding with a mountain of gelatin. He gripped Buyon's sides and slammed it into the ground but the creature's elastic qualities allowed it to bounce him right off. He landed on his feet and charged again as the creature got up. Eighter leaped over a swing of Buyon's tail and then brought an elbow down on its head. This time Buyon stumbled backwards but it still took no visible damage. He doggedly went to throw another punch but its jaws snapped out in a flash and closed around his fist. The android took his other fist and bashed it against the side of the monster's head over and over, grabbing and pulling at its antennae until it shrieked and released him, freeing Eighter's hand to reach into Buyon's mouth and rip out its vile green tongue.

Suno watched the bizarre battle with almost horrified fascination. It was like a fight right out of a monster movie! But she noticed that, even though Eighter's blows were _moving_ Buyon, they still weren't _hurting_ it. Suno tried to think of a way to get out of this problem but it was just too hot to think. As Suno wiped sweat off of her forehead, it hit her. The room was _so_ warm. And everything kept bouncing off of Buyon like… like _rubber._

"Goku!" Suno shouted to the other girl,then had to repeat herself because she was watching the fight with excited, starry-eyed attention. "Goku!" She blinked and shook her head to look at Suno.

"Yeah?" she asked. She _was_ a little annoyed that Suno broke her concentration. This was such a cool fight! But Eighter did look like he needed their help.

"You need to let in the cold air!" Suno said, pointing at the wall behind Goku. "Smash down that wall!" She nodded and jumped at the wall, kicking it hard and punching a huge hole in it. A gust of icy wind flew into the room as the heat was sucked out. The second the cold air hit Buyon, the monster came to a sudden stop, freezing solid and turning a dark shade of blue. Seeing his opening, Eighter laced his fingers together and swung with a double hammerfist strike, shattering the chilled beast on impact. The bits and pieces tinkered to the ground like broken glass as the android looked back at them.

"Objective," he said, his voice softening and his posture relaxing, "Complete." He looked sadly at the girls and bowed his head. "I am sorry you had to see that."

"Are you kidding?" Goku said with a great big smile, jumping up and down. "That was amazing!" Eighter gave a tiny smile as Suno nodded.

"You were really incredible, Eighter," she told the android. "I'm not sure we could have beaten Buyon on our own." Eighter's smile got a little wider and he turned his eyes back up to the trap door.

"I believe," he said as he looked back to the two girls, "That we have an appointment with the General." Goku nodded and turned to Suno.

"Jump on my back!" she told the other girl. Suno took a moment to blink before shrugging and climbing onto Goku's back. Goku jumped up through the trapdoor easily and pointed her power pole back down into the hole when Suno climbed off. "Power Pole extend!" the pole flew right into Eighter's hand. "And retract!" Eighter zoomed up out of the hole and stood beside the girls as they turned to face the steel door.

OoOoOoO

Before, General White had been nervous. Now he was panicking. This was _impossible._ It was like a compounding series of calamitous events, an avalanche, a tidal wave of bad tidings that were all about to come crashing down around his head. How could one girl be so strong? How could two girls have such skill? _Why did a death robot have a conscience?!_

Or rather, he _had_ been panicking up until a few seconds ago. Because a few seconds ago, he finally found the detonator. Now he had nothing to worry about.

"Let them come," the General muttered as his eyes swept over to side room where the village chief sat trapped in his cell. "We will all go to hell together!" Someone kicked down the door, maybe the little monster girl, maybe the robot. General White swivelled around in his chair with a manic look on his face. "Not one step closer!" he warned, shaking the detonator in a white-knuckled fist. "Give me the Radar and the Dragon Ball or I'll push the button!" he laughed maniacally and leaned over in the desk. "The bomb in that traitor is strong enough to kill everyone here! You! Me! Your stupid village chief! I don't care!" His wide eyes twitched and he stared at the girl in the orange clothes moving her lips. Some final prayer to her awful monster god?

OoOoOoO

"Power Pole extend," Goku whispered. The pole shot out and smashed into the General's hand. He dropped the remote and howled in pain, clutching his broken hand. Goku raised the staff and brought it down on the remote, shattering it and breaking the table in half. General White stared in wide-eyed pain and horror as the three of them advanced on him.

"Just give up!" Suno told him. "All of your soldiers and guardians have been taken out! Just let the chief go and crawl back to your master!" General White pushed away in his wheeled chair, gritting his teeth despite his pain.

"St-stay back!" he warned though his voice lacked any real conviction behind it. He finally found himself with his back to the wall and dropped his head in defeat. "All right, all right!" He stood up from the chair and walked to one side of the room. "You win. Here is your chief." He walked to a door and slowly opened it. It was all Suno could do not to balk. Were… were they keeping the village chief in _a closet?!_ It looked like a cell, of course, but it was small enough to be a closet. Was this how little they thought of her town? The chief did look as tired as General White had told them when they first arrived. Worn out and weak, like he hadn't eaten or slept properly in days. The poor man. He took a few hobbling steps out of his cell but, in a manic flash of movement, General White wrapped the forearm of his broken hand around the chief's neck. "Not so fast!" he told them as he laughed again. He reached back with his good hand and pulled out a pistol. Goku wondered how the heck _that_ was supposed to threaten her… until he pointed it at the village chief's head. "Let's try this again! Give me what I want! Take one more step or use your magic sticks and I'll blow this worthless old bastard's head right the hell off!"

"That's not fair!" Goku said angrily. Bullets couldn't hurt her or Eighter and Suno could probably dodge them. The old man wasn't a fighter! "Just how much of a fraidy-cat are you?" she asked General White with her fists balled in impotent rage.

"Please," pleaded Eighter. "Just let the village chief go! There is no need to risk any more innocent lives!"

The village chief cleared his throat suddenly to speak. "If I may. Don't worry about me! Just take care of this jerk and save my village!" Suno gasped in surprise and brought her hands to her mouth.

"Ch-chief!" she said, moved by the old man's selflessness. She nodded and dropped into a fighting stance. General White's arm tightened around his throat.

"O-Of course," he added, "If you _could_ save me, that would be greatly appreciated!" It took all of Suno's strength to keep from face-planting. General White pointed the gun at Goku while still holding the chief's throat in his grip.

"Now, you!" he said, holding the gun in a shaking hand. "First, you are going to put down your staff! Then, roll the Dragon Ball over here, nice and easy!" Reluctantly Goku set down the Power Pole. However, as she reached into her shirt to hand over the six star Dragon Ball, General White's nerves finally seemed to snap. He fired and shot her right in the face. Suno had expected a great big nothing to happen but it must have been some kind of high-powered handgun because Goku flew into the wall and hit it with a thud before sliding down to the floor in a heap. Eighter was too stunned to move. Suno wasn't.

They'd killed her father, terrorized her home, and now _this._ How much more were they going to take from her? How much were they going to take from everyone else? How many more innocent people did they have to kill to achieve their goals?

Suno suddenly saw every detail of the room with absolute clarity as rage boiled her blood. Her mouth opened slowly and she let out a blood-curdling, hate-filled shriek as she charged at General White. The General fired in a blind panic but, to Suno, everything was moving in slow motion. Dodging the bullets was easy. She deftly side-stepped the shots as they blew chunks out of the floor where her feet had been less than a second beforehand. She leaped high into the air and drove her foot into the General's face, freeing the old man from his grasp. As soon as she touched the ground, she put all of her strength into a palm strike aimed at his kidney, the force of the blow causing it to rupture. She saw him try to take a blind swing at her but she caught his arm and twisted it around before driving the heel of her hand into his elbow, breaking it. A strike to his solar plexus was delivered with enough force to slightly lift him in the air before making him sink to his knees. A strike to his sternum fractured it and blasted him into the wall. He was at her mercy.

Suno's hands were a blur that would seem like quicksilver to almost anyone as she systematically delivered every killing strike she could think of. The force of her blows caused the wall to crack behind the General until one last strike to his heart caused it to break. Suno stood there, panting from exertion, and watched him fall straight to the bottom, screaming in terror and pain until he hit the ground.

Suno kept looking down to the ground to see if he would move. The cold from outside made her breath steam as she breathed heavily through her open mouth, her shoulders heaving. She'd beat him. But she was still angry. Goku was still dead. Her father, and several other villagers, were still dead. Was this what revenge felt like? Where you just felt hollow inside and the only thing left was the anger? Blood was pounding in Suno's ears, drowning out any sound. Suddenly, Suno felt a hand on her shoulder and almost fell out of the tower in shock. The hand's strong grip pulled her back in. It was too small to be Eighter's hand but that would mean… Suno turned around and broke out into a huge grin.

"Goku!" she cried with shocked relief, grabbing the other girl in a hug. Goku hugged her back as Suno buried her face in Goku's shoulder. "But I thought…" she said, her voice muffled. She pulled away to get a good look at Goku. Where General White had shot her there was a large, angry red welt but other than that she didn't look all that bad. Goku grinned wide and laughed a little.

"I'm fine," she assured her friend. "I was just dizzy from when he hit me." Her grin got even wider. "I saw what you did to that jerk, though. That was amazing!" Suno blushed and smiled, thankful that Goku hadn't really been hurt. "We should go back down and get our clothes." Suno nodded and the four of them made their way down to the bottom floor with Eighter carrying the village chief.

"I want to thank you for saving me," the old man said before looking up at Eighter. "All three of you." The robot smiled appreciatively. They eventually reached the bottom of the tower, having weaved their way through the unconscious bodies of several Red Ribbon Soldiers, and Suno and Goku bundled back up. Eighter opened up his jacket and tucked the village chief inside to shield him from the elements as they headed outside.

"Oh, wait!" Goku said before turning around while they stood outside Muscle Tower.

"What is it?" Suno asked. "Did you forget something?" Goku shook her head.

"I'm gonna make sure this place is never used to hurt anyone again!" Before Suno could ask what that meant, Goku dropped her hands to her side and glared at the building. "Kaaa…. meee…." Suno's eyes opened wide and she looked back at Eighter.

"Weeee better stand back!" she said hurriedly and the both of them hurried away to give Goku space.

"Haaa… meeee…." Goku threw out her hands as an enormous beam of blue-white light shot forth. "Haaaa!" It struck the base of Muscle Tower and blew a huge hole in it. Within seconds, the entire structure began to collapse, sending dust and snow up in all directions. Chunks of brick and mortar fell down as Muscle Tower crumbled down into rubble. Goku sighed and dropped her hands to her side. "Phew!" she said and ran her arm over her forehead. "I'm hungry!" They all laughed but the village chief's laugh was something of a nervous, braying sound.

OoOoOoO

To say the villagers were exuberant would have been an understatement. The destruction of Muscle Tower had drawn the attention of everyone in the village and they were practically dancing in the streets by the time the group returned. The second Goku and Suno set foot in the village, they were all but swarmed by the villagers and showered with praise. To Suno, who was used to living in the background, the experience was entirely alien and simultaneously disconcerting and pleasant. To Goku, however, this was basically just another day. Even Android Eight was lauded as a hero after a hasty introduction and explanation. The villagers were still cautious around him, no doubt due to his frightening appearance, but his personality soon set them at ease.

While Goku and Eighter mingled, Suno quietly slipped from the crowd. There was one person who was absent that she had to see even though it might not be pleasant. One person to whom she owed a serious explanation and apology for just slipping away like that, leaving only a note and a promise. One person to whom she needed to explain what she planned on doing next.

Suno nervously approached her house. Facing her own mother was somehow more difficult than running off with a perfect stranger to face the Red Ribbon Army. It's not like she felt guilty for what she had done but the manner in which she had done it certainly could have been more… tactful. All of the arguments she had given herself when she had made her decision now sounded pathetic as she stood in front of the door and imagined what lay in wait on the other side.

Shaking herself free of her thoughts for the time being, Suno slowly opened the door. "Mom?" she nervously called out. "I'm home." She had expected to find the house dimly lit and eerily quiet and find her mom in a completely disheveled state staring blankly into the unlit fireplace. What she found instead was the exact opposite. The lights were on, most of the damage from the gunfire was repaired, and the house was filled with a rather pleasant aroma.

"I'm in the kitchen, dear!" her mom called out. Suno gulped and slowly made her way to the kitchen where she found her mom preparing some sort of meat-based stew.

"Mom?" Suno said, unsure of what was going on or how to react.

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Suno licked her lips as she thought of exactly what to say next. Nothing she could read from her mother's aura suggested anger of any sort. It was as if she had just went to spend some time with one of the neighbors rather than run off to go on what should have been a suicide mission.

"Hey, mom, I'm- I'm sorry. For, you know, running off like that." Yuki said nothing so Suno continued on. "I-I know you must have been really worried. I mean, you've never really wanted me to practice martial artes in the first place and only let me because you hoped it'd make me see that what I wanted to do was impossible. I just- I just _had_ to do something and Goku was here and she was so strong. I knew that this- that this was my one chance to actually make a difference. I hated what the Red Ribbon Army did to our village, to our family, and I wanted to stop them. To get revenge for dad. All my life, I've alway just been here doing nothing and I just really wanted to do more. I just really wanted to be someone. I should have talked to you about what I was planning to do before I left but I knew we'd end up fighting and every second we took was another second the Red Ribbon Army lorded over us. I don't regret what I did but… I'm sorry, mom."

While Suno talked, Yuki removed the stew from the heat and wiped off her hands before turning around. "Are you alright?" was the only thing she said.

"Huh?"

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no, not really."

"Good," Yuki sunk to her knees and wrapped her arms around Suno. At first, Suno did nothing but she soon broke down crying and threw her arms around her mother. They stayed like that- Suno crying as her mother stroked her hair and whispered into her ear- for an unknown length of time. When Suno finally started to calm down, Yuki spoke. "You don't have anything to apologize for," she said as she continued to stroke her daughter's hair. "You should have told me directly, yes, but I knew something like this would happen as soon as I saw Goku. You have too much of your father in you to just sit still and wait for things to get better. I'm just thankful that Goku was strong enough to make a difference." They stayed silent for a moment. When Suno's crying didn't completely abate, Yuki took a shot in the dark. "You want to go with Goku, don't you?" Suno slowly nodded. Yuki pulled back slightly and used the edge of her apron to dry her daughter's tears. "If your father were still alive, I know he'd completely support you in this. I'd give him grief for it and we'd bicker for a while. He'd say that I'm just being overprotective and that you're strong enough to handle this. I'd say that you're just a child and I don't want you running off so soon. We'd go back and forth before he'd eventually manage to worm past my arguments and I'd cave and let you go. Given how much you're like your father, the exact same thing would happen if I said you couldn't go. I think all of that arguing would spoil the mood, though, so I think I'll just skip it and go straight to the ending."

Suno looked at her mother in awe, "You mean-"

Yuki held up a finger, "But there are a few things I need to cover. First, I want you to promise to be as careful as you can be. Second, I want you to promise to come back if you ever feel like you're in over your head. Third, I want you to promise to come back once you've done what you need to. Are we clear?" Suno noded. "Good. Lastly, there's this," Yuki reached behind her neck and undid the clasp on her necklace. It was a simple necklace, all things considered, but beautiful all the same. Its chain was made from silver and in the crystal shaped pendant sat a polished piece of topaz. "This necklace," Yuki began as she started to put it on her daughter, "was given to me by your father as a wedding present. He said that the gem brought out the fire in my eyes whenever I was passionate about something. I want you to have it."

Suno carefully lifted the pendant to look at it. She had long since been beyond words and this last act was more than she could handle. Once again, Suno found herself crying into her mother's shoulder.

OoOoOoO

Dinner that night was surprisingly quiet. Many of the people in the town wanted to hold a great feast in Goku and Suno's honor. To Suno's surprise, however, Goku had turned it down.

"I was just doing the right thing," Goku had told them. "If you want to throw a party for yourselves, just do it!" So it had just been the four of them. Well, three. Eighter didn't eat but he liked their company. _That_ had been a very strange introduction for her mother. However, like everyone else in town, she warmed up to him once she got to know the android a little better.

"You know what's weird?" Suno asked while they were eating. Goku could only give an inquisitory grunt with four of Suno's sweet rolls filling her cheeks. "We never saw the Dragon Ball," she turned to Goku. "Isn't that what you came here for?" That was when Eighter decided to speak up.

"You've had the Dragon Ball ever since you defeated Murasaki," he told them, sitting in his comically small chair. Then he reached up put one hand on top of his head. They watched in bizarre fascination as he unscrewed the top of his head like a jar. Holding the top of his head in one hand, he reached inside his head with the other hand and pulled out the Dragon Ball. "I found it in the snow one day but I kept it hidden. I heard them saying that once they found the Dragon Ball, they were going to kill everyone in the village." On that morbid thought, Goku plucked the Dragon Ball out of Eighter's hand, rolling it around to get a look at the number of stars.

"Aw," she muttered with palpable disappointment. "It's the two-star." She sighed and shrugged. "Guess I gotta keep looking." She tilted her head back and yawned. Yuki smiled and stood up to gather the dishes.

"Well," she said affectionately, "Before you go looking for anything else, I think you two brave warriors should get some rest." Goku and Suno nodded, both suddenly exhausted as if all of the day's excitement had finally caught up with them, and headed off to get ready for bed.

"Hey, Goku?" Suno whispered in the dark when they'd brushed their teeth, put on pajamas, and gone down to sleep.

"Yeah?"

"Mom says I can go with you." Goku grinned widely and was clearly excited at that idea.

"That's great!" she said eagerly. She yawned again but Suno had to say one more thing before they fell asleep.

"Goku?"

"Uh huh?"

"Thank you so much. For saving the village chief and the village. For everything."

Goku smiled. "Don't thank me yet!" she said, though it was more cheerful and excited than sarcastic as people would usually say that. "The adventure's just getting started!" Then, like a switch had gone off, she was unconscious and snoring softly. Suno giggled a little before closing her eyes and dozing off herself.

OoOoOoO

The next morning was full of even more excitement as everyone gathered around in the village square to wish Suno and Goku safely off on their journey. Eighter had promised to look after the village while Suno was away in case any Red Ribbon forces returned to the area. However, there was one particular thing Suno had to ask Goku before they went in search of the next Dragon Ball.

"Goku," she said as she adjusted the straps of the red knapsack on her shoulders. "How are we going to _get_ to the Dragon Balls?" Goku shrugged and scratched almost bashfully at the back of her head.

"I guess we'll have to walk!" she said simply. This time, Suno couldn't stop herself from face-planting. "I just wish that Red Ribbon jerk hadn't blown up my Nimbus Cloud," she muttered and kicked at the snow. Suno stood up and brushed herself off.

"Hang on. You have a _Nimbus Cloud?!"_

Goku nodded sullenly. "I _had_ one. That Red Ribbon guy killed it. That's why I took his plane." Suno just laughed.

"Goku," she said as she shook her head, "Haven't you heard the stories? You can't kill a Nimbus Cloud! Try to summon it, go ahead!" Goku shrugged and looked up to the sky.

"Nimbus!" There was a moment of silence before the bright yellow cloud whooshed down from the sky. Goku got starry-eyed and her smile was big enough to split her head as she jumped up and hugged the cloud. The entire town gasped in astonishment at the sight of the Nimbus Cloud. Most of them, except for the elderly, had never actually seen one before in their lives. Goku laughed and hopped onto the cloud, patting a space behind her for Suno as she pulled out her Dragon Radar. Suno climbed up onto the Nimbus and squished on it with her hands. It was like sitting on a marshmallow. Goku grunted and shook the radar.

"What's wrong?" Suno asked. Goku groaned.

"The Radar's not working! It must have gotten busted one of those times I hit the wall."

"Well, what about that Bulma girl?" Suno suggested. "You said she built it. I bet she could fix it!" Goku brightened up quickly.

"Oh, hey! You're right!" Goku smiled and tucked the Dragon Radar again. It would be nice to see Bulma again.

"So… where does Bulma live?" Suno asked. Goku chewed her lip for a moment.

"...West," she finally decided. Suno blinked.

"Like… West City?" she offered, desperately reaching for something tangible. Goku shrugged.

"Sure," she said. "Which way is that?" Suno sighed and looked up at the sky. If the sun was _that_ way then west would be…

"That way," Suno said and pointed over Goku's shoulder. Goku nodded and gripped Nimbus in both hands.

"Let's go, Nimbus!" she shouted and Suno squealed with surprise as the cloud launched into the air, leaving her little world behind.

* * *

Z/N: I've made some tweaks to Chapters 10 and 11. Suno's backstory has been slightly lengthened and the ki sensing has been changed to something else.


	13. Little Monkey in the Big City

Chapter Thirteen

Little Monkey in the Big City

General Blue listened idly to Commander Red's rantings and ravings as he went through his normal morning ritual. Something about freakish little girls with superpowers. Bah! Such lunacy.

"You have nothing to fear, _Mein Fuhrer,"_ he told his commander. "While they may have bested Colonel Silver and General White, I am your greatest General. I will deal with them easily." And with that, he turned off his radio and turned his attention back to his work: practicing his Soudai Bara in the center of a half-circle of full-length mirrors. Completely naked. Blue would never deny it, he was an astoundingly vain man. He loved to look at himself and to watch the way his body performed. He considered himself an exceptional martial artist and could probably have, at least in his own mind, won the Tenkaichi Budoukai easily. However, as he dressed, he corrected himself. He was _more_ than exceptional. "Why should I fear these children? Because they have defeated the Mad Doctor's monstrosities? Bah!" he straightened his tie and looked himself in the mirror. "Unlike the _Fuhrer_ , I place no such misguided faith in machines. I am already more than man. I am _Ü_ _bermensch."_

He stepped out of his tent and looked up towards the mountain that their radars had indicated the Dragon Ball was located. General White was a boorish drunk. He would not be missed. Colonel Silver, on the other hand, that was a pity. They had _less_ than nothing in common but the man was not difficult to look at. And seemed to have a personal vendetta against the very concept of wearing a shirt. ' _Ah, well,'_ he thought, ' _Such is the life of a superior being. Those who are inferior pass through our lives.'_ He smiled as the Earth trembled under his boots as the mountain rumbled. If his men could not find a way safely into the mountain, all they would have to do is wait. The girls would arrive with their Dragon Balls and find some way into the mountain. Then he would kill them. "Feh," he muttered contemptuously, "Super girl." Such an undignified idea.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno had been flying for most of the morning when they began to come close to West City. Or perhaps it had only seemed like a few hours and it had been longer given the change in time where they were flying. Suno had spent the flight pondering these sorts of things, having not much else to do. Like how they weren't affected by the thin air or the cold temperatures as high up as they were. Every time, though, Suno just came to the conclusion that they were flying on a magical cloud so it didn't have to make sense. Whenever she got to that point, she would just look at the view down below. It _was_ beautiful from up here. There were no armies from up here, no struggle or war. There was just the beauty of the land.

"Goku," she said as they started to drift down towards the city, "How do you do the Kamehameha? Did Master Roshi teach you?"

"Not really," Goku told her. "He never _taught_ me but I saw him do it. And then I just kinda tried to do it." Goku sounded disappointed that she couldn't give Suno something more helpful. "I can tell you how it _feels,_ if that helps. It's like… It's like something's coming out of me. I feel it in my whole body and then I just push it between my hands and it just kinda happens. Does that help any?"

"No, not really," Suno said as she shook her head. "But that's okay! I probably couldn't do it anyway."

Nimbus came to a rest on the sidewalk inside the city proper to let Suno and Goku hop off as people stared at them in bewilderment. They took off their cold-weather outer layers and started walking down the street. Neither of them had ever seen anything like this city. Suno was pretty sure her whole village could fit into one city block while Goku hadn't seen so many people in one place since the Tenkaichi Budoukai. And this was even _more_ people than that!

"So, did this Bulma ever tell you where she lived or what her house looked like?" Suno asked.

"Nope!" Goku told her cheerfully as she stared up at a street lamp. Maybe she could climb up that to get a better look?

"So what was your plan?" Suno asked somewhat awkwardly as people continued to stare at them.

"I was gonna ask people if they knew Bulma," she said. Suno groaned and facepalmed. She really shouldn't have been surprised but _still._

"Goku, I don't think that'll work. This place is _huge_ and I doubt anyone we talk to would know her."

Goku frowned, "Really? Then how do we find her?"

Suno hummed and looked around. There had to be a registry or phonebook somewhere. Maybe some kind of information kiosk. With nothing immediately in sight, Suno described what she was looking for to Goku and started to move through the city. It took all of five seconds before Suno had to stop Goku from walking right into traffic.

"What'd you do that for?" Goku asked after Suno yanked her back onto the sidewalk.

"You can't just walk into traffic!"

"Why not?"

"Because you'll hurt the drivers if they crash into you!" After Suno explained a bit about the traffic lights and how they worked, they went back on their way.

It didn't take long for the two to find what Suno was looking for but they never managed to reach it due to the sudden appearance of a policeman. "Hey there, you two. What are you doing out of school?" he said.

Suno quickly spoke up since she knew Goku wasn't so good at the whole socializing thing, "We're both home schooled, sir, and have already finished our work for today. We're on our way to a friend's house but we've kinda forgotten where she lives."

"Oh, well then. I'm not supposed to but maybe I can help you out there. What's your friend's name? I'll look her up in my computer."

"Bulma, sir."

"Bulma, eh? That's a pretty rare name. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Let's see… There are three women named Bulma in the city. Is this the one?" He showed them a picture of some obese lady with dark purple hair.

"Nuh-uh!" Goku said. "She has blue hair!"

"Okay then. Is this her?" He showed them another picture.

"Yeah! That's her!" Goku said cheerfully. The officer looked at the picture of Bulma and did a double take. Then _another_ double take. He looked down at Goku and Suno with an incredulous expression as he pointed at the picture.

"H-how the heck are kids like _you_ friends with the daughter of the Capsule Corp president?!" he asked. Apparently, Suno thought, Goku had a famous friend. For her part, Goku gave a small shrug.

"She's just my friend," Goku told the officer as she rocked back and forth on her heels and lightly swung her arms. The officer eyed them suspiciously.

"You're too young to be master criminals," he eventually decided, which made Suno roll her eyes. _She_ could have told him that just based on Goku's original plan. "And being that you're minors, it's my job to make sure you get where you need to go safely, anyway." He opened a capsule that contained a police hovercar and got in the front seat. "Come on, then!" Suno put a hand over Goku's mouth and shook her head. She figured that the other girl was going to point out that she could just summon Nimbus again but she didn't want the officer getting any more suspicious of them than he already was. Suno and Goku climbed in the back and Suno had to help Goku with her seatbelt. Again, not for the normal reason that Goku would be hurt, but for the reason that Goku would probably _hurt someone else._

The cop drove them through the city which allowed Goku and Suno to look around the city more comfortably and take everything in. West City was alive and buzzing like a beehive. People were flying around in hovercars and hoverbikes. They were laughing and talking and busying along on their way to their jobs and places to play with their friends. Suno thought that she might like to live in a city. Maybe not one _this big,_ though. As the cop kept driving, the people seemed to get busier and busier. Finally, they came to it: the Capsule Corp building. Goku and Suno stared at it with open-mouthed astonishment. It was an enormous yellow half-dome of a building with "CAPSULE" on the front in giant letters. And the _people._

People were bustling in and out of the building and all across the yard, wearing lab coats and glasses and looking very scientific. They were running around using giant robotic legs or running through the air on tracks made of light. Some were flying in jetpacks or bouncing along the ground in huge bubbles. They were flexing the arms of robot suits and making calibrations, shooting guns that froze things solid or changed the color or swinging around swords made of pure light. It was amazing! Suno saw it as an amazing example of science and progress. It was a beautiful contrast to how she'd seen technology used for destruction and terror by the Red Ribbon Army. Goku was pretty sure it was all magic but it looked _amazing._ Without another word, Goku hopped out through the passenger side window and jumped over the surprisingly low-tech white picket fence.

"H-hey!" the cop called as he and Suno got out of the car and chased after her. "Get back here!" Goku ran up to the building as scientists stared at her with a mixture of interest and confusion. She came right up to the front door and tilted her head back with her hands on the sides of her mouth.

" _Buuuuulmaaaaaaaa!"_ she called out. To put it bluntly, it was loud. Bubbles burst and windows shook as people clung to the ground and the walls. Suno clutched at her ears and stared at Goku with shock. Every time she started to get an understanding of what Goku was capable of, the other girl did something that blew away her expectations. One of the windows on the top floor was flung open before Bulma stuck her head out of the window and waved down at them.

"Goku! Hey!" she called down. She pointed something at the ground that looked like a weird gun. She fired it and a purple beam shot out that transformed into a huge mound that looked like it was a weird gel foam. Bulma jumped out of the window and jumped down to land on the mound. It made a "fwump!" sound as it absorbed the impact. Bulma climbed out of the foam with a big grin. She was wearing goggles, green shorts and a pink top with a labcoat with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was sticking out in random directions like she'd been working on something for a while and probably hadn't been sleeping. Goku grinned and jumped up into her arms. "Good to see you, kid! Did you find your four star ball?" Goku shook her head.

"Nah," Goku said as she hopped down. "I had to come back because some jerks broke the Dragon Radar." She handed it to Bulma who shrugged and smiled.

"No biggie!" she said and tucked it into her lab coat, "I built it, I can fix it!" Then she noticed Suno, who'd been off slightly to the side. "Oh! Goku, who's your new friend?" Suno blushed and looked away nervously. Goku had told her about Bulma when they were flying over from Jingle Village but she was still a little nervous about meeting someone new in this big city.

"Uh, S-Suno," she said with a nervous smile as she walked over to join Goku and Bulma. "I was living in Jingle Village when I met Goku and I just wanted to come with her." Bulma laughed and smiled mischievously.

"Jeez, Goku!" she said with mock jealousy. "You go on a new adventure and just because I can't come along you go and replace me?" she reached down and ruffled Goku's hair which immediately settled back into its regular shape. "Sure know how to make a girl feel special!" Suno looked away bashfully and Bulma knelt down to look at her. "Hey, hey! I'm just kidding! I'm Bulma, in case that wasn't obvious. And anybody who can be Goku's friend is my friend, too!" Suno smiled at that but her expression changed to confused as Bulma looked upwards over Suno's shoulder and her eyes went wide. "Look out!" she cried before shoving Goku and Suno to the ground and pressing herself to the ground on her stomach. Not a second later, a white-gray blur streaked down from the sky and whooshed inches over their heads. It zoomed towards the building and rode up the curvature of the wall instead of smashing through it. It shot into the sky like a meteor going in reverse before swooping back down and landing in front of them.

"Oh, hello there!" said the voice belonging to the streak. It turned out that the streak was a middle-aged man with white hair in brown slacks and a blue shirt with spectacles and a lab coat. A cigarette dangled from his mouth and his mustache bounced as he spoke and he had a tiny black cat in the front pocket of his coat that was shivering something terrible with wide white eyes. The three girls stood up and realized that the man was floating an extra two feet off the ground, no doubt due to the dinner plate-sized white discs strapped to his feet. They made a soft humming noise and Goku stared at them starry eyed while she waved her hand under them.

"Magic!" she exclaimed excitedly as Bulma shook her head.

"Daddy," she admonished the older man, "You can let _other people_ test your sonic discs! That's what we have testers for! Young, fit, healthy testers that aren't middle aged men with black lung!" Bulma's father scoffed and clicked his heels together. Somehow, this made the "sonic discs" stop humming and he dropped to the ground.

"Nonsense!" he told her. "I built them and I'll make sure they work! Why waste time on someone else's secondhand accounts when I can get the experience myself?" Then he looked down at Suno and Goku. "Oh!" he said excitedly, "You must be that Goku girl that my daughter has told me so much about!" he said… to Suno. He bent down and stared at her, making soft "hmms" and "put-puts" as he shuffled around her in a circle.

"A-actually sir," Suno said in a slightly uncomfortable tone because he was so close. "My name is-"

"Honestly, honey, red hair isn't _that_ strange!" he told Bulma and cut Suno off. Bulma rolled her eyes.

"No, daddy," she said and pointed at Goku. " _That_ is Goku!" Dr. Briefs spun around to see Goku as if for the first time.

"Ah!" he said, poking her hair and pinching her muscles which made Goku giggle. "So I see." The police officer came up to him suddenly and inclined his head respectfully.

"Excuse me, Doctor Briefs," he said, "I know it's probably a waste of your time but my hovercar is going a little slow these days. And, well, it's a Capsule Corp model. So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a look at it?" Briefs grinned and the glint of the sun hid the manic look in his eye.

"You want a fast car, do you?" he asked. "Oh, I'll give you a fast car!" Dr. Briefs grabbed the capsule out of the cop's hand and ran into the Capsule Corp building with the cop trailing after him. Bulma smiled and shook her head.

"Come on, let's head back to my lab!" she said. "I can fix it from there." Suno walked over to the purple foam and gave it a poke. It jiggled at her touch and she couldn't help but giggle.

"Did you make this stuff?" she asked Bulma. Bulma grinned and nodded.

"Yup! I'm designing a super-powerful foam that can absorb just about any impact. It can be used to save people from falling out of a building or stop car crashes, even hold up buildings!" she grinned wider and rubbed her hands. "And it can do this!" she ran and jumped onto the gel foam. It buckled and wobbled before it shot her up into the air. She grabbed the window ledge and pulled herself into the room and then stuck her head out again. "Try it!" she encouraged them. Suno took a few tentative steps before running and jumping onto it herself. She let out a gleeful whoop of surprise as it shot her up into the air, right into Bulma's hands who pulled her inside.

"That was fun!" she told Bulma before leaning out the window. "Your turn, Goku!" she called. Goku ran up to the gel and jumped onto it… and was disappointed as it burst apart from the force of her jump.

"Aww…" Goku muttered. How come _they_ got to have the fun? Stupid weak foam. Bulma sighed and shook her head as Goku jumped up to the window normally.

"Guess it wasn't Goku-resistant," she said in a resigned tone as Goku climbed in the window.

"So this is your lab?" Goku asked as she looked around.

"It looks… busy," Suno added. Busy was definitely the right word for it. There were equations and schematics scribbled all over the walls and half-finished projects scattered the workbench. Chemicals bubbled in test tubes and instruments blinked and flashed with activity. Bulma set down the Dragon Radar on the bench and popped open the back of it to expose the circuitry inside. She pulled on some goggles and pulled a magnifying glass over it as she grabbed her tools to get a look at the problem. Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman walked in carrying a tray with a pitcher of iced tea and a glass on it.

"Hello!" the woman said in a high chipper voice. Goku stared up at her, mouth agape. Her yellow hair was _huge!_ Suno also stared but that was due more to the way the woman was dressed. She was wearing what Suno was pretty sure they called "hot pants" and a yellow "tube top." She was _not_ dressed for her age. "I've brought some refreshment for my little scientist!" Bulma rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore the woman.

"Thanks, mom," she grumbled. Goku grinned when Bulma said that. This was great! She was meeting Bulma's whole family! Bulma's mom looked down at Goku and Suno and smiled.

"Oh, hello there!" she said cheerfully. "My name's Panchy. Are you two Bulma's little friends?" Goku nodded eagerly and Suno decided to just go with it. Panchy reached into her pocket and produced two pieces of chocolate and handed one to each. Goku's eyes went starry as she bit down on the chocolate. She'd never eaten chocolate before. Now she needed more of it. She stuffed the chocolate into her mouth as Suno nibbled hers. It was pretty good. Probably really expensive.

"Hey, Bulma!" Goku said as the thought came to her suddenly. "Where's Yamcha?" They'd been really happy the last time Goku had seen them at the Tenkaichi Budoukai so it seemed strange that she hadn't seen him. "Is he training? Did your dad fix the gravity room?" Bulma huffed as she picked out a computer chip and replaced it with a new one and soldered it into place.

"Oh, he's training all right!" she snapped. "He's training with that Master Roshi and Krillin and that stupid hussy Launch!" Goku gasped.

"Launch is learning martial artes?" she asked excitedly. Bulma fumed and let out a sharp exhale between her nostrils.

"That's not the point!" she grumbled. "The point is that Yamcha is on an island in the middle of nowhere with a girl who isn't me!"

"But honey," Panchy said as she returned with two new glasses for Goku and Suno, "That nice Yamcha boy calls you every day!" She poured tea into the glasses and handed them to Goku and Suno who sipped at them gratefully.

"That's the problem, mom!" Bulma said as the she snapped the Dragon Radar closed and gave the button a few taps to make sure it was working. "He's being _too good!"_ Suno blinked.

"I'm not sure I understand," she said. How could the fact that this Yamcha was calling her every day and seemed to care about her be bad?

"He's obviously covering something up out of guilt!" Bulma said as she shoved the Radar into Goku's hand. "Come on, Goku! I'm going with you!" She strapped the foam gun across her back and put a handful of other gadgets into her fanny pack. "This time, I'm going to wish for what I should have gotten in the first place: The perfect boyfriend!"

Suno couldn't believe her ears as she stared at Bulma in disbelief. "You're going to waste a wish on that? Why can't you just, I dunno, _talk_ to this Yamcha if that's what you're worried abou-" Bulma ran out of the lab with Goku following behind.

"Come on, Suno!" Goku called over her shoulder. Suno sighed in defeat and pinched the bridge of her nose. What did she get herself into? Ignoring that, she chugged the iced tea down before handing the cup back to Panchy and bowing thankfully before following them.

"Wish for a handsome man for me too!" Panchy called after Bulma.

"Mom, you're married!" Bulma answered back as they took the stairs down to her father's lab.

"So?" her mother asked. Bulma groaned and rolled her eyes as they entered her father's workshop. It looked a lot like Bulma's only bigger. And Suno was _pretty_ sure she saw the skeleton of a space ship.

"Hey dad!" Bulma called as she and the others ran past her father with half of his body inside the police car's engine, "I'm borrowing your sonic discs! Me, Goku, and Suno are gonna look for the Dragon Balls."

"If you're gonna wish for a boyfriend," Dr. Briefs said, his voice echoing inside the car, "Wish for one that won't ruin my inventions!" Bulma snickered as she grabbed the sonic discs off the workbench and strapped them to her feet before grabbing a box of capsules that she shoved into her fanny pack. "Oh," Dr. Briefs said as he stuck his head out of the car, "And if you can, wish for a hot young lady for me!" he said with a cheeky smile. Bulma groaned and rolled her eyes as she ran out the door.

"What is with you and mom?!" she asked before shutting the door. She sighed and clicked her heels together to activate the discs as Goku summoned Nimbus.

"Have you ever used those?" Suno asked as Goku helped her up onto the cloud. She doubted it with the shaky way Bulma was standing on them.

"Nah," Bulma admitted with a bizarre amount of confidence as she pinwheeled her arms. "But I remember what he said about using 'em. You control it with your feeeeeeeeeeee-!" With the accidental movement of a toe Bulma was shooting down the street before launching up into the sky.

"Come on, Nimbus!" Goku said with a laugh and gave the cloud a tug to fly off after her.

OoOoOoO

Dr. Briefs wiped grease off his hands with a rag and closed the hood on the police car. This was probably his best automotive work yet.

"There you go!" he told the cop. "You should have the fastest car on the force." He put it back into the capsule and handed it to the officer. He nodded gratefully and smiled.

"Thank you very much, Dr. Briefs," the officer said. "You're a brilliant man." Then he headed out of the lab and back outside. Dr. Briefs smiled to himself and started putting his tools away. A few seconds later, he heard a terrified shriek and the sound of the sound barrier breaking.

"I don't get it," he muttered to himself as he scratched his cat's head. "The officer told me his car was slow. So I made it fast!" The fastest car in the world, in fact. The only car that could break the speed of sound. "I just don't get some people, Scratch," he shrugged said to the cat who offered a "meow" in response. Dr. Briefs looked at his workbench and stroked his mustache. "Huh. Looks like Bulma took my capsules…"

* * *

Z/N: _Soudai Bara_ should be Japanese for "Magnificent Rose". It was originally going to go unnamed but then I recalled that one pupil of Mr. Satan from the Cell Games filler and couldn't resist.


	14. Reuniting With the Turtle Gang!

Chapter Fourteen

Reuniting with the Turtle Gang!

After a little while, Bulma was able to get control on her sonic discs and the three of them followed the Dragon Radar, soaring over the ocean. The sight of all that water scared Goku a little bit. It just seemed to go on _forever._ They eventually came to land again and flew over a mountain. Bulma zipped past Goku and Suno when Nimbus came to a stop and backtracked towards them with a confused expression.

"How come you stopped?" she asked.

"We're here!" Goku said and held the radar to Bulma's face to let her see. Bulma took the radar out of Goku's hand and looked at it suspiciously. The blinking yellow light that showed a Dragon Ball was in the same spot as their orange triangle.

"Huh," Bulma said and looked down at the mountain. "Whaddaya know?" Suno looked over the edge of Nimbus down at the mountain.

"So the Dragon Ball is somewhere on that mountain?" she asked. Well, that at least meant that the Red Ribbon Army hadn't found this one yet so that was good. However, before they could formulate a plan (Goku would have suggested blowing the mountain up with a Kamehameha to make looking for the Dragon Ball easier), they heard a rumbling from below. "Was that an earthquake?" And then a column of smoke rose up from the mountaintop.

"Nope," Bulma said weakly. "Definitely not an earthquake." And not a mountain either. The Dragon Ball was _inside a volcano._

"How are we supposed to get inside a volcano?" Suno asked. Goku looked down over the edge of the cloud and down at the mountain.

"What's a volcano?" Goku asked. Bulma sighed. Sometimes she forgot that Goku didn't really know… anything. About anything. She chewed her lip and tried to figure out how she was supposed to explain this in terms Goku could understand.

"It's a mountain… full of fire and melted rocks," she said. Goku gasped with excitement. That sounded so cool! She wondered how hot it had to get to melt rocks. Bulma shook her head with a slight smile. Goku could get excited about anything it seemed. She put a hand on her chin and thought as they floated in the air. It would be too hot for them to even search around the outside of the mountain, never mind going _inside._ If they landed, she'd be able to look through her capsules and see if she'd packed any heat-resistant suits by luck. Though she doubted she owned anything in Suno's or Goku's sizes.

A sudden noise broke Bulma out of her brainstorming: the sound of a pair of fighter jets approaching. The three of them turned and looked at the greenish-brown planes approached and Bulma put a hand over her eyes to try and see them more clearly.

"Hey! The Royal Military!" Bulma said eagerly. "My dad has _a bunch_ of contracts with the Royal Military. We'll wave them down and we'll tell them who I am and they'll give us anything we need!" Goku frowned when she saw a flash of red.

"That's not the military," she said warily as she glared at the jets drawing closer and closer. Suno saw what Goku saw and the color drained out of her place.

"Bulma, we need to go!" she told the older girl while tugging at the back of Goku's gi. How was the Red Ribbon Army _already here?_ Did they have their own Dragon Radar?

"What're you guys talking about?" Bulma asked in a cavalier tone. "We'll be fi-" but her words were drowned out by the spray of bullets that whizzed past her head. Her face went pale and her eyes went wide as she let out a horrible shriek and dropped down into a nosedive.

"Suno, go with Bulma!" Goku said and jumped off Nimbus towards the jets. Suno winced before reluctantly flying down after Bulma. She wanted to help but she wasn't in any real position or ability to fight war machines. Goku was bulletproof and she wasn't.

OoOoOoO

Sienna and Sepia were two of the best pilots in the Red Ribbon Army. Sienna was a former pilot for the Royal Air Force that was discharged for being too reckless and Sepia was part of a stunt pilot troupe that got let go for flying too safe. Both had joined the Red Ribbon Army in search of a purpose for their lives. Originally forming a connection over little more than the fact that neither of them much liked that they were shades of brown, the two had formed a lasting friendship over the last year-and-a-half. Sienna had been the best man at Sepia's wedding. The two of them had become the Army's best pilots. So when the call had gone out about a pair of bogies outside of Blue Division's location, Sienna and Sepia answered it.

"Was that some kind of flying girl?" Sepia asked as they watched the blue-haired girl and the yellow cloud drop out of the sky to evade their bullets. There _had_ been news about a super girl that was terrorizing the Army.

"I thought she was shorter," Sienna said as an orange blur climbed onto his plane. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit, it's her!" The girl with spiky, black hair glared at Sienna through the canopy glass. Sienna yanked on the yoke to turn into a tight spiral and try and drop the girl with his eyes screwed shut out of fear. When he opened his eyes, the girl was gone. "I think I lost her!"

"No you didn't!" Sepia warned as he stared helplessly at his partner's plane. "She's on your wing!" The girl crawled across Sienna's wing until she was back on the jet. Then she bent down and ripped the wing off. It dropped out of the sky as Sienna's jet wobbled and Sienna screamed his head off. He couldn't shoot, he couldn't maneuver. All he could do was cry and scream and pray to God as the girl pulled a fist back and slammed it into the plane until it burst into flames. The sounds would haunt Sepia for the rest of his life… which would not be very long as the orange girl flew through the flames and threw a kick through his plane with enough force to split it in half. He had just enough time to grab the ejection lever before his wreck exploded as well. The last thing he saw, the last thing he would _ever see_ was that horrible monster girl glaring at him.

OoOoOoO

From below, Suno and Bulma watched the jet fighters explode and an orange dot zoomed down towards them. Suno flew up with Nimbus to meet Goku on the way down. Goku hit the cloud with a "floof!" and sat up to look at Suno with a grin.

"That was fun!" Goku said. Suno laughed and shook her head. Goku had a strange idea of what "fun" was. Bulma was understandably freaked out when they came back down.

"What the hell was that?!" she demanded. "Who the hell were those people? How did they have fighter jets?! _Why were they shooting at you?!"_ Suno was about to try and come up with some sort of explanation but then…

"It was the Red Ribbon Army," Goku told her bluntly. What was there to lie about? The Red Ribbon Army were jerks and she had to beat the up!

"Oh," Bulma said with a sudden and surprising calmness. "The Red Ribbon Army. Oh, I see. That makes sense." There was a brief pause before she was suddenly screaming again. " _Why the hell are you fighting the Red Ribbon Army?!"_ she demanded with enough force to blow their hair back. The look on Goku's face told Suno that this was a normal occurrence. Between the two of them, Goku and Suno explained Goku's first interaction with the Army, Suno's interaction with them, and how the two of them had driven them out of Jingle Village. When it was all accounted for, Bulma groaned and pulled at her face. "This isn't what I signed up for," she muttered. "I thought we were gonna go to fun places, beat up another delusional despot, and I'd get a new boyfriend!" she cried and pulled at her hair. "I didn't think I was going to be dealing with the world's biggest terrorist organization!" Goku looked a little concerned for her friend but Suno wasn't feeling quite so charitable.

"Then leave," Suno said plainly.

"Huh?"

"What we're doing is really dangerous. If Goku wasn't so strong, it'd be suicidal. But we have to do it. I know exactly how you feel. I feel like I'm in over my head every time we come up against tanks or jets or giant, killer androids. If you can't handle it then there's no shame in going home. We'll understand."

"Yeah!" Goku interjected. "I'd love to have you along but I don't want you getting hurt!"

Bulma smiled and wiped away her tears, "Jeez, you guys. How's a girl supposed to run away when you say stuff like that? So we're going up against the Red Ribbon Army. Big deal! They've got tanks and jets and giant, killer androids but we've got Goku!" Goku gave a cheer at that.

"So," Goku began, "What do we do now? The Red Ribbon Army knows we're here. So how do we get into the volcano?" Suno and Bulma put their hands under their chins and frowned as they thought. Goku copied their motions. She wasn't thinking, she just wanted to play along. When neither of them said anything after a while, Goku actually got an idea of her own. "Oh!" she said suddenly and nearly shocked Bulma enough to flip her on her sonic discs. "What about Master Roshi?" Suno gasped with excitement at the suggestion.

"The Turtle Hermit?" she said eagerly with a similar starry expression in her eyes that made Goku smile. Her master had told her stories about the Invincible Master. An immortal genius, the greatest martial artist who had ever been born. Just the idea of meeting him made her giddy. However, Bulma rolled her eyes at the idea. Even if she got to see Yamcha and guilt him into not doing anything with Launch, the less she saw of Roshi the better.

"What the heck could that old pervert do for us?" she asked. "Stuff the volcano with his dirty magazines?" Goku shook her head.

"I bet he has some kind of magic! Like the fan!" Bulma just rolled her eyes harder.

"You mean the fan he _didn't have?"_ she asked. "If he had anything, he probably lost it in another card game. Or he pawned it off to some bimbo so she'd ffffffff-" Bulma suddenly realized that what she was saying and who she was talking to, "-ffffffrolic through the flowers with him." Goku looked confused while Suno looked incredulous. "A-anyway, the most he'll probably do is just blow up the volcano- which is terrible for a _lot_ of reasons- and might destroy the Dragon Ball!" Goku shrugged.

"Do you have an idea?" Goku asked the both of them. It wasn't meant to be snippy, just an earnest question. Bulma threw up her hands with a defeated sigh. "Fine," she said. "Let's go see Roshi." The younger girls gave a cry of jubilation as the three of them flew off to find Kame House.

OoOoOoO

Roshi was fiddling with his radio and trying to pick up the sports stations as he and Turtle sat by the shore, Roshi in his beach chair and Turtle in the sand. In the woods, Roshi could hear Launch, Yamcha, and Krillin sparring. What he _couldn't_ hear was the baseball game he'd been trying to find for the last fifteen minutes. With a groan, he finally turned the machine off.

"Useless danged contraption…" he muttered as he huffed and leaned back in his chair. He reached over to the little side table where his glass of gin was sitting and picked up a dirty magazine. He began to slowly flip through it and was just starting to relax when he heard the familiar "whoosh" of the Nimbus cloud and a strange second noise. More like a "wubwubwubwub" or "bwaaaaaaah". He sat up and put the magazine away, clearing his throat. Just what, he wondered, was Goku doing here?

"Hi, Master Roshi!" Goku greeted joyfully as the Nimbus came to a stop at the shoreline. She hopped off the cloud and landed on the beach followed by a redheaded girl in a blue-and-white gi of her own. Seemed Goku had found a new friend. "Hi, Turtle!" Goku added and affectionately patted Turtle's head as Bulma descended as well. She looked like she had dinner plates stuck to her feet although he was sure that wasn't the case. Some new, high-fangled invention. She clicked her heels and landed in the sand.

"Hello, Goku," Turtle replied. From Goku's friend's reaction, she clearly hadn't expected Turtle to talk. Which was fair enough. Most people didn't.

"And what," Roshi asked as he got up from the chair, "are you two doing here?" he said with a smile before pulling down his shades to eye the redhead. "And who's your new friend?"

"M-my name is Suno, sir," she said nervously and with a respectful bow. "I was trained in the _Odori_ style by Master Frost. He speaks very h-highly of you, sir, and-" Roshi held up a hand.

"That's quite enough," he told her with a gentle chuckle. Suno visibly relaxed as he readjusted his sunglasses. "The _Odori_ style, eh?" he pulled at his beard and thought. "Always wondered how it would match against the teachings of the Turtle School. I've heard quite a bit about your teacher as well. He sounds like an incredible fighter." Suno blushed ever so slightly at the praise for her fighting style and her master.

"Anyway," Bulma cut in suddenly, "Do you have anything that might be able to, I dunno, make a really big area really cold?" Roshi cocked an eyebrow. What an odd and vague request.

"What, like an air conditioner?" he asked skeptically. Bulma and Suno both seemed to be searching for the words to explain their situation when Goku bulldozed her way in.

"We need to freeze a mountain!" she explained. Roshi's eyebrow rose to the point where it threatened to leave his skull. And he needed all the hair he could hold onto. Clearly he was waiting for an explanation. "No, wait," Goku added with a shake of her head and a furrow of her brow. "Not a mountain… the kind where it's full of fire?"

"A volcano?" Roshi offered. Goku nodded enthusiastically. "And what, might I ask, are you freezing a volcano for?"

"There's a Dragon Ball on it," Suno said. "We need to get it before the Red Ribbon Army does." Roshi pursed his lips.

"Red Ribbon Army, eh?" he asked. Suno winced. That sounded like he was going to say he wouldn't help them. That it was too big a responsibility and it wasn't his fight. Which is why she was so shocked and ecstatic when instead he said, "Sounds like a big job. Maybe you'll need some help?" Goku and Suno nodded eagerly. "Now in terms of something to freeze a volcano…" he hummed and hrmmed and rubbed his beard. "Oh, I may actually have something!" he said with a snap of his fingers. Then he looked at Bulma and raised his eyebrow,"For an exchange, of course." Bulma groaned and searched through the capsule box in her fanny pack.

"Dirty old man," she muttered as she pulled out a random capsule. She was sure it would hold some trinket that would amuse him appropriately. A satellite radio or a tiny fridge or something. "Here!" She threw the capsule to the ground and it opened with a puff of smoke to reveal… a stack of porn mags. Bulma and Suno stared at the stack with red faces and wide eyes. Goku looked at them quizzically.

"What are those two ladies doing with their legs?" she asked as she looked at the one on the top before Roshi yanked them all away.

"Sold!" he said hurriedly and ran back into the house.

"I… I think I grabbed my dad's capsule box," Bulma muttered, mortified. She still had a few of her gadgets with her which would be useful and could get her out of a jam… but no clothes, no food, no shelter, nothing to survive with. The most she could do was burn some of the magazines for warmth. Roshi returned after a minute, cradling something in his hands.

"This," he told them when he got closer, "Is the Itetsuku Sphere." He held it out for them to look at. Even Bulma bent down to get a closer look. They could see swirling snow and frozen mountain peaks and cold winds inside. It was like the very concept of winter in a tiny glass bubble. It reminded Suno of home. "Please," he urged, "be very careful with it." On that note, Suno took it before Goku could and stored it in her knapsack. "When you get to the volcano, you can break the hell out of it. Otherwise, it could freeze an entire island."

"Where the heck did you get something like that?" Bulma asked as she gave Suno's knapsack a wary eye. Roshi chuckled and stroked his mustache.

"About a hundred years ago. It was a token from a Yeti chieftain for saving his people from a…" he paused and looked at the starry expression in Goku's eyes as she and Suno hung on every word. He sighed and waved a hand dismissively with another chuckle. "Bah," he said, "It's a long story. One you all probably don't have the time for. But when you're done stopping the Red Ribbon Army, I'll be happy to tell you all about it." They both nodded before they were all snapped out of their excitement by a rumbling sound. Birds squawked and flapped out of the forest as several trees crashed to the ground. "Ah," Roshi said, "There's some other people who will be happy to see you!" He put his fingers in his lips and let out a high, loud whistle.

OoOoOoO

 _Several minutes earlier…_

Yamcha skidded backwards on flat feet as he was pushed out of the trees and into a clearing in the forest. He could see two black blurs darting through the treeline and erratically zig-zagging so he couldn't keep up with their movements. But he had something they didn't. As he dropped into his Wolf Fang Fist stance, he had… animal instinct. His ear twitched as he heard something dashing through the trees on his left. He turned just in time to see Krillin charging at him and brought up a knee to block his attack. Krillin pushed off his knee and jumped higher to push him back with a flurry of jabs. Yamcha bobbed and weaved and drove an elbow into Krillin's stomach to take the breath out of him before shoving him away with a palm strike just in time to hear Launch coming from behind. He twisted around and drove a sharp kick towards her face but she rolled under it and came up to slam the heel of her palm under his chin. He staggered back and she followed up with a roundhouse kick that sent him sprawling into the dirt. He hated to admit it but Launch was getting _good._

"What's the matter, pretty boy?" she teased, flicking a finger across her nose as he got up and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Little old Launch too tough for ya?" Before Yamcha could come up with a suitable reply, Krillin attacked with a flying kick that Launch barely blocked in time. She staggered back as Krillin pressed the attack with an axe kick while he was in midair. Launch caught it in her forearms with a crossblock and threw him away. Krillin landed on the ground on his hands and feet before launching himself at the both of them and throwing his feet out for a dropkick. The three of them traded rapid-fire punches and kicks, throwing each other into one another and kicking off of each other.

Launch suddenly grabbed Krillin by the wrist and swung him around at Yamcha. When Yamcha went back, she let go of Krillin and he flew away. He landed against a tree with his feet and pushed off, hitting her with both fists in the side. She staggered and gasped for breath but she liked it. She liked that they weren't pulling any punches just because she was a girl. There was a sudden crack as the tree that Krillin had pushed off suddenly split and began to fall down towards them. Yamcha ran between Krillin and Launch and threw up one hand like a spearhead to split the tree down the middle with a kiai. As the tree fell down, Krillin swiped his hand up through the air to send Yamcha flying with a kiai wave of his own. Yamcha hit a tree with a groan and looked at Krillin incredulously.

"You left yourself open," Krillin said with a smirk and a shrug. Yamcha responded with a kiai-charged roundhouse kick that made Krillin yelp and duck as it sliced through a tree. The two traded kiais as Launch sighed and leaned against a tree.

"Cheating assholes," she muttered. "You know I can't do that kiai shit yet." She was content to let them tire themselves out and destroy half the forest before declaring herself the winner when a high-pitched whistle brought them all to a halt.

"Wonder what Roshi wants," Yamcha muttered as they all ran out of the forest. When they broke through the trees, they were greeted with two familiar faces and one new one.

"Goku!" Yamcha, Launch, and Krillin said in unison as she smiled at them and hugged each in turn. Yamcha turned his attention to Bulma and smiled even wider at her.

"Hey, babe!" he said eagerly and pulled her into a kiss before hugging her. Bulma looked over Yamcha's shoulder and glared at Launch. Launch smirked and gave her the finger. Yamcha let Bulma go and turned to Goku and the new girl. "So who's your friend, Goku?" he asked playfully with a hand on one hip.

"Yeah," Krillin added suspiciously and narrowed his eyes, "who is she?" Suno was a little bit more comfortable introducing herself now so she was more confident when she told them. Besides, with the three of them all in the same orange gi as Goku, it almost looked a little silly. Then she and Goku once again went over their story.

"Huh," Launch muttered and cracked her knuckles, "Red Ribbon Army, huh?" Krillin gave a nervous laugh.

"G-Goku," he said, "Remember what I said about now no _one_ person being able to beat an entire army? That doesn't change just because _you're two people!"_ Yamcha grinned and playfully rubbed Krillin's shiny head.

"Sounds like they've got a pretty good start on it already," he said. Roshi nodded and adjusted his glasses.

"So," he said, "Who's goin' with 'em?" Krillin quickly stepped between Suno and Goku.

"I-I am!" he said hurriedly. Goku grinned and Suno gave him a quizzical look. Just what was this Krillin guy's issue? Yamcha shook his head.

"Not me," he said. "I'm gonna stick behind and train some more. Besides, this sounds like one of those things where the more people there are, the more of a mess it will be." He gave a wave and headed into the house, muttering about being thirsty.

"Think I'll stay back, too," Launch agreed. Bulma huffed and Launch smirked. Now it was Bulma's turn to give her the finger.

"Let's go, let's go!" Goku said eagerly as she, Suno, and Krillin hopped onto Nimbus. From the back of the cloud, Krillin nervously decided it was a good thing no one else was coming. It was getting a little crowded. Bulma clicked her heels and rose into the air and soon the four of them took off. Roshi sighed and plopped back into his lawn chair, flipping through a magazine.

"Heavens," he muttered as he read an article. "Is this really what women think will please their men this century?"


	15. Treasure in the Frozen Mountain!

Chapter Fifteen

Treasure in the Frozen Mountain! The New Turtles Prove Their Strength!

The four young adventurers closed in on the volcano that rumbled and spewed smoke beneath them. Despite the happiness he knew he should feel for Goku being back, Krillin mostly felt a tense unease. Something about this new girl, Suno, bothered him. She seemed nice enough but there was something he didn't like about how close she and Goku were. Was she Goku's new best friend? Because that's all that him and Goku were. Friends.

Krillin tried to push that sort of thing out of his mind. Goku made friends with everyone so it didn't mean anything that she had a new friend, right? Him and Goku were still best friends. He tried to focus on something more positive like the fact that he was able to ride the Nimbus. When he first had met Goku, he'd gone right through the cloud and had to hold onto Goku to keep from falling to the ground. Now he was able to sit on the Nimbus just like Goku. That meant he was a better person than he had been before, didn't it? Krillin had always felt like it was so. That his friendships with Master Roshi, Goku, and Launch had made him better than it did before. It should have made him happy to think about that. So why didn't it?

Goku grinned as she looked down at the volcano over the edge of the Nimbus. Now that Roshi had given them the Itetsuku Sphere, they could freeze the volcano and find the Dragon Ball! Goku was also hoping that she'd get to punch more Red Ribbon Army jerks in the face. Krillin kept saying that she couldn't take them down by herself but Goku knew that she was pretty good at doing things that people said she couldn't do. Besides, she wasn't by herself now.

"Okay, Suno," Goku said as she looked over her shoulder at her redheaded friend, "Drop it in there!" Suno nodded and carefully removed the item from her knapsack before dropping it over the edge. The four of them watched the Sphere drop with anticipation. Goku was excited whereas Suno and Bulma were apprehensive. Having missed the story about the Sphere's origin and power, Krillin was more curious than anything. The Sphere fell for a long time and Bulma began to wonder if the bauble had any real power.

"Did you mi-" Bulma began to ask but the words had barely left her throat when there was a deafening explosion of cold wind that drowned her words out. It was like an atomic bomb of ice and snow, mushroom cloud and all. It swirled through the air before it coalesced around the new icy peak of the mountain and snow fell from the cloud to the cold mountain below. There was a great "Crack!" as magma froze solid in an instant.

"That was awesome!" Goku cried and eagerly clapped her hands. Krillin's eyes were wide with disbelief. Master Roshi had things of this kind of power just _sitting around his house?_ The four descended towards the mountain as Goku took the Dragon Radar back out. Bulma only hoped that the Dragon Ball wasn't trapped in the frozen lava. On one hand, the Red Ribbon Army would never be able to summon the Eternal Dragon. On the other hand, neither would anyone else ever again. She tried to forget about that particularly dark line of thinking as Goku, Suno, and Krillin hopped off the Nimbus and walked around the mountain. Bulma gave a click of her heels and joined them, surprised to find that what had once been a volcano was so cold underfoot.

"Whatever magic Roshi has found in this world," Bulma promised herself as she followed the others, who followed Goku, who followed the radar, "It's up to me to figure out how to make it work. It's up to science!"

OoOoOoO

General Blue emerged from his tent as he heard the commotion from his troops and looked up at the mountain with his arms folded behind his back. He was fairly certain that had been a volcano a few moments ago.

' _That's an interesting little development,'_ he thought before clearing his throat and speaking aloud. "Alright, boys," he said, the sound of his voice made them all snap to attention. "I've received some words from our esteemed _Fuhrer._ Apparently, the little monster girl has some allies in this area, one of whom might have built her Dragon Radar. We now have a priority to neutralize them." He turned to his chief lieutenant, Teal. "Teal!" The strapping young man snapped to attention, every inch a proper soldier. Except for that bit of stubble around his jaw but Blue liked that. "You will take half of our forces in search of these allies. Our intelligence suggests that they will be on an island somewhere in the area." Some might consider sending over fifty men to dispatch whoever these allies might be excessive but that was why he was the greatest general in the Red Ribbon Army and they were not. Who knew how numerous these allies were or what their powers might be?

"Sir!" Teal gave a cry of the affirmative and salute. Blue gave him a pat on the arm and nodded with a smile.

"Good man," he said and turned to the rest of his men as Teal gathered the forces he would take to this island. "As for the rest of you, you will come with me up the mountain." He turned his eyes to the coffin-like metal structure that had arrived earlier this morning. "And, if necessary, we will use the Mad Doctor's newest trinket." General Blue frowned as his men went about securing their climbing gear, glowering down at the box and the mechanical monster that lie within. He didn't much like the idea of relying on Gero's machines but if there was any truth to the super girl's powers, it might be necessary.

OoOoOoO

Goku frowned as she looked down at the Dragon Radar. She knew that she was the orange triangle and that the Dragon Ball was the blinking yellow dot but the Radar was telling her that the Dragon Ball was right in front of her. It didn't make any sense!

"The Radar says it's right here!" Goku said and looked down at the empty ground where there was no Dragon Ball. "Bulma, are you sure you fixed this?" Bulma huffed and walked towards her. What kind of question was that?

"Of course I fixed i-Yeee!" Bulma squealed in shock as her foot was caught in a hole in the mountainside. Krillin and Suno grabbed her hands to keep her from falling over and Bulma pulled her foot out of the hole with a sigh. That could have been bad. She could have messed up her ankle or, even worse, bruised her face! She gave the hole a stink-eye in frustration. Stupid hole, trying to trip her. Krillin bent down to inspect the hole curiously.

"Do you think the Dragon Ball might have fallen in there?" he asked. It was about the right size. A Dragon Ball wasn't supposed to be much bigger than his fist, wasn't it? Even the idea of that caused Bulma to throw up her hands and let out a groan.

"Oh, great," she muttered, "then it's definitely lost. Either the lava melted it or we just trapped it!" Krillin shook his head and put his hand in the hole. He chewed his lip in thought as he ran his fingers around the rim.

"It's smooth," he mused. "This is way too smooth to have occurred in nature. Someone _made_ this hole." He was feeling pretty good about himself when Suno snapped her fingers and spoke up.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. "Maybe a civilization used to live _in_ the volcano when it was dormant!" Bulma nodded, tapping her chin.

"That's not a bad idea," Bulma said as her brow furrowed in thought. "Volcanic soil is better for growing things than just about any other soil on Earth. and they would have been able to stay warm during the winter if they carved out paths away from the magma flow." She stuck an accusatory finger at the hole she'd tripped in, "And they'd have used holes like this to let out the extra hot air!" she smiled at Krillin and Suno. "Good thinking, you two!" Suno smiled but Krillin huffed. _He_ noticed it first. Suno was just piggybacking off of his brilliant deductive reasoning.

"So we need to find some way to get inside the mountain!" Goku deduced before rushing off to find an entrance of some kind. The others hurriedly followed behind her, surprised by her sudden burst of motion even when they probably should have known not to be. When they finally discovered an entrance to the mountain, it was disappointingly far from where the Dragon Ball had been.

"Wow," Krillin murmured as he peered into the blackness. "That's dark." They'd be able to go maybe a hundred feet before they were swallowed up and blind.

"Okay," Bulma muttered as she rummaged through her fanny pack. "Lemme just find something to make a torch."

Suno raised an eyebrow. "You didn't pack a flashlight or something?" she asked in mild disbelief. Bulma huffed.

"There's a flashlight," she said defensively, "in _my_ capsule case!" She sighed and pulled out a spray can of some kind. "This sprays a glowing paint that lasts for, like, six hours. I designed it for something kinda like this. Miners and spelunkers and people like that would be able to spray the walls in dark places to give them a little light and not lose track of where they'd been." She sprayed some onto the wall of the cave to demonstrate its neon green glow. With a wince, she reached into the capsule case. "Please don't be gross, please don't be gross!" she pleaded as she threw the capsule case onto the ground. When the smoke cleared, she was even more mortified than before. It was her _mother's._

Krillin gave the top magazine a cursory glance. "Why are those two guys-" he began to say before Bulma snatched up the magazine and kicked the rest of the stack down the mountain. The dirty documents fluttered in the wind like a flock of birds as Bulma rolled up the magazine and sprayed the top of it, creating a rudimentary torch.

"Let's go!" Goku said with a wide grin and headed into the cave with a carefree stride as the other three marched behind her. Looking for Dragon Balls with Bulma. Just like last year!

OoOoOoO

Yamcha was by himself now. Well, Puar was floating around and watching him as he liked to do but he wasn't training with anyone else. Krillin had gone with Goku and Bulma and Launch had sneezed and gone inside the house. Which he honestly preferred. Blonde Launch was nice but she could also be a little… pushy.

"Y'know she thinks yer cheatin'," Launch had said to him once after he got off the phone with Bulma. "So why aren't ya?" She had asked and put her hand on his arm in a way that made him uncomfortable. He'd pulled away and frowned at her.

"That," he had said, "makes less than no sense. If that's what she thinks, I have to just try that much harder to prove that I'm not." Not that telling her that had made her any less dogged.

Yamcha tried to push those things out of his mind as he focused on the task at hand. He took a deep breath as he brought up one arm with the palm facing upward. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand and focused. He tried to search for the feeling he had when he would attempt the Kamehameha. That building of energy, that heat, that concentration of all his power into a single point. When he found that feeling, he held onto it and brought it upward. He watched as his palm began to glow with a bright yellow light. He could hear Puar clapping his paws excitedly but forced himself to tune it out. He wasn't out of the woods yet. The yellow light grew brighter and began to take a shape. It was like watching a bubble grow off of his hand. Yamcha delicately pulled his hand away from the light and watched the ball of energy hover in the air. He sighed and wiped sweat off his forehead, feeling accomplished. However, before he could try anything else, the ball exploded and sent him flying backwards. Yamcha slammed into a tree with his hair blown back and his face blackened with soot.

"Was it supposed to do that?" Puar asked with a mixture of concern and confusion as he floated over to Yamcha. Yamcha sighed as he wiped the soot off with the bottom of his shirt.

"Not _yet,_ " he said in an aggravated tone as he sat up and rubbed his back. Still, it was progress. He wasn't quite sure _what_ the energy he was controlling was but now he knew he could manipulate it. He'd figure out the Kamehameha. Krillin would. Hell, _Launch_ probably would. But this? This would be his ace in the hole.

Roshi stretched back in his lounge chair and sipped on a glass of iced tea. That explosion was probably just Yamcha practicing some secret technique that would give him an edge. The thought of that made him smile. It had been that same mindset that had caused him to develop the Kamehameha. He could never definitively defeat Shen so he came up with a super move that would tip the scales in his favor. What was hilarious was that Shen had _the exact same idea_ and that put them back at square one. He gave a sad sigh and shook his head. Those had been better times.

A sudden sound broke Roshi out of his melancholic memories. He looked up and saw a pair of military transport helicopters coming towards the island. That was disconcerting enough. The large red insignia on the nose of each chopper was… more so. The helicopters kicked up sand and salt spray as they landed. Nearly fifty armed men poured out of the helicopters, brandishing their weapons with very serious expressions. The biggest one was a tall, stubbly man who pointed the barrel of his assault rifle straight at Roshi's face.

"You!" the man said. "Have you had any contact with a young girl exhibiting superhuman abilities, who wears orange clothes and has spiky black hair?" Roshi adjusted his glasses and casually pushed the gun aside with his glass.

"You mean Son Goku?" he asked rhetorically. "Yes, I have." The man moved away from him and, in a bizarre spectacle, every single one of the Red Ribbon soldiers gathered up into a huddle. They whispered conspiratorially and many would look back over their shoulders at Roshi. Then the huddle broke and the stubbled man approached him again.

"If you are an ally of this Son Goku then you are an enemy of the Red Ribbon Army," the man declared with a sneer as he pointed his gun at Roshi again. "But if you help us, we might let you live. Are you the man who invented the Dragon Radar?" The man put his finger on the trigger to make his obvious intent even more clear. If Roshi gave him an answer he didn't like, he would die.

"Nope," Roshi said bluntly. They all blinked and stared. That was clearly neither the response nor the reaction they were expecting.

"L-listen, old man," the stubbled soldier said with obvious fluster, "If you don't-" Roshi cut him off by throwing his tea in the man's face. While he was blinded, Roshi moved in a flash to jump up from his chair and hit the soldier with a spin kick to the chest that sent him flying into the sea. The other soldiers finally reacted and the air was filled with a hail of bullets. Roshi ducked and dodged and started picking the soldiers off with well-placed punches and kicks as Turtle hid inside his shell.

Launch had been watching somewhat nervously from the kitchen window. She knew Master Roshi was strong but there were just _so many_ of them. When the bullets started flying, she shrieked and fell to the floor. The pepper shaker fell off the counter and landed right in front of her. She grabbed it with a sigh and shook the pepper into the palm of one hand. Ever since it had been explained to her what happened when she sneezed, Launch had discovered that she didn't quite _like_ her Blonde self. She was apparently rude, crass, lewd, and didn't like changing back into her. But she knew when the other her was needed. Like now, for instance. She took a deep sniff of the pepper.

Blonde Launch came bursting out of the front door of the house seconds later, flying through the air and swinging her leg in a wide kick that took out four Red Ribbon soldiers in a row like dominos. She made her way to Roshi and the two of them fought back to back as the soldiers pressed their attack.

"Helluva party, huh?!" she asked jokingly over the cacophony of gunfire. Roshi nodded as he grabbed bullets out of the air and let them drop.

"But unless they decide to put down their guns, there's only so fast we can take 'em all out!" No sooner had Roshi said that than Yamcha leaped dramatically over the roof with his sword drawn. He swung the sword with such speed that the blade disappeared into a whirlwind of flashing silver. The guns were slashed to scrap as Yamcha ran past them, the weapons falling apart in the soldiers' hands. Puar followed behind him in the form of a giant, flying magnet and grabbed the metal scraps to dump them all into the ocean.

"Something like that?" Yamcha asked with a grin as he sheathed his sword. Roshi smirked and took off his sunglasses. No sense in risking their getting damaged. Not like there was a sunglass shop anywhere nearby.

"Much better," he said before the three of them charged into battle as the soldiers decided to take their chances and rush them bare-handed. This did not work out well for the Red Ribbon Army. In less than two minutes, the entire force had been knocked into the sea and was being carried out by the tide.

"Shit," Launch muttered with disappointment as she kicked the sand. "I wish they'd brought more guys. I really felt like I was about to figure out the kiai." Roshi shrugged and looked at the helicopters.

"S'pose I better do somethin' about these. Stand back!" he blasted the choppers to slag and shrapnel with a Kamehameha. Yamcha watched the smoke from the wreckage billow up into the sky and looked out towards the horizon.

' _Bulma,'_ he thought, ' _Whatever you guys are doing on that volcano, I hope you're okay.'_ He knew Bulma was smart and that the other three were good martial artists- and, for crying out loud, they had Goku- but he still felt an unease in his stomach. He was probably worrying about nothing. Right?


	16. Danger Inside the Mountain!

Chapter Sixteen

Danger Inside the Mountain!

The quartet walked through the cavernous tunnels and their footsteps echoed off the stone walls. As they went further and further inside the mountain, they became increasingly reliant on Bulma's makeshift porno torch as the only source of light. Goku took the lead because she had the Dragon Radar and because she was Goku. Anything bad that could be hiding in the caves would probably break itself running into her. Suno followed behind Goku with Bulma in the middle and Krillin grudgingly brought up the rear. Suddenly, there was a clicking sound as Goku took a step and she stumbled forward as her foot sunk into the floor.

"Goku!" The other three cried out simultaneously. Suno grabbed the back of Goku's shirt and yanked her back as spears burst up from the floor to fill the entire width of the tunnel. They slowly sunk back down into the floor as the group stared with wide eyes. As the spears slid down, their edges glinted in the green light of the torch to reveal a razor sharpness to them.

"Well," Bulma said as she bent down to bring the light closer to the floor, "Now we know there's booby traps." Which seemed strange to her. The civilization who lived here already had the safety of it being _a volcano._ So why did they need to load it up with traps? Maybe, she thought, some pirates or something drove them out of the volcano and used the booby traps to protect their treasure? So many questions. It made Bulma sad to think that she'd probably never have answers. She sighed and stood back up, holding the torch high. "We better keep moving." The others nodded as they continued their march and kept an eye to avoid any traps.

The marching order changed slightly as they made their way deeper and deeper into the volcano. While Goku and Bulma didn't change their positions, Suno and Krillin frequently shuffled around, more on Krillin's insistence than anything else. He came up with quite a few excuses as to why the order needed to change but Suno got fed up with it pretty quickly.

"If you're going to be so jealous about everything," she said, "We can all walk at the front!" She didn't know what Krillin's problem was but she was getting _really_ annoyed with the former monk. Krillin's face reddened at the accusation.

"I-I'm not jealous!" he insisted as he walked alongside Goku and Suno. Goku, being Goku, wasn't entirely sure what jealousy _was_ so she was just happy that they were all walking together. Bulma huffed behind them.

"Fine," she said dryly under her breath, "I'll just walk in the back with no one to protect me if we're being followed by the Red Ribbon Army. No, really. It's _great."_ Krillin frowned and chewed on his bottom lip.

"I'm not jealous," he repeated quietly, more to himself than anyone else. Okay, maybe he was. Just a little bit. It was just weird to him that Goku seemed as close to Suno, who he couldn't have known for more than a week, as she was to him after they'd spent over a year training together. Did that mean Suno was a better friend than him? He _had_ been a jerk for the first few weeks he and Goku had known each other. Krillin shook his head and tried to think positive. All that thinking like this would do was make him depressed. Goku tried to be friend with everyone, that was all it was. Wasn't it?

Krillin was so wrapped up in his own self-doubt that he didn't even notice that he'd stepped on a pressure pad until the floor whooshed out from under him. He screamed out in shock as he fell.

"Krillin!" Goku cried as she reached out for her friend and Bulma and even Suno cried out in dismay. Until they all noticed that Krillin had fallen a grand total of two inches. Krillin looked down at the floor under him and tapped his foot against it in confusion. What kind of booby trap was _this?_

"I think you were supposed to fall into the magma," Suno suggested. The idea was so ridiculous and so fortunate that the four couldn't help but laugh. Krillin hopped out of the "pit" and they all made their way deeper into the caverns.

"So," Suno said to Krillin after a while of avoiding booby traps and otherwise silence, "You and Goku are both trained by the Turtle Hermit?" She figured that if she tried talking to Krillin, maybe he wouldn't be so weird about… everything.

"Yeah," Krillin said with a nod. "And we both entered the Tenkaichi Budoukai this year. We even fought each other in the semifinals."

"How'd that go?" Suno asked. Krillin gave a sideways glance to Goku and a look on his face that said "How do you think?" Suno giggled at that while Goku hummed a little tune to herself. She was happy that Suno and Krillin were talking. She wanted all her friends to be friends with each other.

"Before I trained under Master Roshi," Krillin said, "I spent eight years with the Orin Monks. That… wasn't fun but I learned the way of the Orin Temple which works pretty well when I put it together with what I learned from Roshi." Suno's eyebrows went up with slight interest.

"My Master told me about the Orin style before," she said. "That's where you use your opponent's momentum against them, right? It's a very defensive martial art." Now it was Krillin's turn to be surprised.

"You're a martial artist, too?" he asked. Suno's expression was more than a little defensive.

"Why? Is there a problem with that?" Once again, Krillin just looked at Goku. "Oh, right," Suno said with a slight blush before continuing, "A-anyway, yes. I learned the _Odori_ Style from Master Frost back home in Jingle Village," she took a quick look around the tunnel and gave a somewhat bashful smile. "It's a _little_ too cramped here to demonstrate and it's a little difficult to explain with words but maybe once we're out of here, I could show you in a spar?" Krillin smiled at that.

"That sounds fun," he said. Maybe Suno wasn't so bad after all. The two of them followed after Goku with Bulma behind them. They weren't quite friends _yet_ but it was a start.

OoOoOoO

General Blue idly flipped through a magazine while sitting on the case that held Android Nine as two men carried it up the mountain. It was such a strange bit of good luck that a whole stack of these dirty documents had come fluttering down the mountain like a flock of birds. The walk had been so _dreadfully_ boring that he'd welcomed the… "entertainment." He obviously wasn't going to _walk_ and read up the mountain. He might twist an ankle. Besides, if any of his men had an issue with carrying him, he'd… well he wouldn't _kill_ them. He wasn't a mindless savage like White or Silver. There would be paperwork to fill out and they'd have to stop and bury the body and next of kin would have to be notified. Not to mention that training new recruits took _ages._ He'd never killed one of his men. However, when they were insubordinate, he _did_ beat them into submission. Which was oh so much more fun. It was, after all, how he'd dealt with Teal. He'd been such an arrogant brute when he'd first been assigned to Blue's company and had said just the most _hurtful_ things. Now he was the perfectly obedient little soldier.

Thinking of Teal made him wonder why he hadn't heard back from the man. It had been nearly half an hour. How long could the task have possibly taken? Unless the super girl had far more allies than they'd expected. What if she had an entire _army_ of strange freaks like herself? The thought made him shudder.

"Sir!" called a voice that broke the General from his thoughts. He peered over the edge of his magazine at a barrel-shaped boar man with purple fur. Sergeant… Mauve, was it? Really his fur was more of a Maroon, but Private Maroon was also in his troop. Funnily enough, he was a panda. But such was the lot of the color coordination in the Red Ribbon Army. General Blue hopped off the container with a sigh and rolled up his magazine in one hand.

"What is it, Sergeant?" he asked as he followed the beastman with both hands behind his back. Sergeant Mauve gestured to a luminous green patch on the wall of a tunnel in the side of the mountain. General Blue frowned at it and leaned in to inspect it. There were driplines running down the wall and it smelled of chemicals.

"This," General Blue said while gesturing with his magazine like it was a baton, "Is no doubt the path that our little menace and her accomplices took to search for the Dragon Ball. Now who's going to go in there and get her?" A frogman saluted and charged into the tunnel with flashlight in hand. General White tried to remember the man's name as the other troops waited to see what happened. Then there was a bloodcurdling scream and a horrible… wet sound. After that, General Blue shrugged. The frogman's name no longer mattered. "Someone go in there and fetch his corpse," General Blue said casually as he hopped back up onto the container, "And hopefully the next person is a bit more careful, hmm?" He opened his magazine and turn the page. The picture made his cheeks redden and he let out a naughty chortle.

OoOoOoO

For the Red Ribbon soldiers, the tunnels were nothing short of nightmarish. Without a Dragon Radar to guide them, they would take wrong turns and get lost in endless mazes that lead to certain death. Spike pits, crushing rocks from above, spears from below, and arrows through the sides. Their horrified screams echoed hauntingly off the walls.

OoOoOoO

"Sounds like we've got company…" Krillin said nervously as another dying scream reached them.

"Sounds like we _had_ company," Bulma corrected him dryly. Goku frowned down at the Dragon Radar and shook it. "Hey, hey!" Bulma shouted and went to grab the Radar. "The heck are you doing?!" Goku frowned and showed it to her. She didn't know why Bulma had to grab it, she was going to give it to her.

"Something's wrong with the Dragon Radar," Goku said as she let Bulma take the Radar. Now it was Bulma's turn to frown and tap at the screen. The Dragon Ball was flickering all over the place!

"That doesn't make any sense…" Bulma muttered and chewed on her bottom lip. What could be messing with the Dragon Radar's sensors like this? She ran a finger over the wall and sucked her lips in and pushed them out. "Maybe this area of the volcano has a high sulfur content. That might create some interference." She sighed and looked at the fork in the tunnel with one path to the left and one path to the right.

"Guess we have to split up," Suno said reluctantly. She just hoped she wasn't stuck with Bulma. Not that she _disliked_ her but if there was anything dangerous on their path… the phrase "less than useless" jumped to mind.

"Me and Goku will take the left!" Krillin said suddenly and Suno fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was going to protest when Goku spoke up.

"Okay!" she said with an eager grin. This would be fun! She hadn't seen Krillin in a couple of weeks and wanted to know how his training had been going. Suno fought the urge to groan by clenching and opening her fists.

"Then I guess that's me and Suno," Bulma said as she fished around for something she could spray her glowing paint on. Eventually, she just picked up a stick from the ground and sprayed half of it. She handed it to Krillin mostly because she didn't trust Goku not to be tempted to eat it. Meanwhile, Goku handed Suno the Power Pole.

"Just in case there's something extra bad in there," Goku said before putting a hand over her mouth to whisper, "I know that Bulma isn't much of a fighter." The fact that Goku was actually trying to be discreet made Suno giggle which made Goku giggle in response.

"And just what's so funny?" Bulma asked indignantly with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing, nothing!" Suno assured her with a wave even as they continued to giggle. Bulma huffed and headed down the right tunnel.

"C'mon!" she urged. Suno nodded and ran after her, stopping at the mouth of the tunnel to wave at Goku and Krillin before she disappeared. Goku waved back before she and Krillin headed down the left path.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Krillin walked down the tunnel for a while. She'd stopped hearing the Red Ribbon Army guys so they'd either given up or were too far away for her to hear. Not that she cared either way. They were jerks! It was nice to talk to Krillin again, though. He told her that Launch was learning martial arts really fast and that made Goku happy. She'd always liked Launch and had wanted to spar with her. Maybe now she'd be at the next Tenkaichi Budoukai! Yamcha was pushing himself really hard, too. He would even get Master Roshi to spar with him! That made Goku _so_ jealous. She wished _she_ could fight Master Roshi. She wondered if he was as good as Jackie Chun.

"I still haven't been able to do the Kamehameha," Krillin said glumly as they walked. "I've been trying ever since I saw you and Jackie Chun do it at the Tournament but I just can't get it to work!" Goku gave her friend a reassuring smile and a pat on the back.

"You'll figure it out!" she encouraged him. She felt kind of bad for Krillin sometimes. He always had such a hard time believing in himself. "If everything was easy, it wouldn't feel good when you got it right!" That made Krillin smile which made Goku smile even more.

"Hey, Goku?" Krillin asked after a minute. Goku had been daydreaming about the next World Tournament and beating Jackie Chun this time when Krillin's question brought her back to the present.

"Yeah?"

"You and Suno seem like pretty good friends," he said. Goku blinked a few times and cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah?" she asked in confusion. Krillin chewed on his bottom lip before speaking again.

"It's just that… you've only known her for a week." Goku nodded but still didn't really see Krillin's point. "I mean, we've known each other for more than a year. So I'm still your best friend, right?" Krillin asked. Goku could tell in his voice that her friend really wanted an answer.

"Well, yeah!" Goku told him, "Just because I have new friends doesn't mean I don't like my old ones as much." What kind of a silly question was that? That seemed to make Krillin happy which made Goku happy, too.

"You're an amazing person, Son Goku," Krillin said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Goku grinned before adding, "But I didn't do anything" in a confused tone. Krillin just kept on smiling.

OoOoOoO

General Blue gave an exasperated sigh as the fifteenth man died in the volcano. This was getting just _embarrassing._ He hopped off of the container and tossed the magazine over his shoulder to fly back down the mountain. He'd finished with it a few minutes ago anyway.

"I just want you all to know how very disappointed I am with you," he said with a schoolmaster's disapproval, "Your poor showing today has made a ruination of the Blue company's reputation and forced me to use this… thing," he paused for a moment and stared at the number pad while he wracked his brain for the precise numerical combination that would release Gero's latest mad creation. If more than two incorrect guesses were entered, a laser gun would pop out of the container and shoot the person dead. Finally he remembered the code and tapped it in. He stepped back when he heard something rumbling from inside.

The coffin opened with a dramatic hiss and a release of steam as the lid rose and slid away. The soldiers watched with bated breath and even General Blue was somewhat wary. There was a sudden blur of movement, a red-gray streak. It bolted for the cave in an erratic series of movements. One unfortunate man was standing between the Android and the cave and was sliced clean in half.

Android Nine skittered across the walls of the cave before hopping to the floor and then leaping onto the ceiling. There was neither rhyme nor reason to its movements as it charged forward blindly. It haphazardly triggered traps and steamrolled through wooden spears and raining rocks. Android Nine didn't care about protocols or clear thinking. Its sensors searched only for the next warm bodies. Its artificial intelligence understood only one directive: to kill.

OoOoOoO

Bulma and Suno walked down the hallway in relatively awkward silence. It made Bulma uncomfortable. Even after their… incident earlier, it felt like Suno had a problem with her. Add it all to the fact that even with all the times Goku and Suno had told the story that she still didn't really _know_ the girl… she felt like she should fix that.

"So… Suno," she began slowly. Suno just gave her a sideways glance and Bulma decided that was the most she was going to get for a reply and went with it, "What was it like in Jingle Village?" Suno's expression brightened ever so slightly as she spoke.

"Well, it's pretty cold most of the year but the snow is beautiful and we get a couple really nice months of spring," her smile widened as she went on, "And I got to see the Northern Lights! Those were _so_ amazing. I know other people see pictures and stuff but you really have to see it in person." Then Suno shifted in a heartbeat to a level of biting sarcasm that surpassed even Bulma herself. "Oh, and then the Red Ribbon Army showed up and started oppressing everyone. _That_ was fun." Bulma winced.

"Well, I mean, okay, yeah," she sucked on her lip and tried to think of something else to talk about. Usually when she was at school with her friends, one of the things they'd wind up complaining about were their parents. "So! Uh… what are your parents like?"

"My mom is a great cook," Suno said, "and she can be kind of a huge worrier. She didn't want me to get into martial arts but I did anyway." That made Bulma smile. A little bit of rebellion to her. So maybe her and Suno _could_ have something in common after all.

"Did you run away from home to go with Goku?" Bulm asked.

"No," Suno said with a shake of her head, "Mom let me. She knew it was something I had to do." Well, so much for that. "My mom says I'm a lot like my dad. He was strong and friendly and strong-willed. And he had a big, scratchy beard."

"Well, what happened to him?"

"He died fighting the Red Ribbon Army."

"Oh." Well _that_ killed the mood. It certainly explained a few things, though.

After a few minutes of _even more_ awkward silence, they came to what looked like a dead end. Bulma walked towards it and held up her torch to discover that it wasn't a dead end at all. It was a stone double door that had been cut into the rock. She even found grooves for handholds. Bulma grabbed at the handholds and pulled. Nothing happened so she pulled harder. Still nothing.

"Let me try," Suno said and pushed her way to the doors. Bulma smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

"What, are you stronger than me?" she asked sarcastically as Suno reached up to grab the handholds herself.

"Yes," Suno said bluntly before pulling on the handholds. Just as much nothing as Bulma had gotten. She grit her teeth and groaned with the effort and pulled harder. Some dust fell off the wall which made it barely more than nothing.

"Maybe there's something we have to do get it to open," Bulma suggested. "Let's look around the room for some clues." The tension between the two slowly dissolved or was at the very least put aside for the time in the face of some good old fashioned sleuthing. The two girls scoured every inch of the area around the door and found… nothing. Nothing but a hieroglyph over the door that looked a little bit like two people dancing.

"What, are we supposed to dance the door open?" Suno asked incredulously. There was a minute where the both of them clearly expected the other to do something. Finally, Bulma gave an exasperated sigh and began to do a _very_ reluctant Twist.

OoOoOoO

Goku gave an aggravated groan when they reached the end of the hallway. There was _nothing_ in the whole hallway. All that walking for nothing!

"I guess we need to go back and find Bulma and Suno," Goku said and started to walk.

"Hold on, Goku," Krillin said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe there's a switch for a secret door or something!" ' _Hopefully,_ ' Krillin thought, ' _It's a switch that won't kill us.'_ Krillin started to feel along the wall when something made him stop. There was a sudden change in the air, a tension. Like someone was staring at him. Slowly he and Goku turned and discovered that something was blocking their way.

To say that the thing standing between them and the rest of the hallway was something out of Krillin's nightmares would give the things in his nightmares too much credit. It was a tall, humanoid machine, bigger than one of them standing on the other's shoulders with spindly limbs and long, sinister fingers. The thing looked like some kind of awful puppet. Its face seemed to be permanently frozen in a horrified expression with a gaping mouth and two sunken black eyes. A red light came from the center of its chest that bathed the whole room in an unnerving glow and even overpowered the light from Krillin's torch. From the way that the light reflected off its own body, Krillin could tell that whatever this… _thing_ was was a machine.

The machine stood completely still as they stared at it. For an infinite second, the only sound was the strange hiss that the robot made that sent a fear deep into Krillin's bones. Finally, and perhaps inevitably, Goku took a step towards it. Whether she was going to attack the robot or greet it would forever be a mystery. With that one step, the robot threw its head back and raised its hands to the sky as it let out a terrible shriek that blared like a siren. Goku backed away and grabbed at her ears in pain. The sound seemed to bother her even more than it did him, Krillin thought before he screwed his eyes shut. Even that siren was drowned out by the bizarre sound of… chainsaws?! Krillin slowly opened his eyes and the pair of young martial artists stared agape as every inch of the hellish marionette's body was covered in screaming, whirring chainsaw blades. Krillin swallowed nervously as he and Goku slid into their guard stances. This was _nuts._

* * *

SSV/N: So yeah. Bit of a snafu last week. Here is chapter sixteen as originally intended, separate from chapter fifteen.


	17. Fighting the Whirlwind!

Chapter Seventeen

Fighting the Whirlwind! Danger of the Blue Rose!

Goku frowned at the blade-covered monster that was bearing down on her and Krillin. She didn't know how to attack it so she charged forward and threw a powerful punch to the chest of the machine. She was surprised that it didn't try to block and she hit it dead on. Immediately though, she pulled her hand back and cried out in pain. She stared down at her knuckles in shock. She was _bleeding._ Not a cut, scrape, or busted lip like when she'd been in the world tournament, she was _really_ bleeding.

"A-are you okay, Goku?" Krillin asked in horrorstruck shock. If this thing could hurt _Goku_ like that then what chance did he have? She nodded and flexed her fingers. She put on a smile even though she winced.

"I'm fine," she promised, "We just have to be careful!" No sooner had she said that then Android Nine charged at them in a flash of silver. They barely dodged in time as it swung one leg in a crescent kick that sliced through stone and showered sparks down onto them. They both rolled to their feet and, purely by accident, threw out simultaneous kiai waves that knocked the Android off its feet and sent up another shower of sparks when it landed. Goku gasped with stars in her eyes and clapped her hands to her cheeks. "You can do the kiai now, too?" she asked Krillin excitedly.

"Me and Yamcha pushed each other to learn it," Krillin said with a grin. Goku clapped in appreciation and Krillin was so distracted by praise that he almost didn't notice Android Nine barreling down on them. "Look out!" he cried in warning. They leaped simultaneously to the opposite sides and let Android Nine slam into the wall. "If we keep hitting it with kiai, it can't touch us!" Goku nodded and the two of them quickly got into their guards as the robot charged at them again. Whatever else it was, the machine was _fast._ They threw swipes through the air and let out kiai, Goku's distressingly trailed by blood, that slammed into the Android. This time, they only staggered it. They struck again but this time the Android dodged. It was _learning._ It clung by its feet to the ceiling and threw out its arm. To their shock, its hand shot out on a steel chain. Goku grabbed the chain out of the air and yanked Android Nine down to the ground. She swung it around, slamming it against the walls. Krillin smiled excitedly. It looked like they were going to beat this guy no problem! Until Krillin noticed that the more Goku did, the worse she started to bleed. "Be careful!" he cried.

Goku smiled despite the pain and shook her hand. "I'm fine!" she assured Krillin even as blood flew everywhere. Krillin paled at the sight but their attention was pulled away as the chain shifted in Goku's hand. Android Nine slowly rose to its feet and several of its blades were chipped and bent. For a moment, that made them optimistic before the android shook the broken blades off like a dog shaking off water and new blades burst into place where the exposed metallic skeleton had been. Goku went to tug at the chain again but the android, seemingly in a fit of insanity, hacked the chain away and found itself with one less hand. At least until it grew _another_ hand _entirely out of sawblades._

Goku and Krillin went back into their guards as the Android's siren wailed and its blades revved. Goku was determined to overcome this challenge. Krillin was determined not to scream and run. The three charged at one another, all screaming for different reasons.

OoOoOoO

Bulma had given up on unsuccessfully performing The Twist and was now trying her hand at The Running Man, standing in place as she pumped her arms backwards and moved her legs… well, as if she was running. The door was not impressed. Suno had been watching with her hands on her hips and shared the door's opinion.

"Not that this isn't _fun,"_ she said dryly, "But why don't I try?" With that, she put her hands across her chest and started kicking her legs out in front of her. Bulma stopped her dance to gawk at Suno incredulously before she burst into a fit of laughter.

"What kind of dance is _that?!"_ she asked. Suno huffed but didn't stop dancing.

"It's a traditional dance back in Jingle Village!" she said defensively. Bulma gave a derisive snort and Suno's face reddened. "Well let's see you try something!" Bulma rose to the challenge and promptly flopped to the ground. Suno was so confused that she almost stopped dancing before Bulma suddenly started doing The Worm.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Krillin were sweating and breathing heavily with exertion as Android Nine was hunched over and waiting like an animal coiled and ready to strike. Goku winced as the sweat got into the cut on her hand. The good news was that it was the only cut she had gotten since they were using kiai to keep the android away. Krillin was pretty much unhurt for the same reason. The _bad_ news was that they weren't hurting the android much and it wasn't getting tired. They'd need some way to _hit_ it without having to actually _touch_ it.

Android Nine made a strange clicking noise and tilted its head inquisitively to the side as if waiting for them to make a move. Goku reached for her Power Pole on her back… only for her fingers to run through empty air as she remembered that she'd given the Power Pole to Suno. Her eyes looked around the room for something she might use as a weapon when her eyes fell on the broken chain that the android had cut away. She went to reach for the chain but the second she made a move, a rocket-powered piece of chainsaw fired out at her. It was only Goku's superhuman speed that kept her from losing a finger. She hopped back and looked at Krillin in a silent proposal of a plan. Krillin nodded his agreement and Goku ran for the chain. Android Nine launched another chainsaw at Goku but Krillin buffeted it away with a wave of kiai. It fired another but Krillin blocked it again. Now the machine's full attention was on Krillin and it fired a barrage of self-replacing, rocket-powered chainsaw blades.

"How many chainsaws does this thing have?!" Krillin cried in exasperation as a few of the deflected blades still barely missed his shiny head which was all the shinier for his nervous sweating.

OoOoOoO

 _Several weeks earlier…_

Archimedes Gero rubbed his mustache as he looked up at the bare-minimum mountain of chainsaws he'd requested and looked back down at his blueprints. His eyebrows furrowed in thought as he frowned and "hmmm'd" and "hrmmm'd" and had to come to a decision. Given the amount of chainsaws he had in relation to the design he had for Android Nine, he would either have to build an android that was ten thousand feet tall- which was a design that he both lacked the resources, time, and manpower for- or he would have to break the laws of physics.

"What the hell," he muttered as he strapped on his mad science goggles and pulled on his mad science gloves. "I've always wanted to invent a pocket dimension!" He laughed a mad scientist laugh and got down to some mad science.

OoOoOoO

Goku swung the chain over her head so fast that she was creating an updraft as she kicked up a chunk of the floor and hit it at Android Nine to get its attention. It whirled on Goku and made another horrible metallic shriek as it prepared to charge. She let one end of the chain fly with a fraction of a second to spare. The steel wrapped around the mechanical monster and ensnared it. It squirmed and thrashed but Goku held it in a vice-like grip with all her strength.

"Now, Krillin!" she called. The monk nodded and moved his arms with blurring speed to strike the android with an unrelenting barrage of kiai from which it had no way to escape. It writhed and shrieked under Krillin's assault before she yanked up on the chain to fling Android Nine into the air and yanked it back down to smash it into the ground. The walls shook and the floor cracked with the force of Goku's slam. There was a long silence when the rumbling stopped and for a moment Goku and Krillin thought they had beaten it. Then there was a horrible wrenching sound as the chainsaws pushed against the chains and tore them apart. Android Nine stood slowly as the broken blades were once again replaced with new ones. It spread out its arms and legs in an X-shape and splayed its blades out wide. There was a flash of red and it was all the warning Goku needed. She sprinted over to Krillin as the cave was filled with a whirlwind of shrieking, screaming, bloodthirsty steel.

OoOoOoO

Suno was committing to what could only be described as the world's most aggressive Riverdance while Bulma did an excessively competitive rendition of The Robot. They both came to a stop and took a tired breath.

"Well, this isn't getting anywhere," Suno said in exasperation. Bulma looked back up at the carving on the ceiling and frowned, tapping a finger against her bottom lip.

"There's two people over the door," she observed. "Maybe we have to… dance together?" Suno gave a resigned sigh and stood next to Bulma. They took a few steps back and leaned back before leaning forward, then turned to the side and sidestepped a few times to the left and the right before turning again. It was at this precise moment that they realized how awkward it was to do The Electric Slide to no music.

OoOoOoO

Sawblades were jutting out of the stone walls in all directions and the ringing in Krillin's ears finally subsided from the horrible sound of metal on stone as the last few sparks slowly trickled down. Krillin opened his eyes to discover that he was unharmed and that Goku was standing in front of him with her arms spread wide. She was breathing heavily and Krillin had never seen her in such pain, not even when Jackie Chun had used the Bankoku Bikkuri Shou on her.

"G-Goku?" he asked in a tremulous voice. She gave him a pained smile and fell forward. It was only then that Krillin understood the source of Goku's pain. Her back was a raw, bloody ruin with gashes along her arm, legs, and back; cuts going in every direction. His face paled before he looked back up to see Android Nine. It was bare and hunched forward. It turned to look at him with that same frozen, chilling expression. Krillin bit his lip and took a step back in a panic before he looked back down at Goku. She'd saved his life. If those blades could hurt Goku then they would have torn him to shreds.

A sudden and steely determination filled Krillin up. He wouldn't run. He wouldn't be afraid. Not anymore. Not when Goku needed him. Time seemed to slow down as Android Nine shrieked with murderous intent as the blades burst out all over its body again. It spread its limbs and splayed its chainsaws… and Krillin saw it. An exposure of the glowing red core. Krillin knew it was his only shot and he knew what he had to do. The six incense burns on his forehead glowed white as power filled his whole body and was drawn down to his hands as he put them at his sides.

"Kamehameha!" The bleam flew from his hands like a blue cyclone and struck Android Nine in the exposed core. It gave one last shriek as it exploded although this one seemed to hold more terror and pain than rage and hate, as if it knew that it were dying. Krillin threw himself to the ground as fiery shrapnel exploded in every direction. When everything had finally settled, Krillin got back up to his feet and carefully helped Goku up. "Can you walk?" he asked her. When she gave no reply, he put her over his shoulders and started to head out of the tunnel.

"Hey," Goku said weakly as Krillin walked, "I knew you could do the Kamehameha." Krillin smiled and nodded. She'd been right. Goku was usually right about those sorts of things. Krillin tried to blow sweat away as it dripped down his face since his hands were occupied. It was getting kind of warm...

OoOoOoO

General Blue heard an explosion and sighed. That probably meant that the ridiculous metal monster had been destroyed. This day was turning into a disaster.

"If you want something done right…" he muttered to himself as he undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt to toss them both aside before handing his hat to one of his soldiers. With a weary sigh, he entered the cave.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Bulma were down to the last dance they could think of. They'd taken to singing a capella beats to make the dancing less awkward and were now swinging their hips from side to side in time. They stuck out their arms with the palms up before folding their arms one over the other. Then they brought their hands up behind their heads and down to their hips before throwing their arms up in the air at the music's crescendo. They waited for a few seconds to see if anything would finally happen.

The door was still unimpressed. Suno shrieked in frustration and ran to the door, pounding her fists against the stone.

"We tried every stupid dance we could think of!" she moaned in impotent fury. Bulma joined her and the two beat a percussive demand on the doors.

"Open!" they cried in unison. "Open, open, open open, open!" Finally they threw their bodies against the doors… which flew open with no resistance. They laid there for a few moments in shock before rolling onto their backs and staring up at the ceiling. They looked at each other before slowly turning to look at the door's hinges.

 _It was a push door._

They slowly looked at each other again. Bulma spoke, "This never happened. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Bulma was the first to get up and held out a hand to help Suno to her feet. Suno smiled and took the hand as the two of them took stock of the room they'd danced their way into. It looked like some sort of burial chamber. A skeleton sat on a stone chair in the center of the room and was covered with somewhat crude jewelry and the walls were festooned with what they assumed were religious tokens. Standing behind the skeleton in a row were solemn-faced stone statues that were armed and armored. But most importantly of all was the Dragon Ball. It had landed oh-so perfectly in the skeleton's hands.

Bulma took a few careful steps towards the skeleton with Suno close behind. They were both waiting for some new horrible trap to assail them as they tip-toed closer and closer. Bulma stuck out her tongue in concentration and wiped sweat from her forehead as she reached out with her other hand and delicately grabbed the Ball. Bulma went to pull the Ball away…

The "Crack!" that echoed off the walls made both girls want to jump out of their skin. Bulma slowly looked down at the Dragon Ball in her hands. There were also… hands in her hands. She fought the urge to scream and carefully pried the hands away and put them in the skeleton's lap.

"Hey," Suno whispered, "Did one of those statues move?" Bulma shook her head nervously and sucked in her lips. Statues didn't move, right? One of the hands slid out of the skeleton's lap and clattered to the floor. The two were so on-edge as it was that the sound made them shriek and run back the way they'd came with Bulma carrying the Dragon Ball high overhead.

OoOoOoO

Krillin heard the screaming and looked down the right pathway with concern. He had to jump back to avoid Bulma and Suno bowling him over as they ran right past him and were still screaming. Eventually they came back to him, running _backwards._ After that they stopped screaming.

"So, what'd you guys…" Bulma started to say before she noticed Goku on Krillin's back. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped. "Put her down, quick!"

"What happened?" Suno asked with wide eyes. What could possibly hurt _Goku_ this badly? She took off her knapsack and opened it as Krillin let Goku gently down. She pulled a canteen out of the bag as Krillin spoke.

"There was some kinda… chainsaw robot," Krillin said numbly as Suno poured the water over Goku's cuts. The other girl squirmed slightly. "I think it was the Red Ribbon Army's. I mean, it had to be, right? She put herself between me and the blades and then… I blew it up with the Kamehameha." Bulma, meanwhile, was taking off her shirt.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Suno asked incredulously. It became clear soon enough as Bulma tore her shirt into strips and crouched down to wrap the strips of cloth around Goku's cuts. She fastened the strips with little knots and dumped the Dragon Ball into Suno's knapsack before hefting Goku onto her shoulders like she was giving the other girl a piggy-back ride.

"Oof," she muttered, "You're heavy for not being very big." Goku only groaned in reply. With that, the three continued their way back up the tunnel and towards the light of day.

"Hey," Krillin said in a weary breath, "Does it seem… warmer to you guys?" They all blinked as they realized that, yes, it _had_ gotten quite a bit warmer than when they'd started walking down the cave. It wasn't just the fact that they were sweating because that could have come from physical exertion. The air was heavy and the ground under their feet was warm. Suddenly, the ground under their feet was also shaking. They blinked again before they started running in a panic.

"Stupid crappy magical piece of crap!" Bulma screamed in dismay. "Can't even freeze a stupid volcano for more than twenty minutes!" They kept running as the rumbling seemed to grow worse and worse. The light seemed to grow brighter and it looked like they'd be able to get out of the cave no…

"Well, well, well," said a shirtless, blue-eyed, and blonde-haired muscular man in blue pants and jackboots. Despite the _terrifying_ circumstances, Bulma felt heat rise in her cheeks. "It appears you've done me a great service. I'm General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army," he held out a hand towards them with a smug expression on his face. "Now give me the Dragon Ball."

"No way!" Krillin and Suno said in unison as they moved into their guard stances. General Blue chuckled and adopted a guard of his own. It was, without a doubt, the _strangest_ guard Suno had ever seen. He turned his hips to the side and that made enough sense but his back arm was pointed up and curled at the elbow as if he were flexing and his front arm was brought up with his forearm under his chin. Suno knew that Goku had said that _Odori_ looked like dancing but this _really_ looked like General Blue was going to dance with them. It seemed like a guard designed less for protection and more for… presentation.

"Then you have done me two kindnesses," he said and bent his knees slightly. "Because now that you have defeated the doctor's android, I can prove the superiority of man over machine. More specifically the _Übermensch_. You are welcome to try and defeat me but it is useless. You are children, merely human. I am something greater. I am the _Übermensch._ I have built myself into something superior. I was _bred_ to be superior. The pinnacle of human achievement." He stuck a thumb proudly against his muscled chest and grinned smugly, "Now come and face the ultimate human, the _perfect_ human. Come and face the _Übermensch."_

"You keep saying that word," Bulma put in suddenly. "I don't think that means what you think it means." The fighters blinked but maintained their guards. "I mean," she went on, "I guess _technically_ an _Übermensch_ _could_ be seen as just a generic 'superior' man but it traditionally means a philosophical disconnect from the predetermined rights and wrongs of a society and living by your own moral-" Krillin cut her off by throwing a flying kick at General Blue's face. "Hey, I wasn't done!"

Krillin and Suno launched themselves at General Blue with ferocious attacks, Krillin's confidence spurred on by having performed the Kamehameha. To General Blue's credit, he was blocking their attacks and keeping pace with the pair. It was clear that he wasn't _entirely_ talk although he did seem to show a predilection for protecting his face. He struck back with elegant twisting kicks and almost unnaturally smooth punches and chops. Although when they hit, despite the man's musculature, they didn't seem to have as much weight behind them as they should. Clearly the General favored style over substance. General Blue went for a sweep that Krillin and Suno jumped over in unison. Suno struck first with a knifehand blow that the Blue just weaved out of the way of which left him open to a palm strike to the nose from Krillin. He slammed against a stony wall from the force of the impact and brought a hand up to his nose. He looked down as he pulled his hand away… and started to tremble when he saw his blood.

"Y-you…" he spat as his whole body shook with fury. "You ruined my face!" Bulma thought that was kind of an overreaction. He was still pretty handsome, it was just a bloody nose. "I'll teach you to trifle with the mighty General Blue!" Something flashed in those crystalline blue eyes and suddenly… Krillin couldn't move. He tried but his muscles wouldn't listen. He couldn't even speak! General Blue charged forward and drove a hard kick up into Krillin's chest that launched him up into the air where he was battered with a series of lightning-fast jabs. Finally, General Blue raised one fist overhead and slammed it into Krillin's back to drive him into the ground with a hammerfist strike. Now it was down to two. General Blue wiped his nose and turned his attention back to Suno. He took a calming breath and resumed his guard. "Now then," he said, gesturing for her to approach him, "to the dance!"

They charged at each other and it truly was a dance. The both of them leaped and whirled through the air with spinning attacks, parrying each other and counterattacking and striking and retreating with blurring speed and elegant technique. Bulma supposed that, to someone who would be interested in this sort of thing, it would look really impressive. Goku would be _loving_ this if she were lucid. Bulma herself didn't have any time for this crap. The volcano was going to finish thawing at literally any second and she was _still_ too pretty to die.

"Hey, hot stuff!" she called to General Blue. When he didn't look, she whistled and squished her bra together to try and accentuate her C-Cup. "Over here!" she called in a singsong voice. Anything to get his attention and give Suno an opening.

"Give it a rest, child!" he scolded while never taking his eyes off of Suno. "As you say, I am pitching for the other team!" Bulma blinked as she figured out just what he had said.

"Oh, all right," she said as she unslung the foam gun from her shoulder. "Screw it!" she muttered and fired. She'd never shot the gun at a person before but he seemed like a dick anyway. The beam struck him in the back and Suno jumped out of the way to avoid being trapped in the gelatinous purple mound with him. Krillin finally stood up as it seemed that General Blue's control over him had been broken. "Let's go!" Bulma shouted and the three of them ran again. Thankfully, there were no Red Ribbon soldiers for them to deal with as they'd run away when the mountain started to shake.

"Nimbus!" Suno called and she and Krillin jumped onto the cloud as it swooped down. Bulma threw Goku onto the cloud and strapped on her sonic discs and the four flew off.

"This is not over!" General Blue swore as they left him behind and the volcano continued to rumble more and more violently. "This cannot hold me! I cannot be defeated by such tricks! You have not seen the last of me! I swear it! I am the _Übermen-"_ he was drowned out suddenly by the volcano's eruption.

OoOoOoO

The foursome watched the volcano's eruption from a safe distance. It was scary to think that had almost been them but at the same time there _was_ something… strangely beautiful about the sight.

"Do you think that General Blue guy survived?" Krillin asked. Bulma shrugged.

"Who cares?" she said flippantly and looked down at the radar. "Okay, the next Dragon Ball is… that way!" she pointed off towards the east and they took off. Goku gave a sudden groan.

"What'd I miss?" she asked wearily as she started to sit up. The other three just laughed. Goku laughed too although she wasn't sure why.

OoOoOoO

Mark Satan, better known by his "stage" name of Hercule, had really needed this trip back to North City. After his disastrous go in the Tenkaichi Budoukai, it was good to see his master again.

"I just don't understand," Mark told his master as the two sat in a noodle shop over two steaming bowls of udon noodles. "I trained _so hard_ for _so long_ and then I get kicked out in the first stage? It's not fair, Master!" Mark angrily picked up a shrimp out of his noodle bowl and bit into it. Mark's master, Lucian Ferris, was a great bull of a man that seemed to exclusively wear gi that were torn at the hems. His face had only two expressions; either a disapproving scowl or a proud smile. Three if you counted a distorted snarl of rage. He had thick gray eyebrows and a gray moustache. His head was bald save for two huge wings of gray hair that stuck off the sides of his head and connected to his gray mutton chops. He reached across the table and smacked Mark on the top of the head with the blade of his hand.

"I will not hear this whining from you!" he scolded and Mark looked down in embarrassment. Lucian struck him again. "You will look when I speak to you!" Mark winced and looked back up. "This man who defeated you. Did he disgrace himself in the tournament?"

"No," Mark began to say and shook his head, "He won the who-" Master Lucien struck him again.

"I know he won!" he snapped. "You are my star pupil, do you think I do not take interest in your endeavours?" Mark wearily rubbed at the slowly-growing welt on the top of his head and said nothing. "So this man who defeated you was the best. An old master with skill and experience that you are not prepared for. This does not mean that you are weak. It means that you must grow stronger. I have faith in you." Mark smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, Master," he said with a bow of his head. The two ate their udon in silence for a few minutes before Master Lucien spoke again.

"It is not only your abilities as a fighter that I have faith in," he told Mark. "I have faith in you as a person. You have a charisma to you, Mark. People listen when you speak. They believe in what you say. I see great things for you, my pupil. You will be a leader of men. A hero." Mark bowed his head gratefully again and Lucien looked over his shoulder. He snickered and Mark looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. "The man behind you at the bar. Look at his hair." Mark slowly looked over his shoulder.

The man sitting at the bar with his back to them was lean, dressed in green slacks and a beige polo shirt. He had jet black hair that was tied back in a ponytail that went down the middle of his back. There was a ribbon at the end of his hair and the ponytail was split into little spherical sections.

"The ribbon's a little silly," Mark said in a low voice, "But I don't see-" Master Lucien cut him off with more snickers.

"Doesn't it kind of look like a string of beads that women put up-" Master Lucien couldn't finish the sentence before he broke down into laughter. Mark blinked and stared at the hair. Now he couldn't _un_ see it and he was laughing too. They were reduced to helpless peals of laughter and Master Lucien was pounding his fist on the table. When they sat up and wiped the tears from their eyes… the man was standing in front of them. He had a hard, narrow face, beady dark eyes and a thin mustache.

"Is there some great joke that I have missed?" he asked with a cultured voice. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and looked for all the world like someone who was _supposed_ to be important. Master Lucien snickered again.

"Oh, nothing," he said and broke into a grin. "It's just… your hair!" The lean man raised an equally lean eyebrow.

"You are hardly one to talk," he said while flicking a finger at one of Lucien's silvery hair wings. Lucien's eyes widened with rage and Mark knew that the ponytailed man had made a horrible mistake. Lucien Ferris took _great_ pride in his hair. He stood up out of his seat and scowled down at the other man.

"I'll teach you to mock me!" he snapped and dropped into a fighting stance. Before Mark could stop his master, he threw a powerful punch at the man, the kind of punch that Mark had seen shatter concrete pillars.

The other man stopped it with a finger.

"If my good clothes were not at the cleaners," the man said irritably as Mark and his master stared in shock, "You would not have been so foolish as to mock me." Lucien pulled his fist back and swung with a powerful right hook. "It's not often that I kill someone for free," the man said even as he effortlessly evaded Lucien's blow. In the blink of an eye he drove two fingers into Lucien's chest and punctured his heart. Then he used those same two fingers to crush his windpipe and finally drove those fingers into Lucien's brain. All too fast for Mark to see. He pulled the fingers away and Lucien slumped back into his seat. Dead. The man turned and started to walk for the door as Mark stared at his master's corpse in shock.

"Master?" he asked in a whisper. It was a struggle to get the word out, his voice thick with sorrow and disbelief. How… how could Master Lucien die so easily? Mark couldn't just let the man get away with this! He stood up from his seat with tears in his eyes and charged the man. "You bastard!" he screamed and let out a roar as he leaped into the air to attack. The man turned and with two strikes dislocated Mark's left hip and right shoulder. With one thumb, he sent Mark hurtling through a window to smash into a car in the street. As Mark sat in absolute agony and as unconsciousness came to swallow him up, he could only think of one thing: He _had_ to get stronger.

OoOoOoO

Tao Pai Pai sighed as he headed out the door. He _really_ hadn't wanted to kill anyone today. Not because he had a problem with killing- he was an assassin- killing was work but that was precisely the issue, he reflected as he walked down the street. Because killing _was_ work, he tried not to take that work home. Besides, he was having a sale today. Who was going to pay fifty million zeni for him to murder someone when he'd kill them for free if he was angry enough?

"Excuse me," said a young woman's voice. "Mercenary Tao?" He looked around and his eyes fell on a young woman with blue-green eyes and purple hair cut in that "flapper" style. How… how had she snuck up on him? She wore a green sleeveless shirt with the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army as well as orange pants and dark red boots. "My name is Colonel Violet. I'm with the Red Ribbon Army. My commander understands you're having a sale today?" Tao smiled to himself and cracked his knuckles.

"Indeed I am," he said, unable to hide the murderous twinkle in his eye.


	18. The Price of Murder! Sacred Korin Land!

of Murder! Sacred Korin Land!

Tao Pai Pai sat in a chair in front of the desk of Commander Red in the headquarters of the Red Ribbon Army and was rolling a Dragon Ball around in his hand. He was dressed now in his good mercenary clothes: a purple undersuit with a pink longcoat with the character for "Kill" emblazoned on the breast. Perhaps not the most _subtle_ of attires but when you were the most powerful being on the planet, why be subtle? He'd been blindfolded after picking up his change of clothes and airlifted to this fancy little fortress. How _droll._

"So if I understand you correctly," Tao said as he looked up from the ball in his hand to the ginger dwarf with a cybernetic eye with his tall, black associate and Colonel Violet standing by his side on the other side of the desk, "When you collect all seven of these pretty little baubles, a great big dragon comes out of the sky and will grant you any wish?" His voice was thick with mock wonder as he smirked and placed the ball down on the desk alongside a second ball. "How quaint."

"Yes," Commander Red agreed with his brow furrowed in frustration. He had the look of a man who did not enjoy being talked down to but was not in a position to do anything about it. "We started with just the one Dragon Ball you were holding before and Colonel Violet found the second just recently." The purple-haired girl smirked proudly beside him.

"And you mean to tell me," Tao said as he brought his fist up to his mouth to cover a dignified chuckle, "That with all your military might, you are still being bested by _two little girls?"_ He laughed aloud and felt the hate on him from every eye in the room, especially the eyes belonging to the blonde man sitting sullenly in the corner behind him. His laughter died down to a chortle as he crossed one leg over the other. "Very well. I shall kill these oh-so troublesome children. My price is five hundred million zeni per head."

"I thought you were having a sale!" the large man balked. Tao smirked.

"I am," he said. "I _could_ be charging the traditional billion zeni per person." Commander Red… reddened and leaned over the desk.

"We only need _one_ girl dead," he said through gritted teeth. "Her allies are resourceful in their own rights but the girl in orange with the spiky black hair is _superhuman._ Kill her and nothing will stand in our way!" Tao Pai Pai chuckled again. "Superhuman." _Really._ He had lived for nearly three hundred years. Some of the first things he had seen when he had been brought into the world were _demons._ What did fools like _these_ know of "superhuman?"

"Enough of this!" the blonde man blurted angrily as he stood up from his chair. " _Mein Fuhrer_ , we do not have to listen to his mockery!" He stalked towards Tao and he idly considered if it would even be worth using his hands to kill the man.

"General Blue!" Commander Red scolded, "You will sit back down! Your track record is the only thing keeping you alive after that miserable debacle at the volcano! I lost nearly a hundred soldiers and one of Gero's damnably expensive robots because of your bungling!" The General winced at the wound to his pride but would not sit down.

"But I am prepared for them now, _Mein Fuhrer_! I know what they are capable of. They will _not_ defeat me a second time!" He pointed an accusing finger at Tao and his finger quivered inches away from his nose. "We do not need to pay this brute his blood money! I will do it myself! No one can overcome the _Übermensch_!" Tao rolled his eyes as he stood up from his chair and walked to the other side of the room.

"Very well," he said with his arms clasped behind his back. "Attack me." They all stared at him for a moment and he gave a weary sigh. People could be so slow. "If you can defeat me, then I will leave and you can take on this little demon girl all by yourself." General Blue smirked and slid into a _ridiculous_ guard. "You should know," Tao said, "That _when_ I kill you, I shall do it without even using my hands." General Blue screamed and charged at him. Tao hopped over him effortlessly and landed on the other side of the room by barely bending his legs. He could feel the air move as the General wheeled around and charged again without ever turning to face him. Blue threw a spinning kick at his back that Tao avoided by bending over backwards with his back parallel to the floor. Tao launched himself away still parallel and straightened up again. Now he stood stock-still as the other man attacked with with a series of strikes that he was sure any _other_ person would regard as quite fast. But to him? _Tediously slow._ As easy to anticipate and dodge as lazily-hurled fistfuls of mashed potato. General Blue was gasping for breath and sweating profusely. Tao smirked and brushed a bit of dust off his shoulder which only seemed to incense the young general all the more.

"I… I am Siegfried von Heigel!" he spat through gulps of air as he tried to hide the fear in his voice. "I am the General of the Blue Division of the Red Ribbon Army and _I demand your respect!"_ He raised an arm up high for a chop that would have surely snapped the neck of a lesser man and his eyes flashed with some strange power.

But Tao Pai Pai was no lesser man.

"No," he said coldly, "You _demand_ my _attention."_ He pivoted effortlessly to the side and stuck out his tongue before driving it into the General's temple. Siegfried froze in place and let out his life's breath before collapsing in a heap, dead on the spot. Tao nodded succinctly and returned to his chair. "Now then," he said as he leaned forward on his elbows and steepled his fingers. "Tell me about the girl."

OoOoOoO

As it had turned out, it was not a straight line to the next Dragon Ball. The four had started off that way before realizing that Goku's wounds needed to be properly treated so they returned to Kame House where Master Roshi thankfully had a full first aid kit. That was Goku's introduction to rubbing alcohol and it was certainly… an experience. It had taken _all four_ of them plus Puar to hold Goku down while Roshi cleaned her wounds. Then she had to be dressed in proper bandages and was given a new gi.

Krillin decided to stay behind and continue his training while Bulma decided to go home. Between nearly dying in a volcano, losing a shirt, and seeing more of her parents' porn than she _ever_ wanted to know existed; she decided that was enough adventure for one day. She did, however, give Suno and Goku her phone number so that they could contact her if they thought they needed her help.

So, with that, it was back to Goku and Suno on the Nimbus and flying across the globe. As the pair followed the Radar's path to the Dragon Ball, Suno spotted something on the horizon that made her rub her eyes in disbelief.

"Hey Goku," she said and gave the other girl a tap on the shoulder to get her attention. Goku looked up from the Radar and turned to look at Suno.

"Yeah?" she asked. Suno just pointed ahead and Goku turned around again and gave a gasp of surprise. Off in the distance was some sort of… tower. It stretched high into the sky above the trees. It was even taller than mountains and got lost in the clouds. "Woooow," Goku whispered in wonder. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Suno admitted as they got closer. It was crazy to look at. It was taller than anything that occurred in nature _or_ made by man. On top of that, it was structurally impossible. Anything that tall would collapse from its own weight if it were that thin without even weight distribution. And why would you even need to _build_ something that tall? Staring at it for too long was starting to make Suno's head hurt. Which was a problem as they were flying _closer_ to it. "Is that where the Dragon Ball is?" she asked with a strange hint of dread. The tower didn't seem ominous to her, it was just… different.

Goku looked down at the Radar and nodded. "Yup!" she said excitedly. She thought the tower looked _awesome_ and was already wondering what was at the top. Someone really strong to fight? Someone who would teach her an amazing new technique? Even if the Dragon Ball wasn't at the top of the tower, it would still be fun to come back and find out someday.

The cloud descended to the ground and the pair hopped off. Suno followed Goku as she continued to follow the Dragon Radar. Suno found herself enjoying the sounds and sights of nature. From the chirping birds to the soft bubbling of water running down a stream; the bright green leaves and grass underfoot to the warm breeze. It was so different from Jingle Village. She would always be grateful, no matter what else, for all these different places that she got to see because of Goku.

Suno was suddenly taken out of her rather peaceful thoughts when her foot sunk into a patch of soft earth. She gave a surprised cry as she found herself stuck and Goku turned around to help her out. Suno's shoe felt… wet. She stared at the patch of dirt she'd gotten her shoe stuck in. It was a pretty big patch of recently upturned earth. They looked around and realized there were several of those patches of dirt around them. Patches about the size of… people.

"Graves," Suno muttered numbly. "They're graves." She looked down at the shoe she'd gotten stuck. It was a little red. "... _Fresh_ graves." There was a sudden rustling of the trees and Goku and Suno moved into their guard stances. Coming out of the trees was the third largest person either of them had ever seen. His skin was a deep bronze and his coal black hair was tied back in a ponytail. He wore brown pants and brown moccasins. They watched his enormous chest rise and fall and realized that this was no android.

"I am Bora. Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice. "Why have you come to this sacred ground?" Suno noticed a young boy peeking from behind the massive man's leg who looked almost a child version of the larger man, wearing a hide vest with a feather in his hair.

"I'm Son Goku," Goku said, "And this is my friend Suno. We're looking for the Dragon Balls so the Red Ribbon Army can't get them." Bora's face darkened when Goku mentioned the Red Ribbon Army. "Have you heard about them?" Goku asked and Suno was surprised by her intuition.

"You stand among them," he said bluntly and the understanding of that statement made Suno move a little bit closer to Goku. "These men came to attack my home, defiling the sacred Korin land with their weapons of war. They attempted to steal my son Upa from me." Upa peered from behind his father's leg before disappearing from view again. "This Dragon Ball. If I give it to you, these Red Ribbon men will no longer trouble my village?" Goku nodded eagerly. "Very well then." Then Bora disappeared back into the trees. He returned a few moments later clutching something in his enormous fist. He opened his hand to display what he held and Goku gasped in surprise.

"The Four Star Ball!" Goku shouted in a voice thick with emotion. She grabbed it out of Bora's hand and pressed it to her chest. She held the crystal as close as she could and ran a hand over the surface and never wanted to let it go. After more than a year, she finally had it back! "Grandpa," she whispered as a few tears splashed onto the ball and ran down its smooth surface. Suno was stunned. She'd _never_ seen Goku so emotional. Goku wiped her eyes and smiled up at Bora. "Thank you, mister!" she said gratefully. Bora smiled and nodded.

"If you truly intend to fight this Red army then that is the least I can do," he said. Goku nodded and sniffled.

"I have a question," she said when her emotions had subsided. "What's with the big tower?" Suno suddenly realized just how close they were to the tower. It wasn't even ten yards away! She must have not noticed in all of the excitement.

"That," Bora explained, "Is Korin Tower. It is that for which this land is named. No one knows who built it or where it came from. Some legends say it rose out of the ground one day. Others that it was planted by the gods." As Bora spoke, Upa looked up into the sky and followed something that no one else noticed. "All the same," Bora continued, "The legends say that if you climb all the way to the top of the tower and do not falter no matter how tired you become, the tower's master will give you Holy Water to drink and it will make you strong." There was a sudden booming crash that grabbed everyone's attention with Goku and Suno whirling around to see what it was.

There was an orange stone pillar sticking out of the ground at an angle as it if had fallen there. Standing perfectly still on top of that pillar with his hands behind his back was a thin man in a pink longcoat that said "Kill" on it. Suno instantly knew that the man was an assassin.

"Hello there," the man greeted them genially as he hopped down from the stone pillar. "My name is Tao Pai Pai but you will address me as Mercenary Tao." His shark-like eyes fell Son Goku and she scowled at him in response. "Ah," he said with mock pleasantness, "You must be Son Goku!" He moved his hands from behind his back and clasped them together eagerly. "It seems you've been a very busy little girl. You've made someone very rich very angry. And I'm afraid I have to kill you." He didn't _sound_ very apologetic to Suno. Before either Suno or Goku could attack, Bora stepped in front of them.

"You will not harm these children," he declared and reached behind his back. Tao Pai Pai raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Oh no?" he asked sardonically. "And why is that?" Bora produced a tomahawk from behind his back that was big enough to be a fireax in another man's hand.

"I will not let you," Bora declared and took a fighting stance. Tao Pai Pai had yet to move into any sort of guard. Bora raised the tomahawk high overhead and hurled it at Tao with such speed that it was a spinning silver disc as it came towards him. Not Upa, not Suno, not even _Goku_ saw what happened next.

In one moment, the tomahawk was flying at Tao.

In the next, it was buried in Bora's skull up through his chin. The giant of a man's face was frozen in pain and shock as he gave a gurgle and collapsed to the ground.

"Papa!" Upa cried with tears in his eyes and ran to his father. He fell to his knees and broke down into hysterical sobbing, his face buried in the dead man's stomach. Goku glared at Tao with loathing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Suno cried in disbelief. How could someone just… _do_ something like that?

"You're gonna pay for that, Tao Pai Pai!" Goku declared with her fists shaking with rage. She couldn't let him just do something like this!

" _Mercenary_ Tao," Tao corrected and glared at them. "Children, I am a fuckmothering mercenary. I have killed an _astounding_ number of people for an _obscene_ amount of money to earn this title and I will be addressed as such." Goku roared with rage and charged Tao with a flurry of blows. She was going to make him pay!

Suno stood in shock as Goku attacked. She had never seen Goku so angry; she was attacking faster than ever! However, without even looking like he was moving, Tao Pai Pai was dodging them all. Suddenly, Goku was sent flying away to crash painfully against the base of Korin Tower. It was only because Tao Pai Pai was still holding his leg out that Suno even knew that Goku had been kicked. He was _so fast._ He looked at Goku's gi and chuckled.

"Ah," he said, "She must have been a Turtle School student. How fortuitous. My brother has a particular loathing for the old pervert." He turned his back to Goku and headed towards the pillar he'd been standing on as he spoke. "It's funny, I was wondering what to get him for his birthday," as he continued, Suno saw Goku slowly rise to her feet and cup her hands to her side, "What could be a better present than the murder of one of his hated enemy's students?"

"Kamehameha!" Goku thrust her hands forward and Tao Pai Pai whirled around to face it but was too slow to react and the beam hit him dead on. Suno felt relief wash over her. She'd seen Goku use the Kamehameha to blow up robots and tanks and buildings. Tao Pai Pai was just a man. A man who'd let his arrogance get the best of him and now he was…

The smoke cleared and Tao was unharmed. His clothes had been reduced to ash save for his underwear but he himself was untouched. It would have looked funny if it weren't _absolutely terrifying._ All he had done to defend himself was throw up a cross-armed block. Goku was stunned. That was her _best shot._ Now she was too tired to do anything else. Even Jackie Chun wasn't this strong!

A strange feeling filled Goku at that moment. It started as a cold numbness in her stomach and spread through her entire body. For the first time in her life, Goku was _afraid._

Tao dropped out of his guard and brushed soot off of his forearm. He looked _almost_ impressed. "That," he said with amusement, "Must be the famous 'Turtle Destruction Wave' I've heard so much about," he scoffed. "A cute enough technique, I suppose." He thrust out his arm at Goku and extended one finger. "Now witness the superior killing power of the Crane School! Dodonpa!" A bright beam of yellow light shot out of Tao's finger and sounded like a cannon going off. The beam struck Goku in the heart and she fell to the ground.

Suno stared blankly at her friend's body. This was no supercharged bullet this time. There was no way around this one. Goku was dead and she was about to be with her. Tao Pai Pai walked towards her and she was frozen in fear.

"These are where the Dragon Balls are, yes?" he asked as he plucked the knapsack off her back. She didn't even try to stop him. He reached in and found the three Dragon Balls before throwing the bag back in her face. "What a shame," Tao muttered in disappointment, "Commander Red made you seem like a challenge." With one hand, he plucked the pillar out of the ground and hurtled it into the air like a javelin. He jumped up to land on it and disappear on the horizon.

Suno collapsed to her knees. The pleasant sounds of the forest were gone. Now there was only the solemn whistle of the wind and Upa's broken sobbing.


	19. Climbing the Tower! Red Ribbon Memories!

Chapter Nineteen

Climbing the Sacred Tower! Commander Red Remembers!

Cyril Rosewood was sitting in a restaurant where he wouldn't normally be allowed but his father had been an oil baron so he'd inherited a _lot_ of money. Combined that with the fortune he'd made from alternative energy sources like solar power and he could throw a lot of money to eat wherever he damn well pleased.

Despite that, he still felt a certain… emptiness. He needed to do something with his life. He wanted to write his name large across the wall of history. But he didn't know _how._ He was not a thinker, he _paid_ thinkers. He did not have the body to be a great warrior. He had the intellect and the drive to be a king but no one would take him seriously with his condition.

So he had been miserably pushing a porterhouse around on a plate and having an existential crisis. That was when _he_ came into his life.

He'd been a tall man. That alone had bothered him but the _son_ was a giant. That infuriated him. They both had red hair, even if the son had that ridiculous mohawk. That put him at some small level of ease. Finding people like him even in the smallest ways was always a comfort.

"Adrian, see that we are not disturbed," the man had said as he sat down at the table of the man who was not yet Commander Red.

"Yes, Father," the boy had said before walking off. The man turned his attention back to Red.

"My name is Archimedes Gero," the man said as if that were supposed to mean anything. "You must be Cyril Rosewood." Gero leaned forward on the table and Rosewood had leaned away.

"I must be," Cyril had said as he sipped his glass of merlot, "So what the hell is it to you?" Gero had smiled then. It was a smile that looked straight into his bones.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you, Mr. Rosewood? It's not what you're thinking. A man such as myself looks beyond petty physical attributes. What I see is a man in desperate search of a destiny. A man who _knows_ he is destined for greatness but does not know what that greatness might be." He sat back in his chair and folded his hands one over the other. "Cyril, how would you like to be the man who saves the human race?" Cyril had stopped and blinked at that. He rubbed his jaw and thought. "Cyril Rosewood: Savior of Humanity". It wasn't bad.

"Mr. Gero," Cyril had said as he produced a cigar from his breast pocket, "You had my curiosity," he put the cigar in his mouth and lit it, "But now you have my attention." He took a few puffs as Gero continued to speak.

"Yes, thank you. But it's _Doctor_ Gero," he corrected. Cyril had shrugged at that and Gero had seemed irritated but pressed on. "Now I don't mean to be metaphorical when I say that you would save the human race. It is not a threat such as religious intolerance or famine or pestilence or war. No, the true threat to humanity…" he leaned forward again and gave a conspiratorial whisper, "Is _aliens."_ Even now a part of Commander Red feels like he should have cut and run right there. He might have if Gero didn't have evidence. "I'm not some crackpot trying to take advantage of your vast fortune, Mr. Rosewood," Gero had assured him, "I have _evidence."_ From seemingly nowhere, Gero had produced a folder and opened its contents in front of him. Cyril sifted through documents, star charts, eyewitness accounts, and _photographs._

"What exactly am I looking at here?" he asked suspiciously as he tapped his finger against a particular photograph. It was a picture of a mountain with some… thing perched on top of it. It was oblong in nature with four spires pointing out from the front, one in the back, and four coming out of the bottom. It looked like some sort of insect.

"This is a satellite image I took several months ago of what could only be an alien spacecraft," Gero explained. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and gestured to certain areas of the craft. "Based on the erosion of the mountain itself the the growth of moss and calcification, I would wager that this craft landed on Earth over half a millennium ago." He pulled out another photograph and laid it on top of the first. This one was of a large crater somewhere out in the wilderness. There was an object in the crater but it was too small to make out the specifics of. " _This_ satellite photograph was taken a little more than a decade ago. It is of a smaller craft, obviously." He took the documents and tucked them back into the folder as he spoke, "I know this is a lot of information to take in so suddenly so allow me to explain," he folded his hands and his expression was deadly serious. "At the _absolute best,_ aliens have been living among the human race for nearly a thousand years, shaping our planet's history and culture to suit their needs. Ten years ago, they called for some sort of scout to inspect the planet. It may not be very long at all before this world is crawling with an alien menace that we have been psychologically, emotionally, and sociologically engineered to be incapable of dealing with. At the _worst_?" Gero took in a deep breath and paused for effect, "At the _worst,_ the first half of that statement is still true but that scout isn't of _their_ species. It's of an enemy. Before we know what to do, the Earth could very well become the battlefield of a cosmic war the likes of which we could not possibly imagine." When this conversation had started, Cyril had been sure the man was insane. Now he was drenched in a cold sweat and his hands were trembling as he reached for a handkerchief to wipe the sweat away.

"W-what do we…" he started to say before he cleared his throat. He pounded a fist on the table and tried to put some authority back in his voice, "We've got to do something, damn it!" he said boldly. "What's your plan, Archimedes? Whatever it is, I'll pool all my resources into it! We can save humanity!" Gero smiled and looked visibly relieved.

"I knew I could count on a man of your principles, Cyril. I've tried talking to _everyone._ I was even granted an audience with the King himself! But they all _laughed_ at me, the simpletons…" his face darkened and his hands balled into fists. Then his rage vanished as quickly as it came and he continued, "You, Cyril, you are a man of conviction! A man of destiny!" He leaned forward with a glint in his eyes. "Here is what we will do."

Then Gero laid it all out so perfectly. It was all so sensible. To build a grand army, the Red Ribbon Army. Trained to be absolutely ruthless, an army that did not care about ethics or "rules of war". An army that would not mediate, would not keep peace. An army of only the strongest and most strong-willed people on the planet. An army that could not be stopped. They would put an end to religious and cultural squabbles _by force._ To put the focus of mankind on preparation for the coming alien menace. However, even the army itself had only been the start.

"Human beings," Gero had explained, "Are such a frail and weak race. We are slow. We lack strength. We have no great powers. But I will make us _better."_ So a certain portion of funds had been set aside for Gero to begin his research and development towards full cyborgification. To show his conviction and dedication to the cause, Commander Red had been the first person in the army to undergo the procedure when he'd had a new cybernetic eye placed to replace the one he'd lost in an energy plant explosion years before.

Then Adrian had died and everything had gone to pot. The boy had been a field medic and died in the line of fire during a conflict with Royal military. Gero had been despondent for weeks. He didn't answer calls and he didn't send in any progress reports. Red had gone to the effort of actually seeing Gero _in person_ to shake him out of his funk.

"He was such a good boy," Gero had moaned in a drunken stupor, "He was gentle and bright. He was no fighter! I shouldn't have let him go. But he wanted to help! He… he believed in our cause!" That had been the last time Red had seen Gero in person, leaving him a sobbing wreck in his lab. But just as quickly as the melancholy had come, it had passed. Gero threw himself back into his work with a manic energy. Something about "not letting his son die for nothing" or something. Red hadn't been paying much attention. He had his _own_ motive: the Dragon Balls. He'd heard about The Eternal Dragon being summoned almost two years ago and had dedicated a few select task forces to seeking them out. He knew of their fantastic power from stories and was filled with a desperate desire now that he knew they were real. Once he'd made his wish, no one would ever look down on Commander Red again.

A sudden shaking on his shoulder woke Commander Red and brought him back the the present. He blearily blinked his one eye and looked up to see Officer Black looking down at him.

"Our Radar detects that Tao Pai Pai has been successful," he said as he handed Commander Red a sheet of paper. "This is a printout of the latest map reading from our Radar based upon his last location." Commander Red looked at the map and frowned. He tapped three circles on the map with his index finger.

"This is no good," he said with clear disappointment. "There should have been _four_ Dragon Balls on the girl!" He picked up his phone and dialed with great apprehension.

OoOoOoO

Once they were emotionally stable enough for the task, Suno and Upa began to dig graves for Bora and Goku. They started with Bora's because he was the far larger of the two. Even between the two of them, the grave wasn't especially deep. Half of the labor had been moving Bora's massive frame into the hole between the two of them.

"So whatcha guys doing?" Goku asked them suddenly.

"Burying Papa," Upa said sullenly without thinking. "After this we have to bury…" he stopped as he and Suno turned around and stared at Goku. She waved and then Suno tackled Goku and laughed even as she cried.

"Goku!" she shouted jubilantly before shoving her lightly, "Stop doing that! You're going to give me a heart attack!" Goku grinned as Suno hugged her again. "But how did you survive?" she asked. "That beam hit you right in the chest!" Goku looked down at the hole in her shirt and pulled out her Four Star ball.

"I guess Grandpa was looking out for me!" she said as her grin grew wider. Then it faded away as suddenly as it appeared and Goku sighed. She slumped forward and put her hands on her knees and looked… sad.

"Goku?" Suno asked. "Are you okay?" Goku shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"I just…" Goku squeezed her knees and chewed her lip, "I don't know what to do! He's so much stronger and faster! I can't let him get away with this but I don't know how to beat him! I don't even know if Master Roshi could beat him." Suno looked down at Goku's hands. They… they were shaking.

"Goku," she asked softly, "Are you afraid?" Goku nodded slowly. Something about that scared her even more than anything Tao Pai Pai himself had done. If _Goku_ could be afraid then what chance did any of them have?

"Hey!" Upa said suddenly. The two of them whipped their heads around to see the young boy angrily wiping tears from his eyes. "Climb the tower!" he said while pointing at Korin Tower as if he was accusing it of something. "You'll get stronger if you get all the way to the top, remember?" He balled his fists and glared at them. "My papa _died_ for you. If one of you doesn't climb the tower, I will!" Suno and Goku stared up at the tower.

"It's worth a shot," Suno muttered with a shrug. Goku nodded and leaped up high into the air to latch onto the tower. She needed less than a second to get her bearings before she scrambled up the tower and vanished out of sight.

OoOoOoO

Goku ran up and up Korin Tower in a blur. She wasn't looking up or down as she climbed but she was _sure_ she had to be halfway up! She took a second to catch her breath and looked up. The top of the tower didn't look any closer. She decided that she must have just been climbing slow and risked a look down. The ground was dizzyingly far away and she could see _clouds._ The world below was endless green with streaks of blue rivers. Which was nice to look at while she was flying on Nimbus but Nimbus wasn't there. She could call for it but she knew that would be cheating. Goku took a deep breath and looked back up before she started climbing.

Even when climbing as fast as she could, it took a long time. She started to get sleepy when the sun went down so she took a nap. When the sunrise first broke over the horizon, she woke back up and took a minute to enjoy the view. She climbed and climbed and it just went on _forever._ Her muscles hurt and she was getting hungry and she was tired again. But she couldn't let herself stop. She _had_ to beat Tao Pai Pai! The sun was high in the sky and she finally started to see something. Was this the top of the tower? She put on an extra burst of speed in excitement.

OoOoOoO

Tao Pai Pai had returned to the town where he had killed one fool and hospitalized the other to get a new suit made. He was holding a photograph up for the tailor and scowling at him intensely.

"I… I think I can do that in a week," the tailor stammered out as he sweat profusely. He was a bronze-skinned man with a thick mustachio. Tao leaned on the counter and put the slightest pressure on the wood. A spiderweb of cracks burst onto the surface under his fingertips.

"You have. Three. Days." he said sternly. He wasn't going to spend _a week_ walking around in his underwear like some kind of voyeur. He had his _dignity_ to consider. The man nodded with vigorous terror as Tao Pai Pai's phone rang. Pulling it from… somewhere, he saw that it was Commander Red and answered. "I trust you have already wired the money to my account? I assure you that the girl is quite dead," he said with a practiced arrogance. He propped the phone between shoulder and ear and picked at the nails of one hand with one of the tailor's sewing needles, having plucked it out of the man's shirt.

"I'm not wiring you anything yet!" the commander snapped. It was at that moment that Tao regretted that he had never learned the ability to kill people with his mind.

"And why not?" he asked icily. He smirked to himself as he heard a tremulous stammer in the other man's voice before he spoke again.

"You only found _three_ Dragon Balls! The girl should have had four on her person!" Tao scoffed.

"I am a _mercenary,"_ he scolded. "Not a treasure hunter. Send some of your footsoldiers to do it. I did the work I was paid for."

"You will be paid when you have brought me all four balls!" Commander Red blustered. Tao sighed. If nothing else, he had to admire the man's fortitude.

"Very well," Tao relented. "I will go and find the fourth ball. It will take three days. But if I have to kill her again, I'm charging double." He hung up befor Commander Red could say anything else and smirked to himself. It was _good_ to be bad.


	20. The God of Martial Arts!

Chapter Twenty

The God of Martial Arts?!

Suno quietly sighed as Goku disappeared from view. Everything had been happening at such a dizzyingly fast pace that she was afraid she'd miss everything if she so much as blinked. She now had time to stop and gather herself but that only made her realize that she kinda didn't want to. Back in Jingle Village, she had all the time in the world to contemplate things and not much ever really happened even after the Red Ribbon Army took over. Ever since Goku arrived, things had been happening non-stop and she found that very much enjoyed it. Even that door incident with Bulma had been more fun than she could ever recall having.

This realization, however, did not help her much since she wasn't quite sure what to do next. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing for however long Goku was going to take. Upa seemed nice enough but, given how she was indirectly responsible for the death of the boy's father, she didn't feel comfortable with making small talk. While she understood what he was going through all too well, that was all the more reason for her to give him some space. The pity the villagers showed her just made it hurt worse.

Suno crossed her arms and hummed as she stared up at Korin's Tower. Since Goku was training then she should, too. The gap between her and Goku was already large and she didn't want it to get any larger if she could help it. Not that she really _could_ do anything about it, given the circumstances, but she could make the gap not be as large as it normally would. Between the fight against the android back in the volcano and what just happened with Tao Pai Pai, she clearly understood that Goku wasn't as invincible as she initially appeared. Goku needed her friends for those rare moments when she got in over her head and Suno had every intention to be there for Goku whenever she needed help. She would never be as strong as Goku, that much she knew and fully accepted, but she would make sure to be as strong as she possibly could.

The problem now was what kind of training she could do. Physical training probably wouldn't do much right now since the most she could do was basic exercises like pushups, pullups, and situps. She would probably end up doing those things as well but she needed something else. Some kind of trump card she could use to at least surprise her enemy and give Goku an opening. With an idea in mind, Suno began her training.

OoOoOoO

Finally Goku knew she had come to the top of the tower. She looked up at a huge domed platform that shielded her from the sun and sighed with relief. She'd done it! With aching fingertips, she gripped one of the holes in the bottom of the platform and pulled herself inside. She took a moment to sit in the room and rest before she did anything else. She rubbed her arms and legs to take the soreness out of her muscles before she got back up and started to walk around the room. Maybe the power to get stronger was somewhere around all this junk?

"Hello?" she called out as she looked around. She wasn't sure who she expected to answer. Bora hadn't mentioned anyone else being at the tower but she didn't like the idea of being alone all of the sudden. It was kind of funny. She'd been alone for a long time after Grandpa Gohan had died and she'd been fine. After that, though, she'd always been with Bulma and Yamcha or Krillin and Roshi and Launch or now with Suno. She'd gotten used to having people around her. "Hello?" she called again.

Goku came to three pots by the windowsill and, not sure what else to do, opened the first one. The contents of the pot looked like water that was dark and cool. When Goku looked deeper into it, though, her reflection shimmered on the surface and changed into… something else. First it was her Grandpa. Then it was the weird blue guy and his two friends. Then it was that girl with the blade in her hat. Chi-Chi? Then it was just her reflection again. Goku closed the pot and moved to the next one. She stared at her reflection until it changed, too. It was Bulma, and then it was Krillin, and then it was Suno. Goku closed it and moved to the final pot. This was the strangest of all. She didn't recognize any of the people in this pot. The first was a big, bald man with three eyes and a mean look on his face. Then it was a _green_ man in a blue gi who was even bigger and looked even meaner. The last man was shorter than the other two and wore funny armor and he had big hair. However, he looked the cruelest of them all.

"Hey!" called a voice. It was so sudden that it shocked Goku out of her thoughts and made her drop the lid back onto the water pot. "Come up here! There's a staircase through that door!" Goku found the only door in the room and opened it. The wind whipped her hair as she climbed the stairs to find another section of the tower. There were no walls on the top half, only pillars holding up the roof. Standing in the center of the room… was a cat. Not a cat _person,_ just a white cat. Standing on his back legs and holding a staff. It was an old and gnarled piece of wood that was twice as tall as the cat was and the top was like the head of a hammer. "I'm impressed that you got up here so fast for someone so small," he said. Goku furrowed her brow indignantly.

"You're smaller than me!" Goku pointed out. "Anyway, I don't have time to talk to cats. I climbed all the way up here, I need the power up! Where's the master here? Is there one?" The cat chuckled and stroked his whiskers.

"That would be me," he explained. "I am Korin and this is my tower. You knew a Turtle Hermit on the ground so I suppose that makes me a cat hermit!" he laughed again and Goku's eyebrows shot up.

"How the heck do you know that I–" before she could finish speaking the cat, Korin apparently, whirled around the staff and pushed the end of it to her lips.

"Hush," he insisted, "And let me think." Goku's eyes travelled to a jar of water on a raised stand behind Korin. "Ah, I see. You wish to collect the seven Dragon Balls. You don't know what _you_ might do with them but you know that this 'Red Ribbon Army' cannot have them. You think that you might use them to restore the lives that the Army has taken. To do all of this, though, you need to be strong enough to defeat a man named Tao Pai Pai. So you have climbed this tower in search of the power that was promised." Goku blinked as her eyes grew ever wider. Could this cat read her mind?! "The powers and sights of the gods are many, child," Korin said as he moved the staff from her mouth and answered her question. "For I am the God of Martial Arts!" Korin stepped aside and Goku walked towards the stand. "Your intentions are pure," Korin said, "Yet, all the same, I wonder if you can drink the water."

"Why," Goku asked with the jar in fingertip's reach. "Is it nasty?" Korin chuckled again and suddenly the thin half of the head of his staff was at Goku's throat.

"No," Korin said as he yanked her to the ground, "Because I intend to stop you!" Goku groaned and rolled angrily to her feet as she rubbed the back of her head.

"What the heck!" she snapped at him and balled her fists. "If my intentions are good then why are you stopping me? Are you a bad guy or something?" Korin only shook his head.

"You need to stop me from stopping you," he said as if it made so much sense. It didn't make _any_ sense to Goku. Why couldn't he just let her have the water?! Goku jumped into the air but Korin used the staff like a pole vault and met her in the air with a kick. His fur-covered foot felt like steel as it smashed into her jaw and sent her sprawling. Goku got to her feet in a huff but forced herself to be calm. This guy was strong and fast and had to be a great martial artist. She needed to be smart. She needed to be clever.

"Hey, what's that?!" she blurted out suddenly and pointed behind Korin. He spun around to look and Goku sprinted for the jar. He was so stupid! She was so smart. Bulma would be proud of how clever she– and that was as far as she got before the fat end of his staff smacked her in the back of the head and she hit the ground again. Korin clucked his tongue.

"You'll need to do better than that," he chided. When she got up, she saw that he had put the thin half of the top of his staff through the loop of the jar and was shaking it at her. He was _making fun of her!_ Goku growled and lunged at him and he backed away and she chased him all around the room. Finally Goku fell to the floor again, gasping and sweaty. She groaned as her hands travelled to her gurgling stomach. "You're not acting or thinking, girl. You're just reacting. You'll never win like that."

"I'm hungry!" she cried. She rolled over and sat up and frowned at the cat hermit. "If I was full, I'd kick your butt!" Korin seemed to find that amusing, then shrugged and tossed her… a bean? Goku scowled and held the tiny bean in her fist. "Is this supposed to be funny?" she asked angrily. How was one bean supposed to help her?

"It's not a joke," he told her. "It's a senzu. One bean can keep you full for ten days!" Goku scowled and Korin shrugged. "Would a god lie?" When she still did not eat he added, "Have I lied yet?" Goku grumbled and shoved the tiny bean into her mouth. As soon as she swallowed it she felt much better!

"Now I'll get you!" she crowed confidently as she lunged at him with a burst of speed. No one could stop her when she was full!

OoOoOoO

The Kamehameha. The Turtle Destruction Wave. The ultimate technique of the Turtle Style martial art. Its destructive power is legendary, thought by most to be unrivaled, and the nature of the technique is shrouded in mystery. This was the very technique that Suno sought to learn during her training. Goku had performed it after just seeing it once and Krillin performed it without either Goku or Master Roshi telling him how it was done. That was where her advantaged lied. Although Goku's explanation had been vague, it was more than Krillin had.

Of course, even with that advantage, Suno had made no real progress despite trying to perform it for the remainder of the day and even well into the night. No matter how much she thought or what she tried, she just couldn't get anything like what Goku described. She had honestly started to feel more than a little silly just standing there and concentrating while occasionally screaming "Kamehameha" even if no one was around so she had taken to doing regular exercises between sessions. Eventually, well into the second day, Suno had finally gotten fed up with it. She hadn't given up, not quite anyway, but seeing only redoubled frustration had taken its toll on her willpower.

Suno walked up to the base of Korin's Tower and looked up. Goku had surely reached the top by now and was probably training with the master or going through some test to drink the Holy Water or something. Whatever she was doing, Goku was undoubtedly having far more success than she was. She sighed and was about to go work on her forms when something caught her eye. At first, she thought it was Goku but the shape and color were all wrong. It looked like some kind of cloth bag as it got closer. When it crashed into the ground, she finally recognized it as the bag that Goku had put the Four Star Ball in before climbing up. Wondering what that was doing down here, she was about to pick it when when, all of a sudden, there was a Goku in front of her.

"Hu- Wha- Goku, wha-"

"HiSuno! Notfinishedwithmytraining! ByeSuno!" Goku grabbed the Dragon Ball and disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared. Suno just stared up into the clouds where Goku had gone, completely dumbfounded, when another voice made her nearly jump out of her skin.

"So Goku's training? I guess the legends were true." Suno whirled around to see Upa walking up to her. "I've seen you doing a lot of weird stuff around here. Are you training, too?"

"Y-yeah," Suno admitted, blushing slightly due to having been seen. "I've been trying to learn the Kamehameha but I have no idea what Goku meant when she said how to do it."

"The Kamehameha? You mean that blue thing that came out of Goku's hands?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"How did Goku say to do it?"

"Well, she didn't really say _how_ to do it since she wasn't really sure. She just said what it felt like. She said it feels like there's something in her whole body and she pushes it towards her hands."

Upa hummed in thought and repeated those words. "Maybe Goku was talking about her life energy."

"Life energy? What's that?"

"Well… It's something my dad explained to me a while ago. Everything that's alive has power inside it. That power flows through the world and it's what connects every living thing together. Dad said being in harmony with this power is the key to true strength."

"Hm… I think my master talked about something like that before. Do you mean ki?"

"If that's what you want to call it, yeah."

"Master never really taught me a lot about it but I think learning how to feel that energy is what most of my training was about. Do you know how to 'be in harmony' with it?"

"Yeah, my dad taught how to meditate so that I could be one with nature."

"Do- Would you mind teaching me how to do that?"

Upa stared at her for a long moment. He inhaled deeply and sighed before smiling at her. "Well, I don't know much about it myself but I think my dad would want me to help out anyway I can. Besides, you're going to get revenge on that guy who killed him, right?" Suno nodded. "Then I'll teach you how to meditate. Follow me."

OoOoOoO

As it turned out, Korin could stop her when she was full. Goku had been much faster than when she'd been trying to take the water before but was still no closer to actually getting it.

"You're faster," Korin admitted when she'd stopped to catch her breath, "But you're still not listening. You're too busy reacting." He gave a shrug and a shake of his head as if he were disappointed in her. "Still, don't feel too bad. Only one other person has taken this water from me and that was almost three hundred years ago." Goku gasped.

"So how old are you?" she asked.

"I'm eight hundred years old, give or take a week." Goku got that starry look in her eyes again which made Korin chuckle. "You might know the man who took the pot from me. It was your own master, Muten Roshi." Goku gasped again.

"Wow," she cried in astonishment. "Master Roshi's super old!" Korin sighed and slowly let his face sink into his paw. That was _not_ the point he'd been trying to make. "So how long did it take him to take the water from you?" Korin held up three fingers and Goku was stunned. "Three minutes?!" she asked. She had known the old master was amazing, but she didn't know he was _that–_

"No," Korin told her, "Three _years."_ It was like all the air had been punched right out of Goku. Three years?!

"I don't have three years!" Goku declared before charging at Korin again. She had to get _serious!_ She pushed herself as hard as she could and suddenly the room was _full_ of Goku's afterimages. Korin looked unimpressed as he swung his staff to strike at a Goku but it dissolved. "Got you!" Goku shouted triumphantly as she dove down at Korin… but he dissolved and she smashed into the floor.

"Not bad," Korin said as Goku pulled herself back to her feet, "However, you'll never be able to use the afterimage technique to defeat me. After all, _I_ invented it." Goku was gasping for breath as she scowled at Korin and tried to come up with a plan.

"How… can I already… be out of breath?" she asked between breaths. She'd been moving fast, yeah, but she almost never got tired.

"The air is much thinner up here," Korin explained with a smile. "You probably don't even know how strong you've gotten, do you?" He was suddenly holding Goku's Dragon Ball and tossed it casually over a shoulder and over the edge of the platform.

"Hey!" Goku shouted as she sprinted past Korin. She couldn't let the last ball get away from her! What if the Red Ribbon Army got their hands on it? When Goku reached the tower again with the Dragon Ball bag in her hand she was furious. "What's the big idea?!" Korin just laughed.

"Don't you get it?" he asked. "It took you a whole day just to climb up the tower last time. Today, a round trip took you three hours." Goku blinked as realization hit her. She wondered how much stronger she'd get once she actually drank the water. Goku gave chase to Korin again and they kept up the game until the sun went down. Goku waited until she thought Korin had fallen asleep and for a moment she was tempted to take the jar right there.

"No," she whispered to herself as she rolled away from him. "I'm going to get it fair and square!" She curled up and let herself drift off to sleep. Korin was not asleep but he _was_ pleased. She was more honest than her master, it seemed.

Another day came and went without Goku catching the jar. On the third day, however, Goku promised herself that this time she was going to take the jar. She was faster and stronger. She could _feel_ it. She disappeared into a trio of afterimages and Korin shook his head.

"I told you," he said as he swiped his staff through all three afterimages, "You'll never be able to–" Goku tackled him suddenly from the side and, of all offensive maneuvers, Goku started to _tickle_ him! Korin was reduced to peals of helpless laughter and the staff went flying from his hand and off the platform. Goku jumped out after it and grabbed the staff.

"Nimbus!" she called and her faithful magical cloud swooped up under her and carried her back up to Korin's Tower. Goku laughed and held the staff triumphantly overhead. Korin nodded in a state of awe. She beat him with the afterimage technique. Goku hopped off the cloud and back into the tower room. She handed the staff back to Korin but kept the jar and pulled out the stopper. She tilted her head back and chugged down the whole jar. It was sweet and cold and… and she didn't feel any different.

"The jar is full of plain old rainwater," Korin admitted. "The actual strength comes from climbing the tower and getting the water from me." For half a second, Goku was angry. Then she giggled and grabbed Korin in a hug. The God of Martial Arts was… flustered.

"Thank you so much, Korin!" she called before jumping back onto Nimbus and flying away. Korin nodded proudly as he watched her vanish. She had surpassed her master, all right.

OoOoOoO

Tao Pai Pai tugged at the cuffs of his new shirt and admired the handiwork. The man had done a good job. He almost regretted killing the tailor. It wasn't his fault, of course. The man'd had the gall to ask for _pay._ Honestly, the nerve of it. Tao walked back to his pillar and tossed it towards the sky. Time to wrap up this business once and for all.


	21. The Mercenary Meets his Match!

Chapter Twenty-one

The Strength of the Tower! The Mercenary Meets His Match!

Suno sat in the middle of a clearing with her legs crossed. Her eyes were closed and her mind was clear as she felt the world around her. Upa's meditation was easy to learn once she connected it to her master's teachings. What her master had been trying to teach her and what Upa was trying to teach her were different only in name and application. While neither would precisely lead to her end goal, she knew that they were a large step in the right direction.

Truth be told, Suno hadn't attempted to perform the Kamehameha once since she started meditating. She still switched to physical training when her mind grew tired but she hadn't bothered with the Kamehameha just yet. She seemed to lack some basic attunement to ki that Goku and Krillin possessed that allowed them to perform the attack and she didn't feel that she had reached that level of attunement yet. She was very much aware of her own ki now and could tell how much of it she had without having to focus but her attempts to channel it outside of her body in what Goku referred to as kiai were met with failure. It wasn't a complete failure as it created a strong wind but it wouldn't even be useful as a distraction, let alone an attack.

However, Suno's three days of meditation had certainly met with more success than failure. Aside from being able to effortlessly feel her own ki, what she now knew to be her ki sensing was on a whole different level. She still couldn't sense another person's ki without concentration but it took her far less time to reach that level and the range at which she could sense things had greatly increased while things nearby could be sensed with even more detail than even looking at them could give. If she could get her ki sensing to the point where she could get that level of clarity without the need for overt concentration, it would prove to be exceptionally useful.

As she was meditating, Suno felt something rather far away but approaching quickly. Even though she could just barely sense it, she knew that it was very powerful and very evil. It could only be Tao Pai Pai that she was sensing, likely returning to retrieve the Four Star Dragon Ball. Goku still wasn't back yet and she couldn't even sense her but she wasn't worried. As Tao grew closer, she could tell with some precision just how much of a gap existed between her and him but that didn't matter. Even if she could somehow perform the Kamehameha, she was certain that it'd do nothing to him but that didn't matter, either. Suno wasn't worried because she had absolute faith that Goku would arrive soon.

The ground shook as Tao Pai Pai's pillar impacted with the earth. Suno hated to admit but it was a testament to the man's precision that the pillar landed in the exact same spot as last time. He stalked towards Suno and the tower as Upa came charging out of the trees with a rock clenched between his fists and Suno put out an arm to hold Upa back. She could understand how he felt but trying to fight Tao Pai Pai was suicide.

"The Dragon Ball," Tao said bluntly, "Where is it?" Suno only glared up at him. Tao sighed and squeezed his fists until the knuckles popped. "I'm not a patient man, girl, so I will only ask this once more. _Where. Is. The Dragon Ball?"_ Suno smiled.

"I don't have it," she said calmly. She knew Tao Pai Pai could kill her but she had no reason to fear. She closed her eyes and could feel Goku's presence.

"Then who does?" Tao asked incredulously as he cast his eyes at Upa. To the boy's credit, he didn't flinch. Suno only smiled sweetly and slowly pointed up. Tao looked up suspiciously.

OoOoOoO

Goku was flying down the length of Korin Tower on Nimbus back towards the ground and grinning was the wind whipped through her spiky hair. She was feeling so much better now. She knew that if she found Tao Pai Pai again that she could kick his butt! Which wouldn't be a problem with the Dragon Radar. Suddenly, Goku's ears twitched and she heard a sound from far below. She could hear Tao Pai Pai and Suno talking. That worked out pretty well! Now she wouldn't have to go looking for Tao Pai Pai! She hopped off Nimbus and hurtled toward the ground feet first.

Those feet were soon driven into the face of Tao Pai Pai and smashed him into the ground. She hopped away from him and put herself between Tao and Suno and Upa as Tao pulled himself out of the ground while holding the back of his head.

"Hey Goku," Suno greeted her casually. Part of Goku wanted to hug Suno but she knew that this wasn't time though she did look over her shoulder to smile at her friend. Then she turned back to Tao who was looking at her like a ghost.

"How?" he asked in disbelief. "How are you _alive?!"_ Goku didn't say anything. She had nothing to say to him. She pivoted her body away from Tao and glared at him with her fists balled at her sides. Tao glowered at her and tossed away his longcoat. "Fine!" he spat as he moved into a guard. "I'll just charge twice for killing you!" Tao pulled back a fist and charged forward but he was so slow to Goku. Had she really been so afraid of _this?_ She put out a hand to block Tao with plenty of time to spare. Tao tried to pull his fist away but Goku wasn't letting go. She yanked on Tao's arm to pull him down and stuck out her other fist to punch him in the jaw. Then she stomped on his foot and pivoted to drive her elbow into his chin and at last released Tao to send him flying. As Tao got to his feet again, Goku could see the look in his eyes. Now _he_ was the one afraid. That made Goku feel good.

She darted towards Tao Pai Pai and dodged his roundhouse kick with an afterimage to appear beside him and throw out a kick of her own. By the last fraction of a second, Tao was able to leap away and handspring backwards twice to create some distance. Distance that Goku closed immediately before she leaped into the air to hammer him across the mouth with a left hook. Tao staggered away and brought a hand to his mouth as Goku landed. His fingers came away bloody and his eyes widened in shock.

"It appears… I underestimated you," Tao admitted as he returned to his guard. "It's time for me to get serious!" Tao charged her again and Goku was actually surprised by his speed this time. But it still wasn't enough. Goku and Tao sprinted across the clearing in a blisteringly fast precise exchange of punches and kicks. Tao had the longer reach by far but Goku made for a small target. Tao managed to finally get enough breathing room to swing his arm in a wide underhanded arc that released a cluster of yellow balls of light from his palm. They flew at Goku but she ducked under them easily and the treeline behind her burst apart in a violent explosion as she leaped up to drive her knee into his nose.

OoOoOoO

Tao Pai Pai had known all his life that almost nothing could challenge him. Maybe the Demon King could have but he had been sealed away before Tao was old enough to fight. For a brief time, his older brother challenged him but, in time, Tao had far surpassed him. For hundreds of years, Tao has known he was all but invincible. Now for the first time in his life, Tao was being tested. Challenged. And he was crumbling.

Tao could not remember what it was like to be pushed to the limit. He could not remember what his limit _was._ He had lived so long and won every battle so easily that to have an opponent that was his equal, that was his _superior,_ was terrifying him. Because of this, even though the girl had yet to land a killing blow, Tao was dying. Because that fear was eating him alive from the inside out. It was slowing him down, making his strikes erratic and his blocking staggered. She was going to kill him. How could she _not?_ He'd tried to kill her, after all.

Faced with his own mortality as he continued the desperate struggle for his life, Tao began to feel every minute of his near three hundred years. All his triumphs, all his battles. Everyone that he had met and killed, his impeccable taste and his refined dignity. His martial arts skill and power. Everything he'd known, everything he'd done and been. They were all just… chains. Chains that were weighing heavy on his soul, bending his neck before the axe.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Tao leaped away from each other again and, despite how angry he made her, Goku couldn't help feeling a little worried for Tao Pai Pai. While his breathing was labored and he was covered in sweat, her pulse was steady and her breathing measured. His eyes were wide and crazed and bits of foam flecked at the corners of his mouth. The guy looked _rabid._ He stuck out his arm and pointed a finger at her. This time, Goku could actually see it start to glow.

"I will not be killed by the likes of you!" Tao declared defiantly as Goku brought her hands down to her side. Tao sneered at her. "Fine! Match your pitiful Kamehameha against me! I will show you its inferiority once again!" For the first time since she landed, Goku spoke.

"Kaaaameeee… haaaameee…"

"Dodonpa!"

"Haaaa!" The wide blue beam collided with the thin yellow beam and they struggled against one another as the ground was scorched under their collision and wild sparks of energy burst and flittered away. Tao gripped his wrist with his other hand and tried to push more energy into the Dodonpa but Goku thrust her hands forward and the Dodonpa was overwhelmed and Tao was hit dead on to fly backwards and burrow into the ground. Goku let her hands drop to her side as Suno and Upa let out a cheer. Until Tao's hand burst out of the earth and those cheers turned to shrieks.

"How?!" Tao Pai Pai demanded as he clawed his way out of the ground. He was bruised and bloody and missing a tooth. He was on his hands and knees and his whole body was shaking. "How can you be this strong?!" Goku didn't say anything, she just kept glaring. Why did she have to tell him anything? "It's not fair! I was only gone three days!" Then Tao did something that shocked Goku. His arms fell out from under him and his face fell into the dirt as he broke down into sobs. "Please… please don't kill me!" he begged. "I don't want to die!" Goku frowned at the beaten man. It was… a little sad.

"I don't want to kill you," Goku assured him. Well, part of her did, but inside she really didn't. Especially now. It was different than if she were fighting him and if it just happened. Now he'd given up. To kill him now would… it would be wrong. "But I don't want you to hurt anyone else, either." She pointed an accusing finger at Tao Pai Pai and he looked up at her. "I want you to promise me you'll never hurt anyone ever again!" Tao nodded furiously, grabbing for any chance at life.

"I promise, I promise!" he pledged on his hands and knees, bowing before Goku like the student before the master. Goku nodded.

"And I want the Dragon Balls back! Where do you have them?"

OoOoOoO

That was it. That was Tao Pai Pai's out. He forced himself not to laugh as he pointed over to his longcoat.

"They're in my pocket!" he told her and ran over to the discarded clothing. That wasn't all he had stashed away in his coat. He could feel Goku following close behind and had to fight to keep from grinning. ' _That's it,'_ he thought, ' _Stay right behind me.'_ Tao Pai Pai had never had much love for conventional weapons. They were costly and annoying and he was stronger than them anyway. But in this case…

Tao Pai Pai leaped into the air and left Son Goku far behind on the ground below, cackling as he turned to look down at her. He held up a grenade in one hand and pulled the pin with a manic glee as he tossed it down at her. "This is what you get for taking Tao Pai Pai lightly, you stupid brat!" he called as the grenade flew at her, "Now die!"

OoOoOoO

Goku watched Tao leap away although she wasn't surprised by his actions. More just… disappointed. She was getting ready to jump up after him when something fell out of the sky. It got close enough for her to see it and, although she had no idea what it was, she was _pretty sure_ it was bad. She glared at the strange device and smacked it back up into the sky with an open-handed slap.

OoOoOoO

All Tao Pai Pai had to do now was wait for the explosion. It would kill the little brat or at least injure her enough to take away her advantage and then he'd kill her again. This time he'd shoot her in the face. After that, it would just be the two _other_ brats and he would be one billion zeni richer. But more importantly than that, Tao Pai Pai would once again be the strongest thing on planet Earth, invincible and unopposed. It was at that moment that the grenade came sailing back up into view, less than an inch from his face.

"Oh," Tao said in a small voice just before the grenade detonated. The heat melted his skin and drove shards of shrapnel into his lungs, throat, and eyes. The force of the explosion sent him hurtling away. And suddenly, all of Tao Pai Pai was nothing at all.

OoOoOoO

Goku watched the explosion before looking back at Suno and Upa. She smiled at them and they ran to hug her. Goku giggled as she hugged her friends back and lifted them up off the ground, spinning them around in a circle before setting them back down.

"Upa?" she said to the younger boy. He nodded at her and Goku could already see the joy of the moment starting to disappear. "We're going to wish your father back." Upa gasped in surprise although it was clear he wasn't quite sure what that meant. Goku walked over to Tao Pai Pai's longcoat and fished the Dragon Balls out of his pockets. She handed them to Suno, who tucked them back into her knapsack as she spoke. "We're going to wish back everyone who was taken away by the Red Ribbon Army!" Goku said with a defiantly balled fist. "And I'm going to make sure they don't hurt anyone else ever again!" Suno's eyes widened both with understanding and surprise at Goku's newfound determination.

"Goku," she asked, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Goku nodded and put a hand on Suno's shoulder as she smiled at her friend.

"Suno, you and me are going to take down the Red Ribbon Army once and for all!" She threw back her head and called out to the sky. "Nimbus!" The bright yellow cloud swirled down triumphantly from the skies and Goku hopped onto it, pulling Suno up with her. "You'll have your father back soon, Upa!" She promised before Nimbus flew off again. Part of Suno was wondering just how the two of them were going to defeat the Red Ribbon Army but she knew she really had nothing to fear. She was getting stronger herself and it seemed like Goku was getting stronger all the time. What could go wrong?


	22. Raid on the Red Ribbon Army!

Chapter Twenty-two

Raid on the Red Ribbon Army! Topple the Tyrant, Goku!

Officer Black walked through the halls of the headquarters of the Red Ribbon Army towards Commander Red's office, reflecting on the strange relationship he had with the man. It was true that through the Army, Dudley Slate could rise to a higher station than he would have achieved in service to King Furry. He was the Commander's Right Hand Man. If they were successful, it would make Officer Black the second most powerful man on the planet.

Only… why should he be the _second_ most powerful? He knew he was smarter than the Commander. Less prone to impulsive actions and childish blunderings. He knew he lacked Cyril's charisma but he _was_ taller. On top of that, Black was bothered by the fact that Commander Red refused to tell him what they were gathering the Dragon Balls _for._ It couldn't be world domination, otherwise why build up an entire army. That would just be redundant.

"Perhaps," Black mused as he stood in front of the door to his Commander's office, "When all this is done, it should be Emperor _Black_ who rules the world…" He shrugged before he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Even though Commander Red wasn't looking at him, _that_ eye was. It unnerved Black how it seemed to have a mind of its own.

"Yes, I see," Commander Red was speaking into a headset, no doubt in contact with some of his other forces elsewhere in the world, "And there's still no sign of this last Dragon Ball? That's a shame." He drummed his fingers on the desk before speaking again. "The usual, then. Conscript the men, shoot those who won't fall in line, put the children to work in those mines you told me about. Report back to me in twelve hours." He switched off the headset and turned his attention to Officer Black with a sigh. "That was Admiral Copper. Still no sign of that last Ball." He slammed his fists on the table in frustration. "I've got half my army turning over half the continent for this damn thing. _Where is it?"_ He sighed again before he looked up at Officer Black. "I trust you have some good news, though?" Officer Black nodded.

"This is another printout from our Radar," He said as he passed the sheet of paper across the desk to Commander Red. Where once there had been three, now there were four dots. "It appears that Mercenary Tao was good on his word." Commander Red smiled and sighed with relief as he leaned back in his enormous chair.

"That's good," he said with a nod, "That's very good. The girl is dead and nearly all of the Dragon Balls are mine. Things are looking up again." It was a strange thing to have so jubilant a conversation about the murder of children and stranger still that the Commander only referred to them as _his_ Dragon Balls. Still, he was right. Son Goku's death could only be a good thing. Things _were_ looking up. Perhaps more for certain people then Commander Red suspected.

OoOoOoO

The Nimbus soared through the sky faster than ever before. According to the Dragon Radar, the last two Dragon Balls were approximately 2,300 kilometers to the southwest and, at the rate they were moving, they'd make it there in a little under fifteen minutes. In all honesty, Suno was fairly certain that she had taken the wrong turn at the fork between "Sanity" and "Here There Be Sea Monsters" but she found herself not caring. What she had sensed from Goku in her room had been astounding but it was nothing compared to what she felt from her after she finished training on Korin's Tower. The rate at which Goku was improving was staggering and there seemed to be no upper to her strength. At the level she was at, a direct assault against the Red Ribbon Army seemed like something she could easily accomplish.

Of course, Goku's seemingly endless strength and rapid gains just made Suno's comparative weakness all the more clear. At this point, she was starting to feel more like dead weight than anything else. She wasn't _too_ concerned about what she was about to do- at least, not as much as she probably should have been- but it did make her wonder what the point of her coming along was. At the very least, she was keeping Goku company so it's not like she was feeling _completely_ useless but she still wondered.

Putting those thoughts aside, Suno couldn't help but notice that they were starting to pass what appeared fortifications inside the mountains. It was a bit difficult to see them due to the speed at which they were moving but she was certain that she saw more than a few turrets that might have been anti-air guns. "Hmm. No one's shooting at us trying to stop us. I wonder what's going on."

"Maybe they all ran away?" Goku suggested.

Suno hummed and closed her eyes, "No, there's definitely still people there. They just seem to be ignoring us for some reason. I don't like this. We should be careful, Goku. It might be a trap." Goku nodded… and rolled off the side of Nimbus, angling her body to plummet towards the ground like a skydiver. Suno sighed and shook her head. "Not _quite_ the entrance I had in mind," she muttered before giving the cloud a pat on its… side? "Come on, Nimbus!" The cloud angled down suddenly and followed after Goku.

OoOoOoO

The reserved forces stationed at the Red Ribbon Army's Headquarters was going about a relatively routine day. With the majority of the forces out searching for the Dragon Balls or engaging with the Royal Army, the relatively bare-boned staff was left behind to defend the base itself. It was a force of maybe 500 soldiers with automatic and ballistic weapons at their disposal, as well as a handful of tanks and fighter jets.

It would not be enough.

There was a sudden "thunk" as something hit one of the hangars. A muffled voice and the hangar suddenly burst into flames. The soldiers scrambled for their weapons and circled around the wreckage of the hangar. They were the _best_ soldiers in the world. The hungriest. The most relentless. They were ready for anything. Until they saw _her_ walk out of the flames. It had been less than two weeks, but the entire army had heard the stories of the Super Girl. Indestructible, unstoppable. A monster girl who seemed solely dedicated to ripping the army to pieces. The soldiers screamed as they surrounded her with a spray of bullets. They lobbed grenades and ran for flamethrowers and hoped against hope. Maybe it was exaggerated. Maybe she was just _really_ lucky.

But as she walked through fire and shrugged off bullets and kicked grenades out of the air to send them back, they realized that everything was true. When she caught missiles fired from rocket launchers and threw them into barracks, and as she looked at them with cold, loathing eyes, they knew that they were all going to die.

OoOoOoO

"What the hell is going on out there?" Commander Red muttered. Officer Black said nothing as he was still focusing heavily on the chessboard between the two of them. His fingers drifted back and forth between the pawn and the knight. Each could be useful, but neither was quite… right. Suddenly Red was pulled out of the moment when a light on his desk began flashing. _Someone_ was calling him. With a sigh he put his headset on and flipped a switch. "What the hell is it?" he asked.

"She's here!" the voice on the other end screamed. Commander Red heard screaming and explosions and gunfire in the background. "The girl is here! She is _on the base!"_ It took all of Commander Red's control not to scream.

"Get those tanks moving!" he ordered, "I want the jets in the air, covering her with suppressive fire! That other brat has to be around, fill the skies with anti-air artillery! We will not be beaten, damn it!" He flicked one switch to turn that channel off and then flicked on _every single switch_ on his table, broadcasting his signal to every soldier in the field. "This is Commander Red to all fronts! Fall back, I repeat, fall back immediately and return to base! We are under attack, I repeat, we are _under attack!_ Son Goku is here! Son Goku is at the base!"

OoOoOoO

"I reject my humanity!" bellowed the blonde-haired, power-mad young man. He raised his knife high and then… it changed to the news. Launch groaned and flopped back into the couch off its edge in disappointment. How could they cut to the news during something like this?! What was more important?

"We interrupt this broadcast," the anchorwoman was saying, "With a special news bulletin. Reports are flooding in from all over the world that the Red Ribbon Army's forces are retreating from outposts and battlefields _en masse,_ even in situations where they were winning or had already won the conflict." The wheels slowly began to turn in Launch's head when she heard the words "Red Ribbon Army" and she flung open the window to call for Yamcha and Krillin, who were sparring on the shore while Master Roshi watched.

"Hey!" she called, "You guys are gonna wanna see this! Get yer butts in here!" The three quickly entered the Kame House as the anchorwoman continued her report.

"Like many things with the Red Ribbon Army we have no idea _why_ they are doing this but we will do our best to keep you posted." The news cut back to Launch's show but they weren't paying attention to that.

"You don't think…" Krillin started to ask slowly. Roshi just chuckled.

"Of course she is," he said with a grin. How could he expect anything else from Son Goku? Yamcha sighed and went to get the phone.

"I'll call Bulma so she can help us track Goku's Dragon Balls and figure out where she is. We've gotta help her!" Even if Goku _was_ stronger than all of them, she was still only one girl. Okay, two with this Suno kid. But those still weren't the best odds. It's not like he could just sit around and do nothing like an asshole, right?

OoOoOoO

Goku grabbed a tank by its barrel and spun it around and around, smashing it into the soldiers before she hurled it high into the air to hit an airplane that made both explode. She heard Suno coming towards her from the sound of her deft strikes and the cries of pain from Red Ribbon soldiers. Suno came to Goku and they stood back to back as they deflected and struck down charging Red Ribbon soldiers. Goku's hands blurred through the air to grab bullets as they were being fired at Suno and hurled them back at their firers.

"More people are coming in!" Suno called over the gunfire and explosions, "I think the Commander called in everyone who was in the field. We're gonna get surrounded!" Goku grinned.

"Then we'll just beat him up!" That made sense to Goku. After all, once the guy in charge got beat up then the rest of them would give up and go home, right? Goku took out her Power Pole and held one end to Suno. She grabbed it and let out a surprised yelp when Goku started swinging the Power Pole around in a wide circle. "Power Pole extend!" Suno stuck out her legs and pumped them, running against the faces of the Red Ribbon soldiers that attacked them in an ever-widening spiral. She tossed the Power Pole up into the air, leaving it in Suno's hands while she flew into the air. Goku smiled up as Suno smacked anti-air missiles away with the staff and used that momentum to send herself into jets with flying kicks. Then she looked at the ever-growing swarm of Red Ribbon Soldiers, some trampling over their fallen comrades to come at her. It was a _lot_ of people. Which was okay with Goku. They needed all the help they could get. She charged with a flying kick towards the nearest soldier. She'd beat them all up. She'd get the Dragon Balls and help everyone that the Army had hurt!

OoOoOoO

Commander Red and Officer Black were holed up in his office with the door locked and barricaded with anything they could find. Except for the desk, of course. Just because Goku had interrupted their chess game didn't mean that they were going to stop playing. Not that Commander Red was in any shape to focus on the game now. He was sweating nervously, and every thump or explosion outside sent a fresh bolt of panic through his body. Red moved one of his Knights and swore under his breath as soon as he realized that he'd moved it directly into the path of Black's bishop. God, he was a nervous wreck! And his condition was _not_ helped by the sudden "Thunk!" of one of his soldiers slamming into one of his office windows and noisily sliding down the bulletproof substance.

"That's it, damn it!" he declared as he grabbed his headset, "I'm calling Gero!" He drummed his fingers impatiently on the table and chewed his lip when Black took his Knight while he waited for the other line to pick up.

"This is Archimedes–"

"Oh, thank God!" Commander Red blurted out before composing himself. "Gero, listen to me, Goku is here and I need–"

"I'm terribly sorry I can't come to the phone right now. I'm either working on one of my androids which requires dealing with very delicate machines and _horrendous_ levels of radiation and heat, or I have drank myself to sleep. Please leave a message after the tone." Commander Red could only stare into space in slack–jawed, wide–eyed horror as the voicemail beeped. He let out a wordless scream of terror and fury before flinging the headset against the wall. He slammed his head into the desk and continued to let out a muffled scream into the wood for a good thirty seconds. Finally, he stopped, and Officer Black spoke.

"It's your move." Commander Red let out a single sob.

OoOoOoO

Suno was weaving up and down between the sky and the ground forces on the Nimbus, ducking and rolling in and between the attempted attacks. As she and the Nimbus took another sweep up into the sky to catch her breath, Suno realized that she was beginning to feel weary. From up above, she could see the swathe of destruction Goku was cutting as she stormed her way towards the main building like a force of nature and it made her feel like they were really doing something. However, while Goku's energy seemed infinite, Suno could feel herself starting to slow down. The soldiers were slower than them and couldn't really hurt them but they just kept coming. It was only now that she was actually fighting them that Suno began to understand just how huge the Red Ribbon Army truly was. There must have been thousands of soldiers, each and every one answering the call to swarm the two of them. This was insane! They should have had more of a plan. They should have had any plan at all!

A sudden growing hum snapped Suno out of her introspection and she looked up to see two fighter jets approaching her. She steeled herself and grabbed the Power Pole in both hands and charged the jets like a knight with a lance when suddenly a brilliant beam of white-blue light burst up from the ground below and smashed the jets apart. For a moment, Suno assumed it had to be Goku until she realized that this beam was… different. It had a certain swirl to it, an impurity where Goku's had been straight and true. Suno flew down lower to get a closer look at what was going on. What she saw surprised her.

Down on the ground were Yamcha and Krillin and that Launch girl and, yes, even Bulma. They were coming in from the rear and doing their best to cut off any Red Ribbon forces that were trying to get onto the base to attack the two of them, so that made things a little easier. Krillin was jumping and twisting through the air, punching and kicking and using his new Kamehameha. Yamcha was slicing apart guns and tanks and the occasional soldier with such speed that it didn't even look like he had a sword, just a shimmering silver haze that surrounded him. Launch was supplanting her martial arts inexperience with a machine gun in her other hand and was, for some reason, wearing a dust mask over her mouth and nose. Bulma, who Suno knew had no combat experience, was attacking the enemy with a wide variety of Capsule Corp gadgets.

But then Suno saw _him_.

She had never seen Muten Roshi in action before. She had only heard stories of stories that Master Frost had told her. She'd never imagined that she would actually get to see Roshi fight. There he was though, down on the ground, slicing through the Red Ribbon forces almost as easily as Goku had. His sheer mastery of the martial arts was a sight to behold. It was like an artist watching a master paint, a musician hearing a perfect composition. Master Roshi was a living masterpiece of the martial arts. Every strike was impeccably precise, delivered with blistering speed and incredible power. Suno was so in awe of the spectacle that it took Master Roshi himself looking up at her and gesturing to remind her what she should be doing.

"We'll take care of these fools!" he called up to her. "You go find Goku!" Suno nodded and zoomed down towards the main complex, holding out the Power Pole and smacking soldiers with it on either side of her as she looked for Goku. It was a good thing, she reflected, that Goku had so many friends.

OoOoOoO

While the rest of the Red Ribbons soldiers flooded the halls towards the battlefield, the recently-promoted General Violet ran in the opposite direction. She'd barely even had time to _enjoy_ her promotion after General Blue's death or the fact that she was the highest-ranking female officer in the Army when everything had gone to shit. With all of the commotion and the sheer number of bodies filling the halls, no one would notice General Violet making her way _anywhere else._ These were good men and women. Brave and loyal who believed in the cause of the Red Ribbon Army and were willing to throw their lives away against an impossible opponent because it was their duty and responsibility. But General Violet was not like them.

She wasn't a fucking idiot.

What, was she just supposed to charge the invincible Super Girl with her standard issue revolver and determination and hope for the best? The hell with that. Violet could see the writing on the wall. She knew that the Red Ribbon Army was hosed. That it was all about to go down in flames and it was time to get out while the getting was good. She was thankful that as someone who worked primarily in espionage for the RRA, she had never been caught on film. It was time for General Violet to die and for Iris Bellerose to come back to life. But first, she would get what was hers.

It was a stroke of good luck that every able-bodied soldier with a gun and not as many brain cells as Violet… as _Iris_ herself had gone to the battlefield, because that meant no one was guarding the treasury. With a duffle bag over each shoulder, she slapped some C4 charges onto the vault and ducked behind a potted plant as the door was reduced to rubble. Then she sprinted into the vault and took a moment to drink it all in. Gold and jewels from sunken ships, valuables stolen from conquered cities and lands and plundered from ancient castles and tombs. Anything that could be used to fund the war efforts. And now she was going to take as much as she could carry. She wouldn't keep _all_ of it for herself, Iris wasn't a fool. That would attract too much attention. Some would be sold on the black market and some would be returned to their ancestral homes to prove that she was a good citizen and an intrepid treasure hunter, not connected to the Red Ribbon Army or anything bad in any way, shape, or form. There _was,_ however, an enormous gold necklace that had belonged to some queen or another in centuries past, supposedly back before the Demon King had nearly wiped out the human race. It was calling to her, and she _had_ to have it. She gleefully ran into the room and started shoving fistfuls of illicit goods into her bags.

OoOoOoO

Commander Red was remarkably more calm now than he'd been before, even as the sounds of hell continued outside. He smiled to himself as he moved his Rook and took one of Officer Black's Pawns.

"It's going to be fine," he insisted, "She'll get tired. No one person can fight an entire army on her own. She's going to get tired and someone's going to shoot her dead." There was something in his tone that let Officer Black know that this confidence was, on some level, just a mask. "And even if she gets through all of our soldiers, all of my soldiers," he prattled on, "I have this." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a capsule, pressing it between thumb and forefinger. "I had Gero build this special for me. I'll kill the girl myself if I have to and then we'll have all the time in the world to find that last damn Ball, and then I'll I'll get my wish!"

"And just what is your wish, Commander?" Officer Black asked suddenly. Commander Red blinked. He had always respected Black for his frank candor however the topic of his wish had never been broached before. "It can't be to be king. Why even bother raising an army? So what is it? To cure World Hunger and make everyone love you? Mind control so that none will rise up?" Commander Red chewed on the end of his mustache for a moment as he considered what to do next. It didn't matter in the end, he supposed. Black was his closest advisor and his most trusted friend. And despite his bluster, there was a very real chance that they were going to die anyway. So what did it matter?

"I want to be taller," he said finally. Black leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers but said nothing. "I know it sounds crazy but you understand, don't you? Dudley, you have to understand!" He pleaded, using Black's real name to show his sincerity, "People like you and I, the world judges us. Looks down on us. Each in our own ways. If it weren't for my father's money, I'd be no one. I'd be elves in movies or the sidekick of a circus clown. Even if I were king, they'd still laugh at me. Still mock me. Even as king! The Dragon Balls can do anything! For God's sake, Dudley, I'm a cripple! Why shouldn't I ask for a miracle, huh? Is that so wrong?"

"No," Black agreed, "It isn't." Commander Red sighed and smiled. He felt better, getting that off his chest. He should have known Dudley would understand. He looked down to see that Black's stupid Bishop had taken his Rook and moved to take it with his Queen. When he looked back up… Black was pointing his pistol at him. "But you still have to go." He squeezed the trigger and shot Red four times in the chest. Red slid out of his chair and fell to the floor with shock and betrayal frozen forever on his face. Commander Black walked around the table and sat down in the Commander's chair. He moved his Queen to Commander Red's King and smiled. "Checkmate." As if he would ever wish himself White.

OoOoOoO

Suno slammed the Power Pole into the door of what must be the Commander's Office like a baseball bat to make the door swing open. Goku was in another part of the building and dealing with most of the soldiers. That was fine with Suno. She was going to beat the Commander by herself and end this once and for all!

The chair's back was to her and it slowly turned around to face her. It was all she could do not to roll her eyes as the dark-skinned man smiled and leaned his elbows on the desk.

"Were you expecting someone else?" he asked wryly. Suno shrugged.

"Not really," she admitted. "I didn't really know who the Commander was or what he looked like." The man looked a little disappointed by that. "I guess you took over from the old guy in charge? Not that it really matters. Goku and I are beating up your whole army. It's over!" She leaped forward at the man and swung the Power Pole down on the desk to smash it in half. She would have hit the man himself but he'd pushed back in his chair towards the wall and the staff had barely missed his head.

"That was very rude!" he chided her as he took off his jacket and tie. "I am Commander Black of the Red Ribbon Army and–" Suno leaped at him again with a flying kick.

"You don't get a monologue!" she snapped at him and flew in a tight spiral towards him. Black rolled out of the way and Suno pushed off the wall where his head had been with the flat of her foot. He rolled away as she dove at him with a punch that cracked the tile and he came up with a high-powered pistol in hand. He fired at her but Suno nimbly dodged the bullets and kicked the gun away. To Suno's surprise, he jumped back and moved into a proper fighting stance. It wasn't a fighting stance she was familiar with but she'd half expected him to cut and run.

Black threw out a sweep that Suno jumped over but, to his credit, it was a feint and he threw a high kick to shove her painfully up into the ceiling. She dropped down from the ceiling and in perfect lineup with a jab from Black however Suno was able to grab his wrist and, with gravity's help, flip him overhead and slam him into the ground. Commander Black rolled up onto a knee as Suno landed and threw a lariat at Suno that she was able block with both arms and skidded across the tile. Black got to his feet and charged with a knee. Suno threw out a punch that caught him right in the knee. Black howled in pain and hopped away on one foot, clutching his knee. Suno was so surprised that she was almost going to laugh. Black stepped away, gingerly putting pressure on his back foot and frowning at her.

"Clearly," he said reluctantly, "I have underestimated you." He reached into pocket and Suno charged at him and was blinded by a bright light as Black pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and flashed it in her eyes. He laughed and Suno heard the hiss and felt the puff of air of a capsule opening. Suno blinked the spots out of her eyes just in time to see an enormous purple fist filling her entire field of vision. It slammed into her and she hit the wall painfully. Her vision finally cleared and she looked up and up and _up_ to see Commander Black in a purple suit of power armor. He grinned and laughed like a maniac. "Hahahaha! I win! I win! The Rule of Commander Black will–" And then Goku came down through the ceiling. Officer Black stared at her and Goku jumped and flip-rolled to dropkick the power armor in the chest and send him staggering with a craterous dent where her feet had hit.

"Don't worry, Suno!" Goku assured Suno, "I've got this!" Suno nodded appreciatively as Officer Black charged Goku and opened the tip of his fingers to unleash a hail of bullets at Goku. She weaved and dashed her way between all of them to deliver a ferocious series of jabs that dotted the armor with dents and finished with a furious chop that turned the power armor's right arm into smithereens. Black stared at where the arm had been in disbelief and Goku lunged again. Black brought up his other arm and a rocket flew out of his open palm and hit Goku squarely in the chest. Goku slammed into a wall and charged him again while the smoke was still rolling off her body. Black opened a panel in his stomach and a jet of fire enveloped Goku. She leaped into the air through the fire and as the flames hung off Goku like torn ropes with a savage look on her face, Suno saw a depth of fear in Commander Black's eyes that she had never known humans to be capable of. Goku slammed into the super strong polymer and cracked the bubble that Black was looking out of. She landed on the floor and then it was Commander Black's turn to surprise them yet again.

Commander Black popped open the hatch of the bubble and held up… an eye. It was a mechanical eye, clearly, but there were wires dangling from it that looked like nerve endings and it was dripping with blood. Commander Black squeezed the eye in his fist and a bright red beam shot out of where the pupil would be and struck Goku square in the face, stunning her and sending her sprawling. He punched a hole in the ceiling and flew out through the hole with a rocket that came out of the armor's back. Then he pointed his fist down at the compound and laughed.

"This armor is equipped with a thermonuclear warhead!" he bellowed, voice broadcast loud over a built-in speaker. "Let's see how you tough you are when I blow you all straight to hell!" he laughed again as Goku still staggered on her hands and knees.

Suno stared up into the sky at Commander Black as he prepared the warhead. This was so far beyond anything she could have possibly imagined that she went past panic and looped around to perfectly calm.

It was simple, really. Commander Black was going to launch an attack that would almost certainly kill them all. There was no way to block such an attack so the only option was to prevent that attack from launching in the first place.

Of course, that was easier said than done. Goku was still stunned and likely wouldn't recover soon enough. Muten Roshi and the others were still off at another part of the base likely unaware of what was happening. The Power Pole would also fail here since there wasn't enough room to build up a proper swing at that height. Even kiai was out of the question since, even if Suno _could_ perform a full powered one, there's no way it'd do anything noteworthy.

That left only one option.

It didn't matter that Suno had never successfully performed it. It didn't matter that she hadn't tried it since her time spent training. It didn't matter that, realistically speaking, there's no way Suno _could_ perform it. It was no longer about could or could not. Suno had no choice but to do it. If she didn't then everyone would surely die.

Suno felt her ki circulating at an ever growing pace. What she was doing was, by most accounts, impossible but she wouldn't let something as minor as that stop her. In the end, everything came down to her and this one moment. Everything had been set up for this. Everything had been building up to this. Now all that was left was for her to step forward and fulfill her role.

Suno's body was burning. Her ki was building at such a rate that it felt as if she could explode if it continued.

She didn't stop it.

She pushed it to grow even more.

What she was doing was so far beyond her that, even as a fantasy, it was ridiculous. If she were to look back on this moment later, she was certain that she would see herself as another person entirely. If she could look back on this moment later, she was certain that she would _be_ another person entirely.

No more regrets. No more anger. No more revenge. No more hate. No more sadness. No more suffering. No more thinking. Only that power that was burning within her and the target she was intent on destroying were important.

Suno felt her power erupting from her body. If she had been less focused, she would have noticed an aura surrounding her that caused her hair to rise.

Suno brought her hands to her side and focused. If this was going to work, she would have to pour everything she had into this one attack. No, even that wouldn't be enough. She had to push herself even farther than that if this was going to work.

"Kaaaaaaa…."

Suno forced her raging power between her hands. It was like trying to direct the flow of the ocean with a broom but she did it anyway. She could feel her ki starting to condense and take shape but it wasn't enough. Not yet. If she had the time to do this carefully, she could probably do it safely but she didn't have time. The missile was almost fully deployed and would surely be launched soon.

"Meeeeeee…."

She forced every bit of her power that she could spare into the space between her hands but it still wasn't enough. She could certainly launch it now and it may very well hit her target but it wouldn't be enough to stop the attack. She needed more.

"Haaaaaaa…."

Ignoring the scream of her body, Suno began drawing even more power into the attack. Using this much of her life energy was certainly dangerous but it didn't matter. If she continued down this route, she would certainly die the moment the attack was launched but it didn't matter. What mattered was the strange but wonderful girl still staggering to her feet. What mattered were the people that were valiantly fighting against an army without any knowledge as to what was about to happen.

Goku. Bulma. Krillin. Yamcha. Launch. Muten Roshi. They mattered. Suno didn't.

"Meeeeeee…."

She was so far beyond her limit that her body was breaking. Her hearing was gone. She couldn't feel anything. The scent of blood was gone. Even her vision was tunneled to the point that she could only see her target. Her heart felt as if it would burst, breathing was becoming a Herculean task, and it took every ounce of her willpower to remaining standing.

This didn't worry her at all.

There was no more time. The attack was going to be launched any moment now. There was no more energy to pull. If she pulled any more, she would certainly die before she could launch her own attack and then this would all be meaningless.

Was it enough? Could she do this? Would this work?

She didn't know the answer to those questions but she didn't need to know. One way or another, this ended now.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Suno thrusted her arms toward her target and a brilliant blue beam erupted from her hands. This wasn't the the pure beam that Goku had used. This wasn't even the tornado-like beam that Krillin had used. This beam contained her very essence and sparkled like sunlight over freshly fallen snow.

The beam that contained everything that was Suno collided with her target. Her target was forced high into the air by the impact as the beam contended with its armor. For a painful eternity, it seemed like it wouldn't be enough but, in the end, the human spirit is indomitable while machines are everything but. The beam tore through the armor, it tore through the man inside, it tore through the missile. There was a great explosion as her target was destroyed and then the light faded.

It was certainly impossible but she had done it anyway. If this was where her story ended then she was content. With a faint smile, Suno collapsed as her body gave out.

SSVC/N: Merry Christmas to all our fans! Your favorites, follows, and reviews have meant so much. We'll see where Son Goku and friends go next in the new year!

Z/N: If you want the full effect, I highly suggest you reread the bit where Suno performs the Kamehameha (starting at "Suno stared up into the sky") while listening to flowery/finality from the Mahoyo OST.

See you next year!


	23. The Army Defeated! Where is the Ball?

Chapter Twenty-three

The Army Defeated! But Where is the Ball?

Goku finally got to her feet and blinked away the bright light as it dimmed down. Whatever that ball was, that laser had hurt her more than she'd expected. But never mind that, Suno had done a Kamehameha! Goku had known she would be able to do it. She was so proud of her friend.

"Suno!" Goku shouted as she stood up, "That was great!" Then she saw Suno passed out on the ground and crouched down to brush her hair aside and see if she was all right. She _was_ breathing but it was shallow and labored. "Suno?" she asked softly. Her friend made no movement. Goku scooped Suno quickly up into her arms and ran through the battlefield. She wondered where all the soldiers had gone to and was surprised when she saw her friends. They must have come to help with the fight! "Master Roshi! Krillin! Bulma! Everyone!" They waved to her until they saw Suno in her arms and were clearly concerned. Goku put on an extra burst of speed and held Suno out to them. "I think she got hurt using the Kamehameha. Bulma, do you have any medicine or anything?" Bulma shook her head and chewed her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry, Goku," she said, "I only brought stuff I thought we could use to beat up the soldiers." She shook her head and looked disappointed with herself. "I should have thought ahead!" Yamcha put an arm around Bulma's shoulder as Roshi looked Suno over.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I doubt your medicine would do much good here anyway. Set her down gently, Goku," he instructed and she did as she was told. She watched with a mixture of worry and excitement, wondering what Roshi was going to do and hoping that Suno would be okay. Roshi rolled up his sleeves to the elbows and held his palms out towards Suno. He closed his eyes and hummed softly as a gentle, twinkling light began to glow from his palms and all of them watched in wonderment. This was not the harsh light of an attack, it was a soft and warm light; like from a candle or the rays of the sun. He ran his hands slowly across Suno's body. He pressed a palm to the crown of her head then the center of her forehead, her throat, her heart, and her stomach. Each time he touched Suno, a faint light shimmered through her like ripples on a lake. When he was finished, she did not wake up but her breathing was much more relaxed. "She'll be fine," Roshi assured Goku with a smile, "She just needs to rest a while."

"What did you do, Master Roshi?" Krillin asked in awe. The old master gave a wise smile.

"Ki is life energy," Roshi explained. "Most people who can understand ki only know of it as a weapon. Burning, smashing, piercing. But there's so much more it can do. It can give life as much as it brings death. Suno put too much of her own ki into that Kamehameha so I put some of my ki into her to speed up the healing process."

"Not to break this up," Launch interjected, "But didn't you come here because these guys had Dragon Balls?" Goku blinked in surprise. "...Did you forget?" One second she was there. Then she wasn't. They all stared at the spot where Goku _had_ been. Even Roshi hadn't seen her leave. "The hell did we miss?" Then she was back and holding two Dragon Balls in her fists.

"I found these in the guy's desk," she said as she held them up. "It doesn't look like they had any more, though." Yamcha groaned and rubbed a palm against his forehead.

"All that and we don't even have all the Balls yet?" he sighed and shrugged. "Okay, Goku. Where's the last one?" Goku took out the Dragon Radar and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find it," Goku said and held the Radar out for them to see. She didn't understand how the Dragon Ball wouldn't show up. Bulma's Radar _always_ found the Dragon Balls. Was this one hiding? Could they hide? Bulma smiled and took the Radar from Goku's hand.

"Don't worry," she said with a smile, "I've got something!" Goku smiled back. Bulma was so smart! She could always count on her with this kind of stuff. Bulma took a capsule out of her fanny pack and opened it to reveal… something. It looked the same color as the Dragon Radar except that it was square. There was a deep impression in the square for the Radar to fit into and slapped it down inside the square. "I had some time these last couple days and I built a Radar amplifier. This will boost the Radar's signal to cover the entire planet!" Goku smiled even wider and clapped excitedly. That was so cool! Bulma pushed the button. Then pushed it again. And then a third time. "Okay, what the hell?!"

"What's wrong?" Yamcha asked while leaning over her shoulder. The green screen showed a three-dimensional map of the Earth and six Dragon Balls in one spot. However, there was no blinking lights anywhere else. On the entire planet. "Oh. That's what's wrong."

"Maybe your gadget isn't as good as you think it is," Launch offered snidely. Bulma scowled at her.

"Can you even make _toast?"_ she asked. "And you're giving me shit about my tech?!" Goku winced. She didn't want to see her friends fight! Roshi cleared his throat before things got ugly.

"I might have a solution but I'll wait until Suno is feeling better. In the meantime, though," he gestured to Goku, "I think you need some new clothes." Goku looked down at her gi. She hadn't noticed but it was pretty beat up. It was full of bulletholes and tears from shrapnel and scorch marks.

"Okay!" she said eagerly, "We'll just go back to Kame House and–"

"Nope," Roshi cut her off. "Fresh outta uniforms. They don't grow on trees, y'know." Goku blinked.

"I know they don't," she said plainly. Clothes didn't grow on trees. Fruit did! Roshi sighed.

"No, it's–"

"I mean, cotton can be made _into_ clothes. But that grows out of the ground. That's different." Roshi sighed again.

"Never mind! Let's just head into the nearest town and ask the tailor to make you a new gi." Goku called down Nimbus and Bulma slipped on her Sonic Discs as Roshi unfurled his magic carpet for himself, Yamcha, and Launch. Krillin helped Goku put Suno on the Nimbus and then they all flew off together.

As they flew to the city, Roshi explained that between the seven of them, they'd taken out most of the soldiers. Those that were left turn tail and ran after Suno defeated Commander Black. Since their boss had threatened them all with nuclear annihilation, whatever that meant, it wasn't likely that they were going to be fighting again anytime soon. That made Goku feel a little better. Even if they didn't have all the Dragon Balls yet, at least the Red Ribbon Army wouldn't be hurting anyone ever again!

OoOoOoO

It was… all gone.

Gero had been having a splendid day. He'd finally gotten Frappe to reveal his secrets of biomechanics and was then able to finally put an end to the insufferable coward. A giant wrench was an admittedly primitive way to get the job done but it had been _very_ satisfying. He had been sketching and designing and had plans for the next _ten_ androids. It was going to be perfect.

However, when he called his private line to the Red Ribbon Army that he used to procure resources and funds, there had been no one there. He called again. And again. He tried a different number and Cyril's personal number that he was to only use in emergencies. Nothing. Finally he turned on the news. Defeated. The Red Ribbon Army had been… defeated. Cyril was dead. And so, too, were Gero's hopes for humanity. He'd destroyed half his lab in a black rage and set fire to all his designs. It wasn't _fair!_ When his fury had finally subsided, he realized who had to be to blame. That Son Goku girl. Super strong, fast, invulnerable. What could she be but an alien? It was _her_ fault. She'd taken it all away from him. His hopes, his dreams, his son's memory.

It was then that Gero decided that it was not over. He would not _let_ it be over. It would take much longer now, maybe the rest of his natural life but he _would_ have his cyborgs and he _would_ save humanity. Most of all, however, he would kill. Son. Goku.

OoOoOoO

"It's that!" Goku told the tailor, pointing at Krillin, Yamcha, and Launch. The old man had a lean, clean-shaven face and adjusted his spectacles as he leaned over his counter and peered at the fabric to determine its exact color and texture.

"Hrrm," the tailor muttered and sucked on his teeth, "Yes, I believe I can do that. You'll just need to get on the counter so I can get your measurements." He bent down and disappeared behind the counter, muttering something about having a stepladder or a stool Goku could use. When he came back up, Goku was already standing on the counter. The old man blinked and shrugged. "Well, all right then. Stick out your arms for me." Goku did so with a smile as the man found a measuring tape and then proceeded to measure her legs, chest, and the circumference of her shoulders, jotting each one down on a pad of paper. Goku giggled and squirmed when the tape wrapped around her middle. It tickled! "This shouldn't take more than an hour or two." The old man said with a smile before he disappeared into the back of his store. Goku smiled and hopped off the counter.

They spent the hour wandering around the store and looking at the different gi and outfits the tailor sold while Yamcha went back to the Kame House to get Puar. They'd been in luck that the tailor specialized in clothes for martial artists and adventurers. There were some outfits that Goku thought were kind of neat and some that were kinda dumb. In the end, she was glad to get her new gi. The old one was in such rough shape that it fell apart as she was changing into her new clothes! Yamcha paid the tailor and returned to where they had left Roshi and Suno.

OoOoOoO

Suno awoke to a world of pain. She honestly didn't really mind that since she was surprised that she awoke at all. The fact that she was staring at the open sky rather than some ceiling clued her in to the fact that she had been moved but she had no idea how long she had been out.

She groaned softly as she gingerly sat up. "Easy now. You did a real number on yourself," she heard someone to her left say. She looked over to see Muten Roshi sitting on a flying carpet. With his sunglasses off, he not only looked every bit the wizened old master but his gaze seemed to pierce straight through her. "What you did was very reckless," Roshi continued, "but I understand why you did it. I have to say, I'm actually impressed that you even managed to perform the Kamehameha. When I was repairing your chakras, I noticed that they weren't naturally tuned towards combat."

"I had to do it," Suno said somewhat defensively. "If I didn't-"

"You don't have to explain yourself," Roshi waved her off. "That desperation is likely why you managed it and I'm really glad you did. There's no way any of us could have survived a nuclear blast. Still, when I created the Kamehameha, I structured it so that it would never draw from the ki needed to maintain your life. It's only supposed to use your body's excess ki. It may not have the destructive power of the Kikouhou because of that but it's a lot safer. That aside, the body has a very strong natural resistance to altering the ki needed to maintain itself. The ability to manipulate it like you did is one rarely found even among masters."

Suno grunted as she moved to where she was sitting upright on the Nimbus. While being praised by the Turtle Hermit was something that was beyond even her wildest dreams, there was something about the way he was talking that was preventing her from getting embarrassed. "Thank you, Master Roshi, but why are you telling me all of this?"

"I've got two reasons. The first is that I want you to promise me that you'll never do that again. You would have died if I hadn't been there and putting that much stress on your body shortens your lifespan. If I had to guess, that stunt cost you a couple of years." Suno paled at this and nodded. "The second is that your talent doesn't lie in fighting. You can become a great fighter, sure, but your skills would be wasted there. Like I told the others, ki can be used to heal and restore just as readily as it can be used to destroy. If you want, I can teach you how to use your ki to heal others."

Suno paused for a long moment. This was definitely the chance of a lifetime and yet… "Thank you very much, Master Roshi, but I'll have to pass for now. There are things I still need to do and I need to be stronger in order to do them. I don't have the time to focus on something unrelated right now."

Roshi nodded. "Alright. I can appreciate your conviction if nothing else. Still, letting your talents go to waste would be awful so consider this an open invitation. Just come see me whenever you're ready. Now," Roshi put his sunglasses back on before gesturing to the side with his head, "I think some people are coming to see you."

Suno turned her head in time to see Goku charging towards her as she cried out her name and threw her arms around her. Suno hugged her back and then Goku backed away to let Suno see that all of Goku's friends were around her in a circle. She supposed they were her friends now, too. They'd come to give Suno and Goku help and she'd risked her life to save theirs. Didn't get much friendlier than that.

"Hey there, kid. Goku told us what happened. That was pretty brave," Yamcha said with a smile as Krillin nodded. Launch huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

"So that's one more person who can do the Kamehameha before me," she muttered. She still had a bit of a smile despite her words so Suno knew it was supposed to be a bit of a compliment. It was then that Suno finally took in her surroundings and noticed that they were in a city rather than a secret military base in the mountains.

"What did I miss?" she asked in confusion. So Goku told her about how she'd found the two Dragon Balls but that the last one was missing and that Master Roshi had a plan.

"So what's your plan, Master Roshi?" Yamcha asked. Roshi took off his sunglasses and cleaned them with the hem of his shirt as he spoke.

"Simple," he said. "Ask my big sister." Bulma blinked.

"What," she and Launch said flatly in unison and then glared at each other. Goku gasped and clapped her hands.

"Master Roshi has a big sister?!" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, right!" Yamcha said with a nod, "The one who you said made those super-heavy turtle shells. I didn't think she was _actually_ a witch. I figured it was, I dunno, a euphemism." Roshi smiled and nodded as he put his glasses back on.

"Yup. Uranai Baba, the Fortuneteller."

"Your parents named your sister 'Crone'?" Suno asked incredulously. Clearly Roshi was the favorite. She also wondered how much older Baba could possibly be. That made him laugh out loud and he shook his head.

"Oh, heavens no! She changed her name when she got into the fortune-telling business. Her name used to be… uh… hrm…." Roshi paused and scratched his head. "Well, I don't really remember." Everyone face-faulted and Roshi huffed indignantly. "Let's see what you remember when you're all three hundred years old!"

"So you really think your sister can tell us where the last Dragon Ball is?" Krillin asked once everyone was back on their feet. Roshi smiled.

"Well sure! She's a fortune teller, isn't she?" Bulma grumbled and groused something under her breath about "stupid magic". "The only thing," Roshi said, "Is that my sister never does anything for free. She doesn't always charge _money_ but you'll probably have to play some game or beat some challenge."

"Let's go, let's go!" Goku declared eagerly as she and Krillin jumped onto the Nimbus. Soon enough they were flying again, with Roshi leading the way. Suno wasn't scared about any challenges the Fortuneteller might present them with. They'd just defeated _the Red Ribbon Army._ What could an old witch possibly throw at them that was tougher than that?


	24. Baba the Great and Powerful!

Chapter Twenty-four

Baba the Great and Powerful!

In sharp contrast to a large facility in the middle of the mountains, Uranai Baba's palace was a large facility in the middle of the desert. Or at least on an oasis. There were two large buildings with a fighting platform between them connected by bridges. To everyone's surprise, there was a line in front of the first building. Everyone but Roshi, of course.

"She's always got a line," he explained. "People come from all over the world to have their fortunes told. I suppose we'll just wait our–"

"Yeah, no," Launch declared as she pulled two uzis, as usual, from nowhere. "That shit ain't happenin'." She fired at the line with her bullets whizzing less than an inch over the heads of the tallest people. "Outta the way, I got shit to do!" she roared at those in line as they ran screaming. In a few moments, they were alone. "See? That wasn't so hard." As they walked to the building, a tiny pink ghost floated out of the door. It wore a green hat and had a round body with a tapered off little tail and big white teeth.

"Greetings!" the ghost said cheerfully as it waved its little pink nubs. Goku grinned and eagerly waved back. "The great Uranai Baba will see you in a moment!" Then it floated away again. They waited for what seemed like an awkward amount of time.

"Maybe she's waiting for us?" Krillin thought aloud as he started to walk towards the building. Roshi reached out and yanked on Krillin's collar to pull him back as an enormous wall of fire flew up before them and a nightmarish face was cast in the shadows of the flames.

"Who dares to trifle with the great Uranai Baba?!" it bellowed in an unnaturally deep voice. Everyone, with the exception of Roshi, took several steps back as the flames jumped even higher. "What great folly possessed you to seek out the all-seeing crone, at the cost of _your very sooooouls?!"_ Roshi pulled down his glasses to roll his eyes. "Within these walls awaits you a horror beyo–" the voice suddenly stopped and the demonic face blinked and stared down at Roshi. "Oh," it said in a much more normal, if disappointed, voice. "It's you." The flames instantly dissipated and behind them stood the tiniest woman Goku had ever seen. Well, she wasn't really _standing_. She was sitting on a floating crystal ball and floated out to meet them. She was a little old woman in a witch's outfit with pink hair sticking out from underneath her pointed hat. "And just what is _so_ important that my brother, the great Muten Roshi, got off his beach chair to finally come and see me?" she asked in a voice drenched in sarcasm. Roshi forced a smile and held out his arms as if for a hug.

"It's good to see you, sis–" he began to say before ducking a rock she lobbed at his head.

"Don't gimme none of that crap!" she snapped at him. "If you ever actually wanted to keep in touch, you could visit! You've got enough dang flying contraptions! And it's not like you're so busy! You haven't had a student in forty years!" Roshi frowned at her and folded his arms.

"Have you seen the lines you draw? You think I'm gonna stand in a line for seven hours at my age just to catch up?" he asked incredulously. She huffed before hacking out a phlegmy glob of spit onto the sand.

"Then you could call!" she insisted. Roshi rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry sis," he said with mock sincerity, "But you don't have a phone and I'm afraid I don't know the extension for your _crystal ball!"_ Just when things looked like they were about to get ugly, Goku reached up and gave a tap-tap-tap on Baba's crystal ball.

"Excuse me," she said politely, "Could you help us?" Baba looked down at her and sighed before giving Goku a smile. Goku thought it was a nice smile, even if Baba was missing a couple teeth.

"Well that depends, deary," she said in a much nicer tone than when she'd been talking to Roshi. "What sort of fortune do you need old Baba to tell?" Goku smiled back at her. She seemed pretty nice!

"We're trying to find the Dragon Balls," she explained. "We have six of them but we can't find the seventh. We need them to help the people hurt by the Red Ribbon Army. Could you help us?" Baba smiled again and leaned down to ruffle Goku's hair. It was a shock that she didn't fall over, given how far she had to lean.

"That shouldn't be too hard," she said as Goku reached into her hair and pulled out a piece of ribbon candy. She blinked before shoving it into her mouth. "I should warn you, my help isn't cheap."

"We know," Bulma said, "Roshi said we have to pass some kind of test or challenge?" Baba smiled and shrugged.

"Unless you have ten million zeni on you, yes." They all stared wide-eyed at her. With the exception of Roshi who knew this already and Goku who was still too focused on her ribbon candy. "What, you think fortune telling is cheap?" she smiled and shrugged. "So I'm guessing that's a no on the ten million zeni. Let's see there are…" she paused and counted everyone there. Roshi took a step to the left and Bulma vehemently shook her head which apparently excluded them from the count. "Alright, so there's six of ya. If you can defeat my five champions, I'll tell ya your fortune. Follow me!" Baba floated away through the entrance tunnel towards the platform in between the two buildings and everyone followed her.

"I'll take the first shot," Launch said as she hopped into the ring. She cracked her neck and dropped down to stretch her legs to wait for the first champion. A strange figure strutted out of the far building wrapped in a mysterious black cloak before whipping it off dramatically to reveal… a blue vampire in traditional Taijutsu garb. He threw a few quick jabs in the air with his purple gloves. Launch was unimpressed.

"Behold!" the tiny pink ghost declared dramatically, "Dracula Man!"

"That's original," Suno muttered dryly.

"Wait," Krillin said, "If he's a vampire, how come he isn't dead from direct sunlight?" Baba waved her hand.

"I took care of that," she said brusquely. Krillin shrugged as Dracula Man threw another jab at Launch, cackling like a madman and showing his fangs to try and intimidate her. Launch responded with an elbow to the stomach that caused the vampire to double over in pain. She followed up with a ferocious uppercut that snapped Dracula Man's head back and drove her foot into his kneecap to hobble him. She continued the assault with vicious body punches and elbows. He caught Launch with a sudden knee to the stomach and followed up with a series of jabs to the face before finishing with a right hook. Surprisingly, Launch reached out and trapped his arm at the elbow under her armpit.

"Thank you, sir," Launch said and smiled wickedly at him despite her busted lip. "May I have another?" she added and spit out a mouthful of blood. Despite having no blood of his own, Dracula Man's blue skin went even paler. Launch grinned and proceeded to slam her palm several times into his collarbone. She let go of his arm to let him stagger away and threw out a powerful thrust kick to send him careening backwards onto his ass.

"Whoa," Yamcha whispered, the clear blush on his cheeks causing Bulma to huff and cross her arms over her chest indignantly. Goku clapped excitedly for her friend. Launch had gotten really good! Dracula picked himself up slowly as Launch waited and bounced on the balls of her feet. He charged at her and there was a sudden "Foof!" of a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Dracula Man had turned into a bat! Whatever his next step was, though, it was clear it didn't matter.

"Ah… ahhh.. aaaah…" Launch said and tilted her head back further and further as she scrunched up her face.

"Aw no," Krillin muttered in disappointment.

"What?" Suno asked, "What is it?"

"Ah choo!" Launch cried as she sneezed and her hair switched blue. She blinked huge, soft, doe-like eyes as she stared at the bat flapping in front of her and looking as confused as a bat could be. Then she let out a shriek and dove into the water, eliminating herself. Everyone groaned and facepalmed in unison except for Goku, who was helping Launch out of the water, and Suno, who had never seen that happen.

"What," she asked flatly. " _What?"_ she repeated in disbelief. How did that happen? What _had_ just happened?

"Oh, right," Krillin said, "You've never seen Launch do that before. She does that."

"What the heck _is_ 'that'?!" she asked incredulously. Everyone shrugged, even Launch. Suno sighed and shook her head. She shouldn't have been surprised.

"One down, five to go!" Dracula Man cackled as he returned to his human form and jabbed at the air. Apparently, he had forgotten that the only thing that had spared him a humiliating defeat was a technicality that he never could have expected. Krillin entered the ring next with some small amount of trepidation. He slid into his guard and Dracula Man turned into a bat again, zipping around the ring at surprising speed. Krillin heard the "Foof!" as Dracula Man transformed behind him and rolled forward with seconds to spare as the vampire's jaws snapped shut around the air where his head used to be.

"H-hey!" Krillin protested as he rolled up to a knee, "What gives?! Is he trying to drink my blood or something?!" He grinned and snapped his teeth a few more times.

"Well… yes," Baba said nonchalantly, as if Krillin was an idiot for asking. Krillin let out a distressed moan. Why did _he_ always have to fight the things that ate people?! Dracula Man licked his lips and charged at Krillin with a series of elbows, jabs, and knees. A year ago, Krillin would have been terrified and helpless but he was braver and stronger now. He'd fought Giran the Dragon Man and the chainsaw android. A dumb blue vampire didn't scare him! Krillin effortlessly redirected every attack with his Orin Temple style before catching Dracula Man under the chin with a backflip kick. Dracula man staggered away while Baba dragged her hand down her face in frustration. Dracula Man turned into a bat in response to make up for his weaknesses with his incredible speed. He zipped around Krillin's head to try and disorient him. It was doing the job and Krillin could feel himself getting dizzy as his eyes bounced back and forth to try and follow the bat.

"Don't follow him with your eyes, Krillin!" Goku called, "You've got to feel when he's coming!" Goku could see him easily enough but she knew Krillin wasn't as strong as her so he'd have a harder time. Krillin nodded and closed his eyes as he exhaled. He threw his hands out suddenly and clapped them around Fang, catching him overhead.

"I got him!" Krillin cried triumphantly, then let out a yelp when Dracula Man turned back to normal to burst out of his grip and drove a knee down on top of Krillin's head to send him hard into the ring. Krillin rolled away as he followed up with a punch that hit only stone and got to his feet as the vampire charged with his mouth wide open. "Let's see how you chew on this!" he shouted as he chopped out a horizontal kiai. It caught Dracula Man right in the mouth and caused him to come to a screeching halt as his fangs snapped clean off. He shrieked in pain and clutched at his mouth in horror with tears in his eyes. Krillin ran at Dracula Man and caught him full in the face, unknowingly, with Goku's signature dropkick. He flew backwards and flopped across the ring a few times before hitting the water, eliminating the first of Baba's champions. The others cheered and clapped as Krillin pumped his fists in the air triumphantly.

"Yes, yes," Baba said dryly, "You defeated my weakest champion. Congratulations." She turned to the unconscious vampire floating in the water with disapproval, "You hear that, Drac? You stink! You lose one more time, you're fired! I'll get the one in the red trenchcoat and hat!" Then she turned her attention back to Krillin. "Would you like to sub out with someone else or do you want to face the next champion right away?"

"I'm ready!" Krillin said with his fists balled in determination. Baba nodded and snapped her fingers. Nothing happened. For a _while._ "Uh… where is–" but before Krillin could finish the question, something hit him in the chest with enough force to lift him off the ground. Krillin rolled up to his feet and clutched his chest with one hand. "Wh-what?!" he asked incredulously as his eyes swept around. He couldn't _see_ any– once again his thought was interrupted as he was struck in the face. Baba cackled as Krillin staggered away and held his cheek.

"Behold!" she declared while spreading her tiny arms as wide as she could manage, "The Invisible Man!"

"Well that's an impossible command if ever I heard one," Bulma muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry, Krillin!" Goku assured her friend "It's just like the vampire guy! You have to listen for him!" Then she turned to Suno and added "I can smell him but I know not everyone's sense of smell is as good as mine." Suno smiled a little to herself when she realized that Goku still couldn't sense ki. At least she could do _something_ Goku couldn't.

Krillin tried to do as Goku said and put up his guard. He closed his eyes to shut everything out and heard a sudden shuffling of feet upon the stone. Krillin spun to avoid an attack and drove the edge of his hand into… something. Maybe a knee? There was a howl of pain that seemed to come from nothing and Krillin jumped up into the air and threw out a spin kick. This time, he struck somewhere around the ribcage and the air let out another howl of pain and a gasp for breath. Krillin heard the Invisible Man stagger back and swept his legs out from under him with a kick, then leaped again to deliver a double foot stomp, his feet stopping before they hit the ground as they collided with what was probably a stomach. Krillin hopped away as the Invisible Man gasped and sputtered. Then the strangest thing happened.

Baba began to sing.

It was a strange wailing song that was deep and full of sorrow and in a foreign language. Roshi groaned and clapped his hands over his ears.

"Her and her stupid friggin opera," he muttered under his breath. Launch looked up at Baba and smiled slightly. She kind of liked the music. It was sad but kind of sweet.

"But why is she singing?" Bulma wondered. Had the old bat gone senile? She was older than Roshi so she kind of had to be, right? Krillin tried to listen for the Invisible Man's feet again but now he couldn't hear _anything_ over the singing! He squinted and tried to drown the crone out but she just seemed to sing louder. He threw a wild kick to the side but something hit him in the back of the head. He staggered forward and then he was kicked in the butt and sent sprawling.

"Hey!" Goku shouted angrily up at Baba with sudden realization, "You're cheating!" The others cried out in outrage at Baba's treachery and shook their fists in the air at her. She just kept right on singing.

"You know," Krillin said irritably, "You guys are just _making more noise!"_ Between Baba's singing and his friends' arguing, Krillin couldn't hear anything. He threw out wild punches and kicks at where he thought the Invisible Man would be. However, between his unfocused attack and the Invisible Man's counterattacks, all he was doing was letting his see-through foe corral him to the edge of the ring. Krillin made a final desperate dive forwards when he felt something hit him in the face and fell right into the water. The Invisible Man laughed a belly laugh as Krillin came up and spat out a stream of water with a sour expression on his face. Goku helped him out as Baba finally stopped singing.

"All right," she said, "Who's next?" Yamcha started to step forward when Suno held out a hand to stop him.

"I can handle this," she said confidently.

"Are you sure?" Bulma asked, worry clearly written on her face. "You still don't look to good after that Kamehameha."

Suno smiled, "Yeah, I've got this. This guy isn't really strong or skilled and I have a trick up my sleeve." She'd had time during Krillin's fight to get a handle on the Invisible Man's ki and now she knew everything she could possibly need. She stepped into the ring and closed her eyes. She could see without seeing and knew that he was coming towards her. His form was atrocious and the wind up on his punt that he was aiming at her chest was almost comically slow. Suno suspected that the only way he'd been able to do any damage to Krillin whatsoever was through his invisibility. Suno hopped easily over it and swung with a reverse hook kick that drove the heel of her foot into his ear. He started to stagger but Suno grabbed his wrist as she started to fall and pulled his arm, gravity helping her to flip him overhead and slam him down into the stone. She twisted on his arm, which she was sure looked ludicrous to everyone else as she grabbed and twisted at nothing. The Invisible Man shrieked and squealed and howled with pain in Suno's grip.

"I give up!" he cried, "I give up, I give up! Lemme go!" Suno did just that and she sensed him roll away and sulk off clutching his arm. Baba groaned as everyone else cheered and Suno finally opened her eyes to see Goku rushing across the bridge to hug her and lift her off the ground.

"That was so cool!" Goku shouted. "How were you able to do that?" she asked. Suno smiled almost bashfully. Between this and the Kamehahema, she wasn't used to being so heaped with praise.

"I was able to sense his ki," she said modestly. Goku's eyes got all starry and she set Suno down to clap her hands and bounce up and down.

"Oooh! You've gotta show me that!" Suno grinned and nodded which made Goku cheer. Preoccupied as she was with Goku, Suno couldn't see the flash of jealousy in Krillin's eyes or the way he balled his fists and sucked in his lips. Baba cleared her throat to draw away from the good times and bring everyone back to the present.

"If you're all quite done?" she asked. "That was the easy part. Those two are pretty much just gimmicks. Now you have to fight the guys who are actually good. Are you ready for the terrors that await you inside… _the Devil's Toilet?!"_


	25. Heart of the Wolf! Dance With the Devil!

Chapter Twenty-five

Heart of the Wolf! The Devil in the Pale Moonlight!

There was much snickering about "The Devil's Toilet" before they entered the eponymous room. Baba attempted to defend the name before she admitted that it was "on the lease" and couldn't be changed. Though the room was fairly ominous- being enormous and having two giant devil statues whose tongues made a bridge- the snickering returned when Krillin noted the giant stone toilet paper roll on one of the walls.

"Wait a sec," Yamcha said as he peered out over one devil's mouth to look down at the roiling green liquid far below. "Is that _acid?"_ Baba grinned smugly and nodded.

"A-yup," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not so funny now, is it?"

"Nah," Goku said with a cheeky grin. "It's still pretty funny." Baba huffed and uncrossed her arms.

"Well, fine, then!" she grumble before she turned her attention to Suno. "Do you want to keep going?" Suno nodded.

"I'm fine," she insisted. The weariness might have started to catch up with her now but she figured she could handle it. The first two guys had been pretty sad. All in all, this adventure was a pretty easy ride compared to fighting the Red Ribbon Army.

"Very well!" Baba said as she gestured as dramatically as her tiny arms could manage towards the other devil's mouth. The bridge under them shook and they all scuttled back into the mouth of their devil as something walked out of the shadows. The creature that came towards them appeared to be a very large mummy. A mummy with a completely undecomposed face, however, so perhaps he was just a man wrapped in toilet paper.

"That," Roshi muttered, "is a big fella." Suno and Goku shrugged. They'd seen bigger. He was about the same size as Bora and a little leaner besides.

"Behold!" Baba cried out as the mummy cracked his knuckles, sending a curious dust out from between his bandages. "Bandages the Mummy!" Bulma rolled her eyes.

"Really batting a thousand with names today, aren't we? Or did these guys come with the lease, too?" Baba glared down at her.

"You wanna fight him, missy?!" she snapped. Bulma threw up her hands defensively.

"No, no," she assured with her eyes wide as she shook her head rapidly, "Noooo, nononono!" Baba chuckled to herself and smiled smugly.

"S'what I thought," she muttered before turning her attention back to the fight. Suno walked out to meet Bandages and took up her guard stance. Being so large, he would probably be slow like Eighter or Sergeant Metallic so she'd have to rely on outmaneuvering him while her physical strength was still recovering. That _was_ her game plan until Bandages charged towards her like a freight train. He swung a bandaged foot forward to punt Suno but she put both palms out to block the kick and let the momentum lift her up to hit Bandages with a spinning kick to the face. He took a step back and then immediately returned to the attack with a knee before Suno had regained her footing and caught her square in the face to send her sprawling. Suno rolled to her feet just in time to see Bandages bringing a fist down on top of her and rolled forward to avoid it. She came up behind Bandages and threw all her weight into the back of his knee with as much force as she could muster to stagger him before running up his back to stomp on the back of his head and drive him face-first into the concrete. She hopped away and got back into her stance. That should have taken some of the wind out of his sails, Suno figured.

Then the mummy stood up with his hands on his face. Suno wondered if he was holding bruises or something until she heard some unsettling popping and snapping sounds. She wasn't sure _what_ to expect as she couldn't see around Bandages to see the expressions of revulsion and horror on everyone else (although Goku thought it was pretty neat, actually) until he turned around to face her again. Judging by the puncture holes in Bandages' face from the inside-out, it was clear that he'd been _pushing his skull back into place._

"Huh," Suno muttered as she paled slightly. "D-definitely a mummy." She shook off the unpleasantness of that spectacle and charged forward at him once again. She flipped gracefully over him with a little twirl and then slid under his legs to come out in front of him again to confuse him before hammering his chest with a series of rapid fire jabs and then a knee square in the chest. Everyone cheered and encouraged Suno with the exception of Goku who only watched with growing concern, her arms folded over her chest as she cocked her head to one side.

"No good," she muttered. "Suno is slowing down!" Suno was coming to that conclusion herself as she continued her struggle with Bandages. The ki that Roshi had imbued her with when he'd repaired her chakras was running out fast, sapping her speed and power. The longer the fight went on, the smaller the gap between their speeds became which would take away Suno's only advantage. Suno realized she had to end the fight as soon as possible. The idea made her uncomfortable but she consoled herself by remembering that Bandages was _technically_ already dead.

Suno waited for Bandages to throw another kick at her and ducked low to sweep his leg out from under him. The mummy pinwheeled his arms through the air as he desperately tried to regain his balance and Suno threw out a kick as hard as she could to catch him right in the shin and send him toppling towards the acid below. Everyone cheered and Suno fell backwards to sit and catch her breath.

Then a strip of bandage flew up to loop around the tongue bridge. Suno crawled to look over the edge in disbelief to see Bandages with one arm thrust out and the wrapping up to his shoulder cast off to grab the bridge, revealing an extremely decayed arm. He squeezed the wrapping in one fist and it yanked him back up as it rewrapped around him.

"Incredible," Bulma muttered in astonishment with a hand under her chin. "So he's definitely dead but still moving with a speed and articulation far beyond that of what any reanimated corpse _should_ be capable of- to say nothing of his durability or the condition of his ligaments and tendons." Meanwhile, Bandages jumped into the air and landed in front of Suno as she picked herself back up and got back into guard with a weary determination. "I wonder if Baba would let me study him." Yamcha stared at her incredulously.

" _That's_ what you're thinking about right now?!" he asked in a mixture of shock and anger. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" How could his girlfriend be thinking of _science_ when Suno was in jeopardy? He knew she'd manipulated Goku when they first met but at least Goku's life had never been in danger! Had she _really_ changed so much in just a year? Or maybe he was finally getting to know the real Bulma…

Suno tried to hop away to avoid a rising knee to the gut from Bandages but she was too slow and it caught her just under the chin. The blow sent her up into the air where she was met with a powerful right jab and a left handed chop that slammed her down into the stone bridge. As Suno struggled to get up, Bandages callously stomped down on her back. She cried out in pain and tried to push him off with what little strength she had left but to no avail. Instead, Bandages took his foot off of her and reached down to squeeze Suno in both hands. She screamed in pain as the mummy tried to crush the life out of her. She had nothing left to fight with and she knew that there were more important things than this one fight and her pride. There was so much that still needed to be done and she still had to see her mother when it was finished. How would she react to find out that Suno had been crushed to death?

"I… I give up!" she gasped out in defeat. Bandages squeezed her for a few seconds more before dropping her. Goku was there to catch her before she hit the ground and glared up at Bandages as she took Suno back to the others. She made a move to take Suno's place when Yamcha put a leg in front of Goku and stepped forward instead.

"So, tough guy," he said as he advanced towards Bandages, "You think beating up tired little girls makes you a big man?" He whipped his shirt off in perhaps an overly dramatic fashion and tossed it away where it landed between Bulma and Launch. "Why don't you give me a try?" Bandages chuckled as Yamcha took a stance and spoke for the first time.

"You gonna die, little man!" he taunted in a rumbling voice. Yamcha sprinted towards Bandages and the mummy met him head on. They crashed together in a knuckle lock and Yamcha could feel himself giving ground to his undead foe's superior height and weight. He let Bandages push him back and picked up his legs to shove his feet into Bandages' chest and flip him overhead before releasing the knuckle lock as he flew. The mummy landed on his feet in a surprising show of agility and met Yamcha as he rolled to a knee with a shin to the jaw. Yamcha skidded backwards but got to his feet in time to block a punch from Bandages and slam the point of his elbow up under Bandages' chin with an audible "Crunch!" as his neck jerked up unnaturally and he was stuck looking at the ceiling. Everyone winced as Bandages grabbed the back of his head with one hand and his jaw with the other and wrenched it back down with an even _worse_ "crunch".

"Oh, that's gonna take getting used to," Yamcha muttered before ducking under an attempted bear hug. This turned out to be a feint, however, as Bandages brought his fists together and slammed them down into Yamcha's back. He hit the ground painfully and rolled away to barely avoid a punt that would have caught him right in the teeth. He rolled backwards and handsprung onto his feet before charging forward and battering the mummy's chest with palm strikes. Bandages staggered backwards and Yamcha threw out a kick to hook behind his leg and tripped him down. He jumped up to drop a knee on Bandages' face but the mummy showed great strength when he grabbed Yamcha by the knee and tossed him back up into the air. Yamcha came back down on his feet just as Bandages was barreling towards him. Yamcha suppressed the urge to cry out in surprise and did a front flip, smashing his heel into the back of Bandages' head. He staggered forward and Yamcha jumped up again to drive a knee into his jaw. Yamcha finished it off with one last palm strike and his fingers ripped away some wrappings to expose the necrotic flesh beneath. The mummy took a few steps back as the wrappings around the exposed skin were discolored with a strange liquid and smiled. Yamcha charged, undaunted, right into an uppercut that caught him in the stomach hard enough to lift him off the ground.

In some small part of her brain, Bulma was still thinking science. Did Bandages have a beating heart? What was the fluid that was leaking out of his body now? It didn't _look_ like embalming fluid. Was that what was keeping him so alive and mobile? For the most part, however, Bulma wasn't focusing on any of those minor details. All she could focus on while she held Yamcha's shirt tightly to her chest was the fear in her stomach that this… awful _thing_ was going to kill her boyfriend.

Bandages hammered Yamcha with a series of vicious body blows that drove the wind from him and covered his torso in painful bruises. Yamcha tried to fight back with right and left hooks across the face but Bandages shoved them off and grabbed Yamcha's head in both hands to deliver a sickening headbutt. Yamcha's legs buckled when he was disoriented and Bandages drove Yamcha's face down to meet his knee before letting go of his face to let him tumble away.

' _I could just lay down,'_ Yamcha thought. ' _Goku's here. She's stronger than me. No need to get myself killed against this guy. Right?'_ Then he stood up and got back into his guard. ' _Not a chance,'_ he thought before he spat out blood and charged again. He ducked under another strike from Bandage and came behind him to hammer punches into where his kidneys had been when he was alive. There must still have been _something_ there because it was having an effect on the mummy, causing him to gasp and sputter in pain. Bandages spun around with a hammerfist blow that Yamcha again ducked under before smashing both fists as hard as he could into his thigh to give the undead man a limp. He hobbled away and Yamcha pressed the attack with punches and kicks until Bandages threw out his arm and one of his wrappings caught Yamcha around the ankle. He yanked Yamcha down hard onto the floor with an unpleasant "Thud!" before pulling him back up into the air and doing it again. Yamcha didn't scream or cry, he only gasped out in pain as the wind was driven out of him and sputtered as he attempted to catch his breath. Bandages retracted his wrapping and grabbed Yamcha to bring him up onto his shoulders and wrench his back over him. Yamcha screamed out in agony and tried his best to kick and struggle but to no avail. Bulma cried out and buried her face in Yamcha's shirt, unable to watch any longer. Yamcha's help would come from an unlikely source.

"I can't take this anymore!" Puar screamed as he flew out onto the bridge. He transformed into a woodpecker and pecked savagely at Bandages' face to make him drop Yamcha before turning into a snake and wrapping around Bandages' neck and squeezing as hard as he could. Bandages growled and gripped Puar in one hand to savagely rip him away from his neck and slam him into the ground hard enough to render him unconscious and make him change back to his cat form.

"Puar…" Yamcha whispered as he rolled over onto his stomach and looked at his closest and oldest friend.

Puar was his best friend. His _only_ friend for years. He'd always promised the little guy that he'd look out for him. Now, when Puar had stuck his neck out for Yamcha, he'd gotten hurt and there was nothing Yamcha could do about it. That filled Yamcha with an anger that he couldn't begin to describe, an anger that burned away the aches and the pain and forced life back into his beaten limbs to make him stand up again.

"Hey!" he snapped at Bandages, who'd been celebrating as if the fight was over. "We're not done yet!" Something was happening that only Suno and Roshi could see as Yamcha slid into his guard. As his eyes glowed red and an invisible wind whipped through his hair, they saw his ki surging to life like a great flame, even brighter than it had been before, defiant in spite of his injuries. Yamcha opened his mouth to roar with fury and something in the way he opened his mouth highlighted his canines as he charged the mummy. "Wolf Fang Fist!" he cried as he battered the belligerent Bandages with a series of blindingly fast blows that were nothing more than a blur to everyone watching, save for Goku. Yamcha drove both palms into Bandages' chest with a howl of fury that sent the big man flying across the bridge to disappear into the shadows of the mouth he'd come from. There was a thud, a groan, and then a louder thud before Baba threw up her hands.

"He's out, you win," she muttered in aggravation. "You wanna–"

"No," Yamcha cut her off as he returned to his guard and fought an inclination to stagger. "Let's go." He still had some fight left in him. A sudden and sinister laughter bounced off the walls of the Devil's Toilet as a dark blue tornado swirled into existence. The spinning slowed and finally stopped to reveal a tall, blue-skinned man in a skintight, dark blue bodysuit with wings, a tail, and horns.

"Spike the Devil Man," Krillin whispered in shocked awe. "The only man to ever win two Tenkaichi Budoukai in a row!"

"The warrior straight from Hell!" Suno added in a hushed tone. She didn't know how much of a chance Yamcha would have against Spike when he was fresh, let alone now that he was so beaten down. Why wouldn't he sub out?

"I thought he was your strongest fighter?" Roshi asked his sister suspiciously. Baba chuckled.

"He _was,"_ she said coyly, "but let's just say that I've had a bit of a change in the lineup." That gave Roshi pause. If Baba had acquired a new fighter, how dangerous must he be to bump down Spike the Devil Man?

"Come on already!" Yamcha called out as he dug his feet into the ground, "Let's go!" He, too, knew of the legend of Spike the Devil Man but he wouldn't show fear. He could beat him. Spike chuckled and brought two fingers of each hand to the sides of his head and pressed the black-painted fingernails to his temples.

"Negative Energy is the most powerful destructive force in the world," he said suddenly, "And it is _mine_ to command. With my Devilmite beam, I can attack the very evil in your heart. Every man, no matter how good he is, has _some_ evil inside of him. Even the tiniest pinprick of darkness in a soul of light is mine to control! I can find that darkness and make that Negative Energy grow and grow _until they explode!"_ Spike threw his head back and cackled as a chill went down Yamcha's spine.

"I… I'm out." He muttered sullenly as he dropped his head. He might be a better man than he _had_ been but he still doubted whether or not he was good. He took three steps before his legs gave out under him and Goku and Krillin rushed out to prop him up. They let Bulma wrap her arms around Yamcha and lead him back off the bridge.

"You idiot!" she scolded even as she stroked his arm and kissed his bruised face tenderly, peppering him with affection. "Why did you have to do that, huh? Why did you have to be so… so stubborn and brave?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack you big, dumb, stupid, wonderful…" she buried her face in Yamcha's shoulder and sobbed out a relieved breath as Yamcha gingerly put an arm around her. Krillin carried Puar away as Goku glared up at Spike and put up a guard.

"Foolish girl," Spike cackle with his fingers still at his temples. "Even one as young and innocent as you can–"

"Shut up!" Goku snapped as she balled up her fists. Spike blinked before scowling at her, the embarrassment turning his cheeks a strange shade of purple.

"Fine, you little brat!" he snapped as he dropped his veil of courtesy. "Let's see how you like this! Devilmite Beam!" Spike thrust out his arms and a pink spiral of energy flew out between them to strike Goku dead on. Everyone stared in shock. She hadn't even had time to block or dodge! Spike cackled as Goku was bathed in a strange pink light. "Now you'll pay for your insolence! The Devilmite Beam will find whatever evil there is inside of you until you explode! Explode! _**Exploooode!**_ " The glow grew brighter and brighter… until it faded away completely, leaving Goku very much un-exploded. "Wh… what?" Before Spike the Devil Man, most feared warrior on Earth or in Hell, had time to formulate a plan; Goku ran across the bridge, jumped into the air, and delivered a left hook with such force that it shook the dust from the walls of The Devil's Toilet. Spike flew away and slammed into a wall in the darkness with a loud enough crash to imply that he went _through_ the wall, rendered unconscious with a single punch.

"What?!" Baba croaked in disbelief. _No one_ could be so completely pure as to be immune to the Devilmite Beam!

"What?!" Roshi called in shock as he moved his glasses to rub his eyes and make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"What?!" Krillin and Yamcha cried in surprise. They knew Goku had gotten stronger but _still_ ….

"What?" Launch asked in her small, shy voice. She still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Goku turned back to them and smiled as she gave them a thumbs up. Suno smiled back and returned the gesture.


	26. The Final Champion!

Chapter Twenty-six

The Final Champion! Who is this Stranger?!

"A-Anyway," Baba began as she adjusted her hat and tried to regain her composure, "You've done very well to get this far. Now, however, you must face my final champion!" There was a long pause as the group waited tensely and heard the padding of footsteps coming in through the darkness.

"Oh! Pardon me," came a surprisingly young and unthreatening voice. "Didn't see you there, Spike. Oh dear. You too, Bandages?" Then the voice made a "tut tut" sound before finally emerging from the shadows. It was a young man about Goku's height. He was wearing an orange gi with a black undershirt and pants and a green hat with a white ball on the top. Nothing else could be seen about him, however, as he was wearing a cat mask that covered his entire face. He turned his attention to Baba suddenly even as Goku got back into her guard. "Pardon me, lady Baba," he said politely. "Might we go back outside? Goku won't be able to use her full potential in this space."

"Uh… a-all right," Baba allowed with clear confusion. "Everybody back outside!" Everyone started to head back up the stairs with Yamcha being supported between Launch and Bulma.

"Wait a second!" Goku shouted as she pointed at the mysterious warrior. "How do you know my name?" He looked at Goku but said nothing. He only chuckled and walked away. Goku chewed her bottom lip before following after the others.

"Never seen someone so young talk like someone so _old,"_ Bulma remarked as they walked up the stairs. Suno gave a shrug.

"Maybe he's just really polite," she offered.

"What do you think, Goku?" Krillin asked while carrying the still-recovering Puar.

"He smells pretty nice," Goku said with a smile. All the while, Roshi stroked his beard and thought.

' _There's something very strange about this,'_ he thought, ' _And something very familiar about that young man. What are you up to, sister?'_ They reached the outside fighting ring again and Goku's group shuffled to the far side while Baba remained closer to the Devil's Toilet building.

"For this final battle," she explained, "The only way to win is to knock your opponent out or make them give up!" Goku nodded as she got into her guard. She was surprised to see that instead of getting into a guard of his own that the Masked Warrior was bowing to her.

"Aren't you going to do the pre-match bow?" he asked innocuously. Goku blinked for a moment before she nodded and bowed back to him. She hadn't bowed before a match since before she met Bulma! When she looked up, the Masked Warrior was in his guard and she got in hers, too.

"Begin!" Baba declared. The Masked Warrior motioned for Goku to come at him and she obliged, charging with her fist drawn back. Goku was shocked to find she was charging straight into the Masked Warrior's fist and brought herself to a stop just before impact to dodge his strike. She threw out a kick to the side of his head and was shocked yet again when he brought up one hand and caught her by the ankle. Goku wrenched her leg away and spun through the air, charging again as soon as her feet touched the ground. The Masked Fighter continued to surprise her by leaping high over Goku's head before he used a kiai wave to hurtle himself back down, elbow-first to drive it into Goku's face! Goku jumped back and the man backflipped in mid-attack to stop his momentum and landed on his feet to stand across from Goku. The two of them stared for a moment before they charged at each other and each threw out a ferocious jab, their fists colliding as they caught each other's attack. The two pushed against each other, Goku's brow furrowed in concentration while a single vein was visibly pulsing behind the cat mask. Finally, the two broke off and hopped away again. Goku couldn't help but smile. Tao Pai Pai had been a good fighter but was also a jerk. This fight was just fun!

"Wow," Yamcha muttered in astonishment as they all watched with stunned expressions on their faces. "I don't think I've _ever_ seen anything like these two. Goku's gotten crazy strong but this new guy is still evenly matched!"

"That's nothing," Roshi observed. "That was just them feeling each other out. Now that they know what each other is capable of, this is going to get interesting!" Suno nodded as she watched intensely. Their energies were about the same but whereas Goku's was as wild as always, the Masked Warrior's energy was oddly serene.

The Masked Warrior charged at Goku and she ducked under a flying kick. She turned around and ran at him to attack him in kind but it was a feint with the Masked Warrior throwing himself onto his back and pushing his feet up against Goku's chest as she came over him. He sent her flying through the air with a kiai through his feet and then jumped up after her, hundreds of feet into the air. The others could only squint as they watched two black dots in the sky.

Goku surprised the Masked Warrior with a punch as he came up that caught him right on the mask. Goku was surprised that the mask didn't break even though the blow made his head snap back. She threw out another jab but this one was blocked and so was the next. He countered with a series of Crane strikes that Goku blocked in turn. The two traded punches and kicks in the air before the Masked Warrior surprised Goku by smacking his palms against Goku's ears to disorient her before he flipped forward and smashed the back of his heel into her head to send her hurtling down to the ground far below. He even heard the tiles smash as she went _into_ the ground.

"That should rattle her," the Masked Warrior said to himself. Then his next words were "Oh heavens" as Goku came rocketing back up with a flying kick that smashed him in the chest and sent him flying towards the entrance building. Goku's gang screamed and ducked to cover their heads but he threw out his arms and legs to slow down his momentum and landed safely on the building. He pushed off and landed in front of Goku in the ring again and got into his guard. "I'm surprised you were able to get up so quickly after that attack," the Masked Warrior observed. Goku grinned and flicked a finger across her nose. The Masked Warrior chuffed at that and charged Goku again. Goku grinned and met the attack head-on and the pair of them collided in the center of the ring where the Masked Warrior fired off with a barrage of Crane Strikes again. Goku was able to block those as easily as she had been before. Was he already out of ideas? That would be–

Before Goku could finish that thought, however, she noticed that the Masked Warrior had stopped striking. She looked down and saw his fist hovering an inch from her chest. To the watchers, it looked as if Goku had no time to react at all when the punch hit her but in actuality she'd had enough time to seize her body up and take the blow full-force. Even without being able to see his face, Goku could read the Masked Warrior's body language to know he was shocked. Then she kneed him right under the chin. She'd seen an opening that screamed "attack" so she did!

"Was that your best shot?" Goku asked as the Masked Warrior picked himself back up. "You need to train more!" The Masked Warrior surprised her once more by chuckling.

"No, it wasn't," he admitted as he pivoted his body to the side, "But _this_ is a pretty good one!" He began to move his arms in an intricate pattern… _just like when Master Roshi– "_ Kaaaaaa Meeee–"

"What?!" Yamcha, Krillin, Launch, Puar, Bulma and Suno cried out in unison.

"Haaaaa meeeee,"

' _Wait… no, there's no way it could be him!'_ thought Roshi.

"Haaaaaa!" The blue-white beam flew out of the Masked Warrior's hands with wisps of energy flowing off of it like waves crashing off the rocks. Goku stared at the beam in surprise as it came rushing out to meet her.

OoOoOoO

Pilaf cackled madly as he reduced a massive boulder to rubble with the awesome and unrelenting might of his Pilaf Machine. If only he'd invented it a year ago, he could have crushed Son Goku like a gnat! It had taken nearly all of his remaining fortune to build the three Pilaf machines as well as craft the box that perfectly masked his Dragon Ball's energy signature but it would all be worth it soon enough. Soon he would be Emperor of all the world!

"Your eminence," came Mai's voice crackling through his machine's internal speakers, "We have discovered the last known whereabouts of Son Goku." Pilaf smiled before Shu's ponderous voice cut in.

"Or, y'know," he said, "Close enough." Pilaf could hear struggling and fighting on the other end and rolled his eyes as he let out a groan. He pinched the bridge of his nose which meant that the motion-recognition software in the Pilaf Machine caused the robot to rub two fingers against the glass bubble of the cockpit.

"What do you mean," his aggravated tone brought a cease to their squabbling, " _close enough?"_

"Well, y'see–" Shu started to say when Pilaf audibly heard Mai shove him away from the microphone.

"Our satellite was tracking Goku and his friends through the desert," she said with clear reluctance, "When they suddenly… vanished, your grace. There's an area in the desert completely invisible to our instruments." Pilaf groaned and Mai rushed to reassure him. "But we still know their approximate location, I'm sure of it!"

"It will have to do," Pilaf sighed. In truth, he was lucky to still _have_ that satellite. Thinking about that satellite, though, reminded Pilaf of a wonderful piece of information: Satellite footage they'd recovered shortly after that giant monkey destroyed his palace had shown them that the stupid monkey had a weakness in its tail that could immobilize it. Combined with security footage to show that the stupid monkey _was_ the stupid girl and they now had a perfect, winning strategy. "Suit up and get in the car," Pilaf ordered. "It's time to end this once and for all!" The bottom of the Pilaf Machine hissed as it slowly dropped down like an elevator to let Pilaf out.

"What are you going to do when you're the God-Emperor, your majesty?" Shu asked. Pilaf blinked a few times and scratched his blue head. He…. he wasn't entirely sure.

OoOoOoO

Goku's afterimage dissolved as the Kamehameha went through it and the Masked Warrior spun around to see Goku standing behind him. She waved at him before dropping back into her guard.

"You've mastered the Afterimage Technique," the Masked Warrior said in disbelief. "That's incredible! I'm very proud of you, Goku." That sure was nice of him to say but how the heck did this guy know who she was? She'd have to ask him after she kicked his butt! "And you've lost your tail as well. That certainly changes things." How did he know she used to have a tail?! "Now that I've seen it in action, however, I can see how it restricts your movements. I'm afraid you still have much to learn." Goku bristled at that as he moved into his stance again. If she had a tail, it'd be puffing up like crazy.

"I'll show you what I have to learn!" Goku declared indignantly as she pivoted to her side. She watched the Masked Warrior come to a stop when he realized what she was doing and smiled to herself. So he didn't know she could do the Kamehameha! _Now_ who still had much to learn? "Kamehameha!" He brought up his arms with an instant to spare and dug his feet into the ground as the beam pushed him back and sent his hat fluttering away to land perfectly on the peak of Baba's witch hat. When the light from Goku's beam faded away it revealed that the Masked Warrior had a head of thick brown hair that spilled down to the middle of his back which he'd somehow impossibly shoved into his tiny hat. He slowly brought his arms down and looked exhausted from the effort of blocking. Goku took this as her moment to strike and charged. "This is your last chance, give up n–" Goku's words died off in a wheeze as the Masked Warrior drove a Crane Strike into her stomach to take the wind out of her.

"As I said," he told her through labored breaths, "You have much to learn." Goku staggered back a single step before he unleashed a torrent of Crane Strikes on her face and chest while she fought to regain her breath. "You use up energy in wasted movements that leave you open! If I had to guess, you've used your physical powers to overwhelm opponents who lacked your strength and your technique to overwhelm those that cannot match your skill!" Goku took a wide and wild swing with her arm that the Masked Warrior ducked under before he continued his assault, "And you've counted on a combination of the two to make up the difference! But this will not always be the case."

"Who is this guy?" Krillin muttered in shock.

"There's only one person it _can_ be," Roshi muttered to himself. He knew it the moment that the Masked Warrior had done his Kamehameha. It took a lifetime for Roshi to perfect the Kamehameha and, unless you were a prodigy like Goku, every Kamehameha had its intricacies or imperfections that was unique to the user.

Goku was finally able to stop the Masked Warrior by hooking her foot behind his ankle and tripping him up. She followed up with a headbutt that sent him tumbling back and jumped away to give herself some space. She touched down at the same time as the Masked Warrior got to his feet and they threw themselves at each other.

"Janken!" They cried in unison. Rock collided with Rock, Scissor interlocked with Scissor, and Paper slammed against Paper. As the two fighters pressed their palms together, Goku realized what the Masked Warrior had done.

"But," she started to say. "B-but," she repeated in a small voice as her arms trembled. _She'd learned that technique from…_

"I forfeit," the Masked Warrior said as he dropped his hand away from Goku's. "You may drop the illusion on my halo now, Baba." Baba gawked and stammered in complete disbelief.

"But… but you were… I… you…." she groaned and threw up her hands. "Fine!" she muttered as a cream-colored halo binked into existence over the young man's head. Before their eyes, he began to age and his clothes grew with him. First, he grew taller as he grew older and then he grew shorter as his hair vanished and a thick white mustache came into view behind his cat mask. His gi transformed into an orange martial arts jacket covered in yellow rings over a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Finally, he removed his mask to reveal a sweet, kind old face.

"My little Son Goku," Son Gohan said with all the love and pride in the world, "How much you've grown!" For a moment, Goku was too stunned to move. After all this time, all her searching… then she ran forward with her arms open wide, tears streaming down her face. Goku buried her face in Gohan's chest and sobbed helplessly as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close while he ruffled her hair like he always used to.

"Grandpa!" she sobbed out as she nuzzled his chest, "Grandpa! It's you!" The others stared in shock as Roshi pulled off his glasses to make sure his eyes were working.

"That's Goku's Grandpa?" Krillin asked, flabbergasted.

"But I thought Goku said he was dead!" Suno added in shock.

"That _would_ explain the halo," Yamcha pointed out before he looked over at Bulma. "Are you alright?" he asked as he saw tears in the corners of Bulma's eyes.

"I–" Bulma's voice cracked and she coughed to clear her throat. "I'm fine." she insisted as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She'd justified it to herself all the while during their adventure and Goku seemed happy enough when it was all over but she'd still lied to Goku about using the Dragon Balls to bring Gohan back. Usually, she kept herself too busy to think about these things but, in her quiet moments, Bulma would feel waves of guilt over what she did and think that maybe Yamcha was right. Maybe she _was_ an awful person. Seeing Goku so happy now, reunited with her Grandfather, _however_ it happened, left her overcome with relief.

"I looked everywhere!" Goku was saying as she looked up at Gohan and sniffled, "I couldn't find you! I… I thought you were…" Goku sniffled again and threatened to start sobbing again as Gohan stroked her hair to soothe her.

"There, there. It's all right," he said in a calming tone. "I'm here, see?" he smiled again and patted her hair gently. "You've grown so strong, my Goku. You must have trained with Master Roshi." They heard the tapping of a cane mixed with the padding of sandaled feet as Roshi approached with the others trailing behind and Gohan turned away from Goku to bow to his old master. "It's good to see you again, Master Roshi!" he said cheerfully. Roshi dropped his cane to pull Gohan out of his bow and pull him suddenly into a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Gohan," he replied in a voice hoarse with emotion. "God, it's been too long. I didn't even recognize you! Not the mask, of course but, God, you haven't been that small in decades!" Gohan chuckled as Roshi let him out of the hug.

"Well, the nice thing about being dead is that I can sort of decide what age I am now," he said in an almost bashful tone. "I hope you'll forgive me for the secrecies, Master, but I figured Goku wouldn't fight at her full potential if she knew it was me." He leaned in to whisper to Roshi, "What happened to her tail?"

"I took care of it," Roshi assured him with a chuckle. Gohan nodded at that before continuing.

"Does she know that she used to…?" Roshi shook his head and Gohan nodded. "She must never find out. She's a smart girl, I don't want her to have that kind of guilt. Promise me you will never let her know."

"I promise," Roshi assured him. Goku tugged at Gohan's sleeve to get his attention again.

"I can't believe you're back!" she said joyfully as she wrapped her arms around Gohan again and picked him up off the ground. "You can come back and live with me again! We can visit Suno in Jingle Village and train with Master Roshi and you can come to the Tenkaichi Budoukai and–" Gohan put his hands on Goku's shoulders and something about it made Goku slowly put him down and look up at Gohan. Why was he so sad now?

"I'm sorry Goku," he said softly as he brushed a hand against her cheek, "But I'm only on Earth for this one day."

"I foresaw your coming," Baba explained. "Being a fortune teller and all. Gohan requested that this be the day he was brought back so that he could face you and see how far you've come."

"Goku," Suno spoke up suddenly, "We still have the Dragon Balls. Maybe… maybe you should use them to wish Gohan back instead." Which meant that her father wouldn't be brought back but it was alright. It was just another year. Right? Gohan shook his head with a smile.

"That's quite alright," Gohan said. "Strange as it might sound, I'm perfectly happy being dead. The afterlife has much to offer!" Gohan chuckled wryly and Roshi was suddenly feeling gypped with the whole "immortality" deal.

"Besides," Goku said, "I made a promise to you and Upa and everyone else who was hurt by the Red Ribbon Army." All the same, she turned to Gohan and hugged him tight again. He hugged her back before looking up at Goku's friends.

"Thank you all for being such good friends to my Goku," he told them before he looked back at Goku. "Goodbye, Goku. I won't be seeing you again for a long, long time." Then he faded away in her arms, leaving Goku holding nothing. Goku sniffled and Krillin put an arm around her.

"Are you alright?" Krillin asked. Goku rubbed her eyes but nodded.

"Speakin' of Dragon Balls," Baba muttered as she hopped off her crystal ball, "You beat my champions so I s'pose it's time you get your prize." She wiggled her fingers at the crystal ball and it began to glow. It flashed white suddenly and when the light faded it showed… a van.

"What the heck?!" Bulma blurted angrily as she stared at the ball. "Is this some kinda joke, lady?" She fumed at the van and pressed her face to the glass. She was so close that her breath was fogging up the ball.

"Could you show us who's driving the van, by any chance?" Yamcha asked with a sneaking suspicion as he slowly pulled Bulma away from the crystal ball. Baba shrugged and wiggled her fingers again; the ball shimmered and this time it showed who was in the driver's seat: Mai, Emperor Pilaf's minion. Pilaf himself was in the passenger seat with Shu sitting on the floor. Even though there were more seats. Yamcha groaned and rolled his eyes. "Of _course_ it's them," he muttered.

"Who the heck are they?" Suno asked curiously as she stared at the strange characters.

"Is that the Pilaf guy you talked about, Goku?" Krillin asked. Goku nodded.

"Yeah, that's them," she said before turning to Baba. "Do you know where they are?"

"They're headed this way," Baba said without bothering to wiggle her fingers. The others looked at her curiously and she shrugged. "Fortune teller," she explained. Goku grinned and clapped her hands together.

"Okay," she said eagerly, "I'll go get the last Dragon Ball! Nimbus!" The yellow cloud zipped down from the sky and Goku climbed onto it.

"Bring me back whatever box they're carrying the Dragon Ball in!" Bulma called after her as Goku flew away. How the heck could that Pilaf creep hide the Dragon Ball from her Radar?

OoOoOoO

Goku flew out into the desert until she saw the van that Pilaf and his gang were driving in and rolled off of the cloud to drop right in front of the van. It crashed into her and flipped end over end before it landed on the other side of her. She turned around and watched them stagger out of the van and fought the urge to giggle. They were wearing funny, shiny, skintight suits with yellow spikes on their shoulders, ankles, and wrists.

"Hi there," she said with a wave. "Can you guys let me have your Dragon Ball?" They were probably going to fight but it couldn't hurt to ask, could it?

"You've got some nerve asking me for anything after you destroyed my castle!" Pilaf snapped at her while he shook a fist. What the heck was he talking about? Goku didn't do anything! Or maybe she did. It was kind of hard to remember _how_ they got out of that room. "I'm not going to give you anything! We're going to thrash you to pieces and then we'll take _your_ Dragon Balls!" Goku blinked at that.

"...How?" she asked. Pilaf turned purple with anger as the three of them threw capsules onto the ground. When the smoke cleared there were three robots in front of Goku where Pilaf and his friends had been. She could see them inside, though. There was a wide and tall pink robot with clamp hands, a skinny and tall green robot with a tail, and a teeny tiny blue ball robot.

"With the power of my new Pilaf Machines," Pilaf said through a speaker in the blue robot, "We will destroy you!" Goku watched the robots do some katas and grinned wide. They were just so _bad!_ The girl and the dog looked a little better but Pilaf just looked like he was making things up! "We'll see how funny you think this is! Attack!" The three of them lunged at Goku and she hopped around their attacks, swinging from limb to limb and jumping on the robots. This was funny!

"Go for her tail," Shu shouted as Goku ran through his robot's legs. "It must be hidden in her pants!" Goku came to a stop and looked at them in confusion. Why did they want her tail? Didn't they remember?

"I lost my tail after you guys cut it off," Goku told them. They stopped and stared at her with big eyes. She grinned and shrugged. "It grew back but then I lost it again at the Tenkaichi Budoukai." The three robots huddled amongst each other and then suddenly the pink robot jumped up into the air with its legs going up into its body and landed on top of the green robot which became like new legs. Pilaf's blue robot jumped up on top of the pink robot and its limbs went inside to be like the head. Goku could see the three of them through the bubble of the pink robot and watched them move together to make the robot move.

"This is the Super Pilaf Machine!" Pilaf told her. "It's strong enough to destroy you! Especially when we use our super move!" The robot moved into a fighting stance and one of its clamps started to glow.

"These hands of ours are burning red!" all three of them called over the speaker. "Their loud roar tells us–"

"Kamehameha!" Goku shouted, thrusting out her hands and blasting the arm with the glowing clamp clean off. Maybe another time she'd have fun fighting them but right now she just wanted the Dragon Ball. She jumped in the air and smashed the top of the blue robot with a knife-edge chop straight down. A tiny crack appeared before it split clean down the middle and collapsed into a pile of scrap. "Can I have that Dragon Ball now?" she asked. Pilaf groaned and handed her the Dragon Ball. "Thanks!" she told him genuinely before hopping on Nimbus. "See you guys around!"

Pilaf laid among the wreckage for a long while and was too distraught even to cry. It wasn't fair. Two years ago, he didn't even know Son Goku existed! He was just going to take over the world! It was going to be so easy. He had a vast wealth and he'd already had a few Dragon Balls! Then Son Goku appeared and ruined it all. He had _no_ Dragon Balls, _no_ palace, _no_ money. She'd taken everything from him! He… he had to do something. Something desperate. He'd heard the legends. There was only one thing he _could_ do.


	27. The Dragon Fixes Everything!

Chapter Twenty-seven

The Dragon Fixes Everything!

The others were waiting eagerly as Goku came back to Baba's Palace and dropped down from Nimbus with the Dragon Ball in her hands.

"That didn't take long," Yamcha quipped as they arranged the Dragon Balls in a circle. The balls flashed and hummed with an ancient magical power as they stared down at them. "So… how do these work again?"

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Puar blurted suddenly, "I summon you!" Everyone stared at Puar and he scratched the back of his head bashfully. "What? Am I the only one who remembers?" Yamcha, Goku, and Bulma shrugged. "Well, I guess I _was_ the closest." They watched as the balls glowed brighter and brighter and hummed louder and louder...

And suddenly, it was no longer daytime.

The sky turned black as night and filled with dark clouds that roared with thunder and cracked with lightning as winds as fierce as a hurricane swirled around them. Baba clung to life on her crystal ball as Launch huddled behind Master Roshi. A beam of light shot straight from the balls up into the sky, up and up for what seemed like miles before the beam started to twist and snake in the sky. There was a blinding flash… and the Eternal Dragon hovered before them. It was impossibly immense with a serpentine body that seemed to go on forever in all directions and piercing red eyes that looked down through them and into their souls. Being so close to it was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Even Roshi and Baba were in wonder. In their long and fantastic lives, they had never seen anything close to Shenron's majesty.

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," it boomed in a voice that was impossibly deep, "Speak your wish…" its head shifted slightly and Puar felt an immeasurable dread as he realized that the Dragon _was looking right at him,_ "And I shall grant it." Goku stepped forward boldly despite her wonder.

"Shenron!" she called up, "Please revive all those who have been killed by the Red Ribbon Army!" Shenron's eyes flashed and they waited. What it said next stunned them.

"This is beyond my power," Shenron said… regretfully? Goku stared at it.

"Wh-what?" she asked in astonishment before balling up her fists. "Why not?!" she demanded. Everyone else stepped a good foot or two away from her. Wasn't Shenron supposed to be all-powerful?

"My power of mass revivals cannot be used to revive those that have been dead more than a year," it explained, "And when they are revived, their souls are returned to their bodies. Many would be trapped in their caskets or burial chambers until they died again, to be forever beyond my power." Goku's fists opened and her hands dropped to her sides.

"Oh," she said in a sad voice. She'd really thought Shenron could do anything. Now that it was explained to her though, she felt bad for getting so angry at it. "Can you… revive whoever you can?" Shenron nodded.

"This is a simple task," it said. Its eyes flashed red again.

OoOoOoO

In battlefields across the continent and in destroyed towns and cities that had felt the wrath of the Red Ribbon Army, there were bodies strewn across the ground that had yet to be removed where the grief was too fresh for action to be taken. Suddenly, these bodies gasped with life and clutched at their chests as their eyes filled with light and their wounds disappeared. They staggered to their feet and were assaulted with tear-soaked affection from neighbors, loved ones, and brothers-in-arms. They had been dead only minutes before yet now they were alive again! It was a miracle!

Upa was standing vigilant by his father's grave with his Bora's spear clenched in his tiny hand. It was almost three times the size of the boy but Upa would not falter. He had to keep predators away from his father's body. Goku said that she would bring Bora back with the Dragon Balls and he would wait as long as it took! Upa gasped as the dirt suddenly shifted.

"Upa?" Bora called in a daze as he sat up in his grave and rubbed at his jaw, "Why am I–" but before he could complete the question Upa dropped the spear and jumped for his father, wrapping his tiny arms around Bora's huge neck. It was a miracle!

OoOoOoO

' _A miracle…'_ Suno thought sullenly. She looked down at her feet and sighed.

"Your wish has been granted," Shenron boomed. "Farewell." It vanished in a thunderclap and the Dragon Balls spun up into the sky before they flew off in like comets with tails of light in seven different directions across the globe. Goku leaped high up into the air and grabbed the Four Star Ball before it could escape. She was _not_ going to lose Grandpa's ball again! The sky cleared instantly but no one's moods matched the clear blue sky.

"Well, that was kind of a letdown," Bulma grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm _glad_ I never got my wish! Stupid dragon probably would have screwed it up somehow." Yamcha shrugged and put an arm around her.

"Guess that just goes to show ya," he said. "We shouldn't start relying on the Dragon Balls to do everything."

"Come on, guys," Krillin piped up. "Don't be like that! We still brought people _back from the dead!_ The Red Ribbon Army's gone! Why's everyone acting like we lost?" Goku noticed how sad Suno looked and went over to her friend to wrap her up in a hug.

"I'm sorry," Goku said softly. "I thought Shenron could bring your dad back." Suno shook her head and rubbed at her eye. She didn't want Goku to feel bad after all the good the two of them had done.

"I'm fine," she promised her friend as she gave Goku a pat on the back. Her father had been dead for over a year. She'd accepted it by now. Besides, how would her mother react to seeing dad again? She'd probably have a heart attack. It was better this way. "I'm… I'm really glad to have met you, Son Goku." Goku smiled wide and hugged Suno again before letting her go.

"So," Launch asked, "What are you gonna do now that you don't have to collect the Dragon Balls anymore?" Goku blinked and thought about that. She looked down at the rock in her hand that used to be the Four Star Ball. That _was_ what she'd been looking for. She shrugged.

"I'll train for the Tenkaichi Budoukai!" she decided cheerfully. Everyone laughed and Yamcha knelt down to ruffle her hair.

"I'm glad to hear that, Goku," he said, "Because with how hard me, Launch, and Krillin are training with Master Roshi; you'd better be careful. We might be able to beat you in three years." Goku's eyes got starry and she gasped with a sudden idea.

"Hey!" she said as she grabbed Yamcha's cheeks in her hands, "I could train with you three and Master Roshi!" She looked excitedly over to Roshi… who shook his head.

"I'm afraid not," Roshi said. Goku stared at Roshi with her mouth open slightly. Why couldn't she go back to Kame House? "You're already quite skilled. If you want to grow stronger, you'll have to discover it for yourself! Go and travel the world!" Goku nodded. That made sense.

"Nimbu–" she started to call before Roshi thwacked her on the head with his staff. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"How are you supposed to learn anything flyin' on a cloud?" he asked her. "You gotta make this journey on foot!" That made Goku pause for a second but then she shrugged. That made sense.

"Hey, Suno," she said as she turned to the other girl, "As long as I can't use it, can you look after Nimbus for now? You still need it to get back home and stuff." Suno was touched at the gesture and nodded.

"Sure thing, Goku," she said appreciatively. Goku made the rounds and gave everyone a hug before she turned her gaze towards the horizon.

"I'll see you all in three years!" she said with a smile and a wave. Then she started to run and almost instantly disappeared. Roshi smiled as he watched her go with a feeling of pride in his chest.

"Of course," Baba muttered in his ear, "As her teacher, it's not like you're gonna let her show you up. Right?" Roshi's eyes widened suddenly. He had to train himself! Or else Jackie Chun was gonna get his butt soundly kicked.

"Come on, then!" he shouted suddenly and waved his staff at his students. "The least we can do is run back to Kame House!" he chased Yamcha, Launch, Puar, Krillin, and even Bulma.

"How the heck did I get roped into this?!" Bulma demanded as Suno called down Nimbus and flew away. Baba watched them all and chuckled before she turned her gaze back to the horizon where Goku had run off.

"Get strong, Son Goku," she said gravely. "Get as strong as you can. The world shall depend on you more than you could ever know." She had foreseen it. The fate that awaited Son Goku was a fate she would not wish upon anyone. The wars she would fight. The truths she would learn. The loved ones she would lose…

OoOoOoO

 _Two years until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Yamcha did four consecutive backflips across the floor of the Gravity Room and immediately went into his Wolf Fang Fist as soon as his feet touched the ground while his sweat flew off his body and dropped to the ground like lead weights. He could feel his ki surging through his body and was actually able to focus it all into his fist, making it glow bright as he swung with a powerful right hook. The light faded and he gasped for air as he struggled to stand in the intense gravity. There was a "ding!" as the Gravity generator suddenly shut down and the door to the room opened.

"Break time!" Bulma called as she entered the room with a bottle of water in one hand and a white towel in the other. Yamcha wiped the sweat off of his face with the towel and hung it over his shoulders before chugging the bottle down gratefully. "So how's it going?" Bulma asked. Yamcha shrugged.

"I'm pushing myself as much as I can," he said, "But I can't seem to find that power I tapped into when I was fighting Baba's mummy. If I could do that on top of my training, I might be able to defeat Goku!" Even with splitting his time between the Kame House and the Gravity Room, Yamcha still wasn't sure about his chances if he met Goku at the Tournament. She was _so_ strong now!

"Hey, come on," Bulma said encouragingly as she gave him a little shove. "Don't get down on yourself! You've got all your ki tricks you were telling me you're planning!" Yamcha smiled at that. He _had_ devised a few tricks up his sleeve. He just had to make sure he could actually _do_ them. "Between your fighting skills and my brains, you know what I think?" Yamcha quirked up one eyebrow and waited for an answer. "I think I'm looking at the champion of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai," Bulma told him as she poked him on the nose. Yamcha grinned and moved in to kiss her but Bulma put her hands up. "Don't, you're all sweaty!" Then she grinned and shrugged. "Ah, what the heck," she muttered before tackling him.

OoOoOoO

It had been nice to go home, Suno thought as Nimbus soared through the sky. She'd missed her mother and her training with Master Frost. He'd been proud of how strong she'd become. Yuki had been proud of her… well, because she was Suno's mother. The whole village had been happy to see her again. It had been a nice year. As Nimbus descended gently towards the ground, Suno reflected that she couldn't stay in Jingle Village forever. If Goku was going to get stronger, so was she!

"Well," Suno muttered as she stared up at the forebodingly tall tower, "Might as well get started." She put her hands on the stone and began to climb.

OoOoOoO

 _A year and a half before the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Krillin sat on a rock in the middle of a pond with a waterfall to his back. His legs were crossed and his eyes were closed as he attempted to discover a state of serene tranquility. _Attempted._ So Suno could sense ki. Big deal! He could do it! He'd show her! Unbeknownst to Krillin, these were not the kinds of thoughts that led one to a serene mental state. Krillin heard footsteps approaching him and opened his eyes.

"What's up, Lau–" he started to say. Then he noticed something. Launch was wearing her gi but her hair was blue. "Oh." Launch got into a fighting stance. "Is… is everything alright?"

"I want to train!" Launch declared suddenly. She went to put her hands over her mouth as if she was admonishing herself for yelling but then stopped herself and put her hands at her hips instead. "I… I want to be able to fight! I don't want to just let everyone down because I sneeze! And… and I don't want her to think that she's strong and I'm weak!" Krillin blinked in surprise. This seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, Launch was his friend and he was going to respect her wish. He hopped off the rock and landed in front of her to get into his stance. Launch nodded and charged him.

OoOoOoO

 _One year until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

It had been a quiet two years for the people of Jingle Village since the Red Ribbon Army had been defeated. They'd spent it rebuilding their town and their lives and mostly just enjoying the fact that they were alive. Nothing strange had happened to them since that Goku girl had left.

Then one day a bundled-up old man arrived on a magic carpet. He was polite enough, saying "Hello" and "How do you do" to everyone he passed. He was looking for directions to Master Frost the Martial Artist. No one really knew where to find him, that is except for Yuki, mother of Suno, the pride of Jingle Village. She'd given him directions and he'd been grateful to her.

"Well hello!" Roshi called up to Master Frost; he'd caught the other man standing on a hill and looking off into the distance dramatically. He supposed that's what old men did when they didn't have islands. "You're Master Frost, aren't you?" Roshi took off his coat, hat, and scarf until he was down to his usual blue pants and orange shirt. _God,_ though! It was so cold! The other Master hopped down off the hill and landed in front of him. He was a lean man with a haggard face. He only had a slightly-bushy mustache although he made up for it with the fact that he still had a full head of spiky white hair.

"And you," Frost said, "Must be the Invincible Turtle Hermit, Muten Roshi." Frost brought his one arm to his chest and bowed low. "It is an honor," he continued, "Even my own masters told me stories of your skill." Roshi rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively.

"Alright, already!" he muttered with mock-scorn, "I don't need you making me feel any older." Roshi cleared his throat as Frost stopped bowing. "So, I understand you're the master of the _Odori_ style? I've seen it in action. It's quite impressive." Frost smiled behind his mustache.

"You're speaking of Suno. I'm very proud of how strong she's become," he chuckled softly and rubbed his mustache. "She's told me quite a bit about one of your students as well. This… 'Son Goku'? I'd very much like to meet her one day." Roshi nodded and cracked his neck.

"Well," he said as he moved into a fighting stance, "I didn't come all this way to chit-chat. I wanted to see the _Odori_ style from its master." Frost's eyes widened with understanding before he slowly and artfully moved into his own stance.

"I, too, have always wanted to see the Turtle School style." Roshi nodded and the two men waited as wind blew across the icy field. Frost twisted and did a backflip into the air to come at Roshi with a kick. Roshi jumped up to meet the kick with one of his own…

OoOoOoO

 _Six months before the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Goku hummed a little tune to herself as she walked down a mountain road with her grandpa's Dragon Ball on a string around her neck and her tail swishing behind her. She couldn't believe it had grown back again! She'd met so many nice people travelling all over the world and learned lots of things. And not all of it was about fighting! She'd learned other languages and about other kinds of food, too! She'd slept in trees and barns and swam up rivers and across lakes. It had been great so far and she still had a few more months before the tournament. Her gi had been kind of ruined, though, so she was wearing a sorta-gi she'd made from a tiger's skin. She didn't know how to make shoes, however, so now she was barefoot. She couldn't wait for the Budoukai so she could show her friends all the things she'd learned. While Goku was walking, she saw someone else coming up the road towards her. He was barefoot, too! He had on a white gi with a red belt and red gloves. He had a red bandana on and he was carrying a bag over one shoulder.

"Hey!" she called and waved her arms as he got closer. The man stopped and looked at her. "I like your gi!" He smiled at that and nodded appreciatively. "Are you a fighter, too?" she asked. He nodded again. "Let's spar!" she demanded as she got into her stance. "I came in second in the 21st Budoukai!" she assured him. The man stared at her a moment… before he nodded a third time and set his bag down. He pivoted his body to the side and bounced on the balls of his feet as he put one hand under his chin and the other close to his chest. Goku charged at him and he met her fist with an open palm to catch it. She jumped up and drove her feet into his chest to shove him away. The fighter staggered back and Goku ran at him again and smashed her knee into his sternum. The fighter took one step back but then threw up a kick that sent Goku into the air. The fighter dropped into a crouch and then leaped up into the air to uppercut Goku. The man spoke for the first time as he leaped.

"Shouryuuken!"

OoOoOoO

 _One week before the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Once again, it hadn't been easy. Pilaf had sold most of the scrap from the Pilaf Machines and some of his nicer clothes. It had gotten him a tiny submarine that could barely fit _one_ person inside of it, let alone three. It had been a desperate and panicked three years as they scoured the oceans in search of the one thing that Pilaf knew would _destroy_ Goku once and for all. The three of them surrounded the little table of their capsule house which Pilaf had been able to afford once they'd sold the submarine. And more of his belongings. Sitting on the table was all of Pilaf's hopes and dreams.

Well… not exactly. Sitting on the table was a water-logged rice cooker which _held_ all of Pilaf's hopes and dreams. It was crusted with sand and covered in algae and barnacles. It looked like it had sat at the bottom of the ocean for nearly three hundred years. Pilaf took a knife and pried away the barnacles and dug out the sand until it could finally be opened. Anyone could see that the rice cooker was full of nothing but evil. They could _feel_ it. But Pilaf was blind. Blind and desperate. He grabbed the handle, pushed down on the button, and yanked up with all his might. A terrible howling sound filled the Capsule House and a furious wind roared out of the rice cooker as it carried a black fog. The fog poured onto the floor and morphed into a humanoid shape as the three huddled against the wall in fear. The wind died down as the fog began to dissipate.

He was enormous; over eight feet tall with wrinkled, dark green skin and yellow patches up and down his arms. He had pointed ears and two antennae dangling from his forehead. He was dressed in a black robe with a red cape. On the front of his robe blazed the character for "Demon." Piccolo Daimaou cracked his neck, leaning his head to the left and the right. He opened his yellow eyes as he breathed the sweet air of freedom… and laughed. A terrible, horrible, bone-chilling laugh from the blackest hell.

The Demon King was free.


	28. Tale of the Three-eyed Assassin

Chapter Twenty-eight

Tale of the Three-eyed Assassin

Matsubani was watering plants on his front lawn and admiring the nice spring weather. He was a martial artist of considerable power and had been using his power to help his city. He had never won a Tenkaichi Budoukai or even entered. He hadn't seen the need. Instead, he'd been using his powers to keep crime lords out of his city. He looked from his watering with a satisfied smile to see the mercenary Tao Pai Pai staring at him. The watering can slipped from numb fingers as he felt a cold chill pass through his body. Tao smirked.

"You know who I am?" he asked rhetorically. Matsubani nodded because he did not trust himself to speak. "Then you know why I'm here," Tao said. "Someone is paying a _lot_ of money so that you stop living. I am nothing if not an accommodating businessman." He smiled a murderous smile that snapped Matsubani out of his fear. He couldn't let Tao just kill him! He had to fight!

"This is one payment you won't collect!" Matsubani declared as he defiantly threw a punch at Tao. The mercenary lazily leaned his head to the left. Matsubani stepped back and unleashed a roundhouse kick that would have smashed through a steel plate. Tao stepped idly to the left. Matsubani raised one hand high and it glowed bright yellow with ki energy… and Tao drove a fist through his heart. Tao watched as Matsubani gurgled and gripped at Tao's forearm to try and struggle for life. He sneered and pushed the dying man away with his other hand. He looked at the man's house and saw a three-eyed woman standing in the doorway with a rifle in her shaking hands. Tears ran down her cheeks and her face was screwed up with murderous fury. Tao gave a dismissive wave of his hand to send a kiai at her. There was a "snap!" as the woman tumbled into the house with her neck broken. Tao walked over the dead husband and wife to enter the home. No sense in leaving any brats to plan revenge. Tao looked all over the house and found no one. When he entered the bedroom, however, he found a crib. Inside that crib was a sleeping three-eyed baby with a medallion tied around its neck with a red silk ribbon. Tao reached a hand down to twist the baby's head off… and it stared up at him with serious eyes.

Tao Pai Pai had never been one to shy away from murder because the victim was "innocent." Nearly every person he'd ever killed had been "innocent." Good people rarely paid you money to kill the wicked. Still, he stayed his hand and stared down at the baby. He could feel a tremendous power radiating from the child unlike anything he had ever sensed. He scooped the baby up out of the crib and pinched the little gold medallion between thumb and forefinger.

"Tenshinhan," he muttered as he read the medallion. Not a bad name, especially when he himself wasn't in any great position to come up with something better. Tenshinhan it was.

OoOoOoO

Shen scowled at the swaddled, three-eyed baby sleeping on his kitchen table before looking up to turn that scowl on his brother who was sitting across from him. The first time Tao had shown up in a year and what does he do? He brings a stupid baby!

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Shen asked incredulously. Tao shrugged.

"Raise him," he said as if it were an obvious thing. "Train him." Shen scoffed.

"The Crane School is not a nursery, brother," he remarked snidely. "If you want my advice? Kill the brat." He peered over his glasses at Tao… and the look his brother gave him froze his blood in his veins.

"The boy has power, Shen. I have sensed it. He could grow more powerful than _me_ someday," he smirked and crossed one leg over the other and his arms over his chest. "Do you really want that power to be wasted in death? Or worse, if I were to drop him off at an orphanage and he somehow found his way _to Roshi?"_ Shen fumed at that and dragged his nails across the table. Tao always knew how to aggravate him.

"Fine," he huffed as he threw up his hands in defeat. "I'll do it. But I expect you to visit once in awhile!" Tao chuckled and got up from the table. He didn't say anything and instead walked right out the door. Shen scowled down at the baby who stared up at him. "Tenshinhan, huh?" he muttered as he read the medallion.

OoOoOoO

"No!" Master Shen had scolded as he slapped the back of five-year old Tenshinhan's head. "What was _that?!"_ There was a burn scar on the rock from where Tenshinhan's Dodonpa had struck it. There were several such burn marks. "A proper Dodonpa would have pierced a hole right through the rock! Again!"

"But Master Shen," Tenshinhan protested as he gasped for air and dripped with sweat, "I… I'm tired! Could I just rest for a minute? Please?" Shen struck him harder this time.

"Rest is for those who have accomplished something! Only the cowardly and the weak ask for something when they have done nothing! Are you weak?!" Tenshinhan shook his head. "Again!" Master Shen barked. Tenshinhan wearily lifted his arm and used the other arm to straighten it.

OoOoOoO

The training began as soon as Tenshinhan could walk and speak. Shen was not a loving caretaker. While he grew strong, there was no rest for Tenshinhan. No adventure. No games. The other Crane students would not talk to him. They avoided him, afraid of his power and unsettled by his three eyes. One day, however, that changed. When Tenshinhan was ten years old, he met a new student. He'd been cutting apart firewood with his fists when the other boy had come to him.

"Hello there," the boy had said. Tenshinhan had been startled. Not by his wide eyes or his white skin or the red circles on his cheeks. Not even by the fact that he was floating an inch off the ground. He had been startled because the boy had spoken to him.

"H-hello," Tenshinhan had muttered back before he quickly looked away and resumed his chopping. It was his training _and_ a chore. He couldn't afford to stop. The boy was still standing there. "Why… are you… still here?" he asked as he went about his task.

"Why not?" the boy had asked. Tenshinhan stopped to stack the wood.

"Most students are afraid of me," Tenshinhan explained, "Because I look different." The other boy had smiled.

"I don't know if you noticed," he'd pointed out, "But I'm not the most normal-looking person either." That made one end of Tenshinhan's mouth... quirk up on one side. "I'm Chaozu."

"Tenshinhan."

"That's kinda long to say after a while," Chaozu had said. "Do you mind if I call you Ten?" The other end of Tenshinhan's mouth quirked up. It was _almost_ a smile; not quite, but almost.

"Ten. Okay."

Despite having a friend, Ten's life did not grow any easier. Nor did his training, even though he grew more powerful. It seemed as if with every increase in his strength, Master Shen found a new way to humble Ten and break him. Once again, that changed one day. He had been twelve when the man had arrived. He had been wearing a purple overcoat and had been talking with Master Shen as he watched the Crane Students train. His face seemed… familiar to Ten, even though he had never met the man. Everyone gasped and stopped what they were doing as he walked onto the field.

"Boy!" the man called. Ten realized he was talking to _him._ Ten stood up straight and bowed to the man. "Do you know who I am?" Ten shook his head. "I'm Tao Pai Pai. The world's greatest assassin. Shen tells me you're his strongest student." Ten nodded… and the man drove a knee into Ten's stomach. It was the hardest he'd even been hit. He coughed up blood and fell to his knees. "Pathetic," Tao said dismissively as he turned away. "If you want to be truly strong then you have to drive the weakness from your heart." Tao Pai Pai walked past Shen and from the look on his Master's face, Ten could tell… _Shen was scared of him._ Something about that resonated with Tenshinhan. It imprinted the value of strength upon him. No one could hurt you when you were strong. No one could make you do anything you didn't want to. The strong stood over the weak. Tenshinhan threw himself into his training harder than ever before. Every year, Tao Pai Pai would return and spar with Ten. Usually, he was beaten into a state of unconsciousness, but _once_ he got a hit on Tao Pai Pai. That had surprised him and it had allowed Ten to ask him a question before he left.

"I recognized your face the first time you came here!" Ten had blurted out. "Tell me! Are you my father?" Tao had smirked at that.

"I suppose I am, in a sense." Tenshinhan hadn't been sure what that had meant but his idolization for the master assassin grew with that all the same. He wanted to become an assassin himself! When Tenshinhan was seventeen, he knew he was as strong as Tao Pai Pai. This time he could defeat him and make Tao stick around. Finally, he would answer his questions! But Tao Pai Pai… never came.

"My brother has been killed," Master Shen had explained. "Killed by… Son Goku. A student of the Turtle School." Tenshinhan had never met Son Goku or even heard of her or the Turtle School before Shen had told him of her. Yet, in his heart, he felt a black hatred for her that he had never known. She had taken his victory! She had taken his answers! She had taken _everything._ "But you will have your revenge, boy," Shen had assured him. "If you only have the will to _take it!"_ Tenshinhan pushed himself beyond his limits for three years, letting the training break him and rebuild him into something stronger and colder. He trained with a savage intensity that he had never had before in his life. He even meditated with intensity. A single-minded goal consumed him, one even more powerful than his goal to surpass Tao Pai Pai: _revenge._

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan breathed deeply as he brought his hands to his chest. A torrential rain poured down on him as he put them together in a diamond shape and glared at the mountain in his line of sight through his hands. He could feel a tremendous energy building inside of him and pouring into his hands. It was _agony_ to draw on the power but he pushed through. The _weak_ stopped when there was pain at the price of power. The strong seized the power because it was theirs _because_ they were strong. The sky rumbled with thunder and lightning flashed. He could feel the power building to its peak and roared as the orange light filled his hands.

"Kikouhou!" he bellowed as a massive orange square of ki filled his vision and flew away. There was a blinding flash of orange light. When it was gone, so was the mountain. He smirked and dropped his hands to his side. He'd finally mastered it. Son Goku didn't have a chance now.

OoOoOoO

"You are ready!" Master Shen declared proudly as he paced around Tenshinhan and Chaozu with the rest of the students gathered around them on the training grounds. They were in their full Crane School uniforms: green longcoats with the character for "Crane" on the breast with purple pants and black hats with red balls on the top. There were only days left until the Tenkaichi Budoukai and their training was finally complete. Even though he walked around both of them, Shen was only addressing Tenshinhan. "You have the same blackness in your soul as Tao Pai Pai." He stopped and stood in front of Tenshinhan and looked up at him. "What is your destiny?"

"To avenge Tao Pai Pai," Ten declared, "And take his place as the world's greatest assassin." Shen nodded and grinned.

"Yeeees. What have I taught you?"

"Son Goku is my enemy." Shen pulled off his sunglasses and looked Tenshinhan in the eyes with burning intensity.

"So what. Must. You. Do?" Tenshinhan narrowed his eyes and balled his fists.

"I must _kill_ her!" The other students roared their approval and pumped their fists in the air as they chanted his name.

"Tenshinan!" The students crowed like a battle cry, "Tenshinhan! Tenshinhan! Tenshinhan!" Shen stood beside his students and the three of them took off into the sky. Son Goku, Ten swore to himself, would pay.


	29. Old Friends and New Enemies!

Chapter Twenty-nine

Old Friends and New Enemies! The Tournament Begins!

The three Turtle School students fidgeted eagerly in their chairs as the airplane took them towards the island of the Tenkaichi Budoukai with Roshi and Bulma. Yamcha, Krillin, and Roshi were in suits while Launch was in a red sparkling dress with pink frills at the hems and Bulma was in an orange hoodie and white shorts. Puar was sitting in Bulma's lap.

"Man," Yamcha muttered as he looked out the window, "I can't believe it's been in three years already!" He turned back to Krillin and grinned. "Shame you wasted all that time when I'm gonna win," he told the younger man in a teasing manner. Krillin grinned and elbowed Yamcha playfully in the ribs.

"Don't be too sure," Krillin retorted. "While you were messing around in that fancy gravity room, I perfected my techniques! Who says I won't win?"

' _I don't know about that,'_ Roshi thought to himself. ' _Who knows? Ol' Jackie Chun might become a two-time winner.'_ Not that this was a thought he could share with his fellow passengers. That would arouse too much suspicion and he'd cut it close enough as it was at the last tournament.

"Aren't you two forgetting someone?" Blonde Launch asked in a tone that was one part irritation and two parts playful. "I know you two are having your little pissin' contest but don't think that I can't beat ya at it." Bulma just rolled her eyes.

"I think you're _all_ forgetting someone," she reminded them. They all blinked and she sighed, "Son Goku? She's gonna be there too!" The three muttered "Oh yeah"s and "Hmm"s and leaned back in their chairs.

"I bet I've caught up to her by now," Yamcha declared after a silence. "Just watch me!" Krillin shoved him again.

"I think you mean _me!"_ Krillin replied. Roshi chuckled and settled back in his chair as he put his hat onto his face.

"There they go again," he said in a tone of fatherly amusement, voice muffled under his hat.

"I hope we get there soon," Launch grumbled as her nails dug into the armrests of her chair. "Bein' in a plane like this always makes me wanna hijack it!" Everyone laughed… until they realized Launch wasn't.

One awkward silence and a plane ride later and the group was on Papaya Island, home of this year's Tenkaichi Budoukai. Things moved quickly enough and Launch, Krillin, and Yamcha signed up for the tournament before they joined Bulma and Puar in looking for Goku.

"She's gotta be here somewhere, right?" Bulma asked as she put a hand over her eyes to block out the sun.

"Yeah," Krillin agreed, "I mean, Roshi taught her how long a year is. So it's not like she could forget!" Roshi approached the signup table while they had their backs to it.

"Pardon me," he whispered to the man. "Could you sign me up under the name 'Jackie Chun'?" The man gasped and prepared to shout something before Roshi clapped a hand over his mouth and glared at the man through his sunglasses. "Just write it down, sonny." The man nodded nervously and scribbled it down.

"Hey, guys!" a familiar voice called from above. The group looked up to see a yellow cloud zooming down towards them before coming to a gentle stop a few inches off the ground. Suno hopped off the Nimbus and held her arms out as if to say "Ta-dah!" "It's great to see you all again!" she said excitedly.

"You too, Suno!" Bulma said as the redhead exchanged hugs with everyone. Krillin shook her hand. "Wow, you got tall!" she added. Suno was now a little shorter than Bulma when she'd been about Goku's height before.

"If you're entering this year," Yamcha teased, "I hope you brought a change of clothes!" He was definitely right on that account. Suno was wearing a purple baseball cap and a pink shirt tucked into white pants. Not exactly traditional martial arts attire.

"Nah," Suno assured them with a dismissive wave, "I'm just here to watch you guys!" She looked around the crowd and looked behind them. "Is Goku not here yet?" she asked.

"Nope," Launch told her flatly. "We were just lookin' for her."

"Well, well, well," an unfamiliar voice called in a mocking tone. "If it isn't my lecherous old schoolmate." The group turned to see three people advancing: a tall young man who looked to be about Yamcha's age… who had three eyes; a boy who looked even smaller than Krillin… and had white skin, red dots on his cheeks, and was floating two feet off the ground; and an old man who looked about Roshi's age with a pointed face, dark sunglasses, a thin mustache, and gray hair that had been combed into wings. They were all wearing green longcoats with the character for "Crane" on the breast with purple pants and black hats. The younger men had red balls on the top of their hats while the master's black hat was in the shape of a crane.

"Shen," Roshi said icily as he gripped his staff in one fist. "How good to see you again." Shen sneered at Roshi and the Turtle School students.

"I see you've come here to make a mockery of the martial arts again," he said with mock geniality. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but my Crane School students will obliterate the competition. If Turtle students are making it to the finals then the Tenkaichi Budoukai has surely fallen into disarray. I suppose it's the responsibility of _true_ martial artists to fix it." Now it was Roshi's turn to sneer.

"You mean true _killers,"_ he snapped back. "That's what the Crane School does! Ya pump out nothing but a bunch of minimum-skill assassins. My four Turtle students are worth _fifty_ of your cranes!" The others backed away slowly from Roshi. They had never seen the old man so angry before.

"Ha," the triclops let out a bark of cruel laughter. "Are you as senile as your style is weak, old man? You only have _three_ students!" he turned to Launch and glared at her with all three eyes. "You must be Son Goku. You're quite different from how my master described you."

"Heh," Launch snickered, "Sorry. She's not here yet. But when she does, I bet she'll kick your ass." The triclops' whole body tensed with rage and the veins in his neck stood out.

"Calm down, Tenshinhan," Shen said before the three turned towards the signing table. "You will have your chance soon enough."

"Jeez," Suno muttered as they walked away, "Goku's _really_ good at making enemies."

"Who the heck is that guy, Roshi?" Bulma asked. "It seemed like you knew him." Roshi nodded sourly.

"I did," he said. "He and I were students under Master Mutaito together, a long time ago," he sighed sadly. "He was once my closest friend. _That_ was a long time ago, too."

"I never heard about a Mutaito," Yamcha said curiously. "What happened to him? And what happened to the two of you?" Roshi only sighed again.

"That is a story that I hope you all _never_ need to hear," he told them in a voice tinged with sadness. He cleared his throat after a moment and rapped his cane sharply on the ground. "C'mon! Let's see if we can find Goku!" He walked off and the others followed.

"Well that's not suspicious at all," Bulma muttered sardonically as she trailed behind.

OoOoOoO

The day dwindled down and there was no sign of Goku. Suno and Roshi couldn't sense her ki nor could the others find her with their eyes. As the sun began to sink down and turn the sky a rosy pink, Yamcha turned to Puar.

"Hey," he whispered, "How much do you think you could look like Goku?" Puar's eyes widened as he brought his forepaws up to his mouth.

"Yamcha!" he gasped. "I can't impersonate Goku! That'd be like forgery! It'd be illegal!"

"We know she's gonna show up," Yamcha insisted. "We just need you to buy her some time!" Before Puar could be pressured one way or the other, Suno called out.

"Hey," she shouted, "I sense something!" Roshi nodded as the others turned to look where Suno was pointing. Krillin grumbled to himself as they squinted. His ki sensing _still_ wasn't perfected yet. He could barely sense the people around him in anything more than a vague haze of energy.

"I don't see anythi–" Launch muttered before her eyes opened wide, "There!" Charging towards them was an orange-and-black blur that screamed down the street like a comet.

"Hey everyone!" the comet called in Goku's voice. It jumped over a double decker bus to land right in front of the group and it was clear why she'd been _so_ black-and-orange. Instead of her Turtle School gi, Goku was wearing a makeshift gi of tiger skin with her power pole strapped to her back and her tail swishing behind her. "How've you all been?"

"We'll talk in a moment," Roshi said hurriedly. "Go and sign up, it's about to close!" Goku rushed past them to the table and they all stared at her.

"Goku… has a tail," Suno muttered. Not only that but she could sense that Goku's power had grown _even more_ in the last three years. She honestly wasn't all that surprised.

"Yeah," Krillin said with a nervous chuckle, "You missed out on the weird stuff." Yamcha groaned wordlessly and pulled at his face. How many stupid times was he going to have to cut that stupid thing off?!

"All done!" Goku announced as she ran back from the table. "Wow, Bulma! You got taller! You too, Suno!" Bulma grinned and tousled Goku's hair.

"You've grown too, Goku!" she said. Which was true; Goku _had_ grown a little. It just wasn't as noticeable a change as Suno.

"Why didn't you, Krillin?" Goku asked as she turned to her friend. He grumbled and ground his teeth as his face turned red.

"Hey Goku," Suno asked, "How come you didn't call for Nimbus to get here faster?" Goku shrugged.

"Master Roshi told me not to use it," she reminded them. "So I had to swim from an island on the other side of the world." They stared at Goku with mouths agape when Ken's voice suddenly crackled over the loudspeaker.

"Llllladies and gentlemen!" he called out. "The 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai is about to begin! All fighters, please enter the elimination hall!" Roshi took a capsule from his breast pocket and handed it to Goku.

"I figured you'd be needing a new uniform," he said in an almost teasing tone. Goku nodded appreciatively before she, Yamcha, Krillin and Launch walked off to join the other fighters.

"Good luck, you guys!" Bulma called as she and the others waved. She turned to say something to Roshi but he was gone. "Huh," she muttered. "Something fishy's going on with him."

OoOoOoO

"Hey," Goku called, "Jackie Chun!" She pushed her way through the crowd and ran to the mysterious bearded old master. She stopped and bowed before she spoke again. "This year I'm going to beat you!" she told him with youthful exuberance and not an ounce of malice. Jackie chuckled.

"I'd certainly like to see you give it your best shot," he told her.

"Son Goku!" a voice called. Yamcha, Launch, and Krillin groaned as Tenshinhan made the crowd part with a glare and his strange pale friend floated above their heads. "You're the one who defeated Tao Pai Pai?" he asked incredulously as he looked down at Goku in disbelief. Goku nodded up at him.

"Yup!" she replied. "He was a big jerk. Why?" Tenshinhan clenched his teeth and breathed sharply through his nose before he reached down and yanked Goku off her feet by the front of her shirt to look at her on eye level.

"We _will_ face each other in the finals," he told her. "Of that I am certain. Only you can come close to matching my power. And when we do?" He brought Goku even closer and his voice dropped to a hate-filled whisper. " _I will kill you."_ Then he let Goku go and stormed away.

"What the heck is his problem?" Goku wondered aloud. Yamcha, Launch, and Krillin shrugged.

"We were hopin' you could tell us," Launch explained. "He really doesn't like you."

"I've never met him," Goku explained. Why would someone she'd never met not like her? The four looked up to see the pale boy still floating there. Staring at them. Unblinking.

"Baldy!" the pale boy said as he pointed at Krillin. Krillin fumed.

"Who the heck are you calling baldy?!" Krillin asked incredulously. "Have you looked in a mirror?" The pale boy pulled off his hat to reveal one solitary hair sticking up straight like an antenna. "Oh, how the heck does that count?!" Krillin screamed as his face turned beat red.

"Chaozu!" Tenshinhan called over the crowd. The boy, Chaozu apparently, blew Krillin a raspberry and floated away.

"Fighters!" Ken called dramatically. "Please draw your numbers and move into the appropriate blocks! There are one hundred eighty-two of you here today but only eight of you can advance to the finals!"

OoOoOoO

Krillin looked up at the mammoth of a man in front of him who grinned down at him with teeth the size of tombstones. Despite the fact that he only came up to the man's knee and that his opponent was seven Krillins wide, he was undeterred.

"Ach," the massive man laughed, "Away wit' ye, wee la–" he made a move to dismissively brush Krillin's face with his hand and Krillin's arm shot out and gripped the monstrous finger in his hand. He grabbed with his other hand and swung around and around before launching the man clear off of their platform. Other fighters scrambled to avoid being crushed under his weight and the giant groaned when he hit the ground. Krillin dusted off his hands and hopped off the platform. This was the easy part, after all.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha tugged at his blue gloves as he looked across the platform at his opponent. There wasn't really a functional purpose for the gloves, Bulma just thought they would be a nice and fashionable touch.

"So," the Wolfman growled as he pointed an accusatory claw at Yamcha, " _You're_ the one who was going around using the Wolf Fang Fist!" The Wolfman was wearing an orange gi with a white belt and had blue fur. "Look at you! You aren't a wolf! You don't even have a beard!" He scoffed. "I've never felt so appropriated!" He bared his fangs as he charged at Yamcha. "I'll show you a real Wolf Fist!" He hit Yamcha right on the cheek… and Yamcha didn't budge.

"All right," Yamcha told him, "That's your free one." Then he slammed a palm up under the Wolfman's jaw and watched him crumple to the ground. "Happy? I didn't use my fist."

OoOoOoO

It had been a tough road to recovery for Hercule but with hard work he'd gotten through physical therapy and was back and better than ever in just three years! He'd even managed to get out of the first elimination round this time. Now all that stood in the way was this blonde chick in the orange uniform. Hercule charged toward her and let fly with his Ultra Dynamic Mess 'Em Up Punch. She brought up a forearm to block it but Hercule backed away before she could do anything and followed up with a salvo of body blows that she barely managed to dodge. She was obviously so stunned by his machismo and martial arts expertise that she couldn't come up with a counterattack!

Launch was quickly bored with this fight. This jerkoff was a _complete_ amateur and he made too much noise for how much he sucked. She twisted around and drove her heel into the side of his head and smirked as she watched him fall over like a redwood tree.

OoOoOoO

Pamput pasted his opponent with a series of artful blows to the body and face before finishing them off by leaping into the air and wrapping his legs around their neck in a headscissors and tossing them out of the ring. He did a backflip and posed before he exited and Bulma sighed dreamily as she, Suno, and Puar looked peered sneakily through a window.

"God," she murmured while biting her thumbnail and counting his abs in her head, "If I wasn't a faithful woman…" Suno rolled her eyes.

"I mean, sure he's _pretty,_ I guess," she allowed, "But he's… I dunno, a _decent_ fighter." After a pause, she added, "And he can't act!"

"You take that back!" Bulma snapped.

OoOoOoO

Chaozu's opponent charged at him and screamed like a banshee… until she came to a screeching halt an inch away from contact and eliminated herself by hopping out of the ring. She was clutching her stomach as she ran to find the nearest restroom. Chaozu hadn't so much as blinked.

OoOoOoO

Jackie drove a Crane strike into his opponent's chest and watched the Mooseman go flying out of the ring to smash against a wall.

"There's something about this Jackie Chun guy…" Bulma muttered. Suno stared at her dubiously.

"Are you _joking?"_ she asked in exasperation.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan's opponent made a big show of swaying around his arms and his torso as he moved into a fighting stance and brushed his fingers across his golden braid tiara and his luxuriant curly mustache. His baggy white pantaloons made a "floof" as he bent his knees before he burst into a charge while Tenshinhan sneered with his arms folded over his chest. He leaped into the air to deliver a chop… and collapsed to the ground in a heap without Tenshinhan ever lifting a finger.

"I saw that," Yamcha muttered as the rest of the competitors murmured disbelief. "Three punches and a kick." The medics came to attend to the other fighter as he suddenly started to sputter and hack up blood.

"That," Jackie Chun added, "Is a collapsed lung and some broken ribs. This Tenshinhan is dangerous." ' _Just as I had sensed when I first felt his ki. How'd you luck your way into this one, Shen?'_

OoOoOoO

Goku hopped eagerly into the ring as she waited for her opponent. A dark–skinned man with a medium-sized afro and goatee stepped into the ring to face her with a stern expression on his narrow face. He wore a yellow chiton with yellow pants with a blue belt and he was barefoot. Goku was beginning to think that maybe barefoot was the way to go.

"Come then, child," Chappa said in a deep baritone voice as he took his battle stance. "I will make your pain brief." Jackie Chun stroked his beard and watched the fight with vested interest.

' _This will be quite a test for Goku,'_ he thought. ' _Chappa is a former Budoukai Champion in his own right; he won the tournament without a single foe laying a hand on him! I figure he'd even give me trouble!'_ He watched as Goku moved into her fighting stance. She pivoted her body to the side and brought one arm to cover her stomach and one fist up to her chin as she hopped on the balls of her feet. Roshi had never seen _that_ particular stance before. ' _Let's see what you learned then, Goku.'_

King Chappa threw a kick at Goku but she leaped over it and threw out a straight jab. Chappa blocked it with his forearm and shoved Goku away. No sooner did she land then she came back again and threw out a hard kick from her side that the King was barely able to roll away from and he let out a gasp of pain as it grazed his shoulder. He hopped away from Goku and stared with wide eyes when he realized that she'd _hit_ him.

"Enough of this!" King Chappa declared in a fluster. He planted his feet and spread his arms out wide. "Hasshuken!" he declared. Chappa started moving his fists in an intricate pattern that grew faster and faster until it appeared that he had eight arms instead of two. He rushed Goku… and she reached out her hands and grabbed his wrists.

"Found 'em!" she declared playfully before twisting and sending Chappa flying across the ring with a Judo throw. "That was fun," she told him. "We should play that game again sometime!"


	30. The Finals Begin! Cruelty of the Crane!

Chapter Thirty

The Finals Begin! Cruelty of the Crane!

As the day wore on, the one hundred eighty-two were whittled down to eight, just as Ken had promised. It finally came down to Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Jackie Chun, Launch, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Pamput. The eight were assembled in front of Ken for the random draw. Yamcha and Ten glared at each other as Ken reached into the box with eight numbered slips of paper inside it.

' _Chaozu,'_ Ten spoke telepathically to his fellow student, ' _Make sure I get a Turtle student. It doesn't matter which one. Just make sure Son Goku is on the opposite side of me so that I go to the finals.'_ Chaozu nodded and used his telepathic powers to guide slips of paper into people's hands as they reached into the box.

"Hi, Ken!" Goku said cheerfully to the announcer as she reached into the box. Ken smiled back and seemed genuinely happy that Goku had remembered him.

"Hello to you too, Goku," Ken said as he took the slip of paper from Goku's hand. "Good to see you again. But could you, uh, not destroy the stadium this time?" Goku blinked in confusion. What the heck did that mean? She hadn't done anything last year! "Y'know, when you…" Ken looked over Goku's shoulder and saw Jackie Chun waving his fingers across his throat, gesturing for him to drop the subject. "Uh… n-never mind. Good luck!" When every contestant had drawn their numbers, Ken led everyone out to the ring and the crowd roared with approval.

"Go, Goku!" Suno cheered as she cupped her hands around her mouth. Goku waved back to her eagerly with a big grin on her face. She hadn't seen Suno in forever!

"Come on, Yamcha!" Bulma and Puar cheered in unison. In the back of her mind, Bulma wondered where Roshi was but she figured he was probably just watching farther back. Shen watched silently and waited to see Tenshinhan destroy his enemies.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ken crowed. "We welcome you once again to the Tenkaichi Budoukai! We've got no less than _four_ return finalists this year so let's give them a big hand!" Like a true showman, he paused to let the crowd applaud Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Jackie Chun. "This year for the finals, it will be Pamput," the flashy, dark-skinned youth posed as the women squealed and whistled, "Against last year's Champion, Jackie Chun!" Jackie's sum total reaction to his cheers was to hold up a fist. "Tenshinhan," The crowd cheered while Bulma, Suno, and Puar booed vehemently, "Against Krillin!" Krillin smiled and waved to the crowd as they cheered. "Yamcha!" Yamcha flexed and posed as the crowd roared and Bulma whistled for her boyfriend, "Against Launch!" Launch flipped the crow off but that only made them cheer louder. Bulma booed.

"And finally, last year's runner up, Son Goku!" Goku jumped up and down and waved her arms as the crowed cheered louder than ever while Tenshinhan glowered at her with contempt, "Against Chaozu!" Tenshinhan whipped his head around to glare at his little friend as he screamed at him telepathically.

' _I… wasn't paying attention.'_ Chaozu thought bashfully. Ten sighed. It was too late to do anything about it now and anything he said would cause suspicion. The six filed away to the competitors' viewing area as Jackie and Pamput took their places in the ring.

"I'll give you this chance to surrender," Pamput told Jackie with mock civility while he hopped from foot to foot. "An old man such as yourself can't defeat a young athlete of my caliber!"

"You… you _did_ hear him say that I _won_ last year, didn't you?" Jackie asked incredulously as he got into his stance. Pamput let out a dismissive "tsk" as he got into his own Taijutsu guard.

"A tournament with a stripper, children, a beggar, and a monster," he pounded a fist arrogantly against his chest. "I am the greatest, handsomest, most famous athlete the world has ever known!" Bulma whistled loudly while Puar and Suno rolled their eyes. "Surely you've seen one of my movies? Everyone has!" The next thing Pamput knew, Jackie was somehow in front of him. His hand was out in a flash and he grabbed one of Pamput's fingers and twisted it as Pamput howled in pain.

"I saw one," Jackie admitted almost shamefully. "They stink!" He twisted harder and Pamput let out a decidedly _un_ impressive squeal of pain.

"I give up!" he shrieked as he stamped his foot. "Owowowowowow! I give up, I give up, I give up!" Jackie released Pamput's finger and walked away calmly as Pamput rubbed his damaged finger.

"By submission, Jackie Chun is your winner!" Ken declared as the crowd roared while Bulma looked on… disappointed.

"He didn't even get to do anything," she muttered with her arms folded over her chest.

OoOoOoO

Krillin watched from the fighter's area as Tenshinhan walked into the ring. Despite his best efforts and all his training, he was still nervous. After all, the guy _had_ said he was going to murder Goku. Krillin swallowed and took a few steps before Goku herself came up and grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry," she said encouragingly. "You can take him on!" Krillin's face flushed red as Goku let go of his hand and smiled. He bounded out to the ring with new confidence and smacked his fists together a few times before getting into his stance.

"Come on!" he declared defiantly. Tenshinhan only sneered as he got into his own stance. Krillin charged and Ten kept him at bay by using his longer limbs with a flurry of kicks. Krillin hopped back to avoid Ten's strikes and then dashed to the left. Ten threw a kick to the left before Krillin dashed to the right in an attempt to put him off-balance as he attacked with a jumping punch. Ten was ready, however, and caught Krillin's fist in his hand and slammed him hard to the ground.

"That kind of maneuvering might fool some Turtle Students," Ten said scornfully, "But you'll have to try harder to fool me!" Krillin hopped to his feet and was undeterred as he jumped into the air and pressed the attack with a barrage of punches. Ten blocked them all and attempted a headbutt but Krillin dropped down and drove his shoulder into Tenshinhan's stomach to drive the wind out of him and make him stagger back. Krillin followed up with a sweep to bring Ten to the ground and finished with a downward chop that would have caught Ten in his third eye if the Crane Student hadn't rolled out of the way and come up to a knee. Krillin came at Ten with a knee aimed at his face but Ten moved his head to the side at the last second and smashed his elbow into Krillin's face to send him sprawling.

"Come on, Krillin!" Goku cheered on as she, Yamcha, and Launch watched.

"Get him!" Yamcha added.

"Take his stupid extra eye out!" Launch encouraged. Ten got to his feet as Krillin got up and dashed forward with a knee. Krillin hopped up and away but this was a feint as Ten lunged forward and peppered Krillin's torso with two-fingered Spear Strikes and finished with an elbow down on top of Krillin's head that sends him to the ground. However, Krillin moves into a three-point stance before impact and bounces away, hitting the wall to the side of the ring and pushing off to kick Tenshinhan with a hard roundhouse kick to the jaw. Tenshinhan took a step back before driving an uppercut into Krillin's stomach and smashing him down with a double hamerfist blow that sent him skidding across the ring. Krillin staggered to his feet and wiped blood from his lip with a frustrated scowl.

' _Darn it!'_ he thought. ' _This guy is tough! I can't seem to get in a solid hit! Well,'_ he thought as he turned to one side and cupped his hands, ' _I guess I'll take my best shot now!'_ Krillin brought his hands to his side as they filled with blue light. "Kaaaa meeee.."

"This is incredible!" Ken declared. "Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot believe my eyes! For the second year in a row, we are going to see the legendary Kamehameha!"

"Haaaa meeee…"

"This'll wipe that smug look off that guy's stupid three-eyed face!" Bulma declared confidently. Suno wasn't so sure. Meanwhile, Ten's only reaction was to plant his feet, bring his hands up to his chest, and lock his fingers together with the two index fingers held up.

"Haaaaa!" Krillin thrust his hands forward to release his cyclone of blue-white light at Tenshinhan. The beam of destructive ki barreled towards Ten like a freight train and hit him dead on… and then immediately reflected back at Krillin. Krillin squawked in disbelief before hopping to the side to avoid the blast which sailed over the audience's' heads and blew up a building in the distance. "What?!" Krillin cried out in shock.

"What?!" Yamcha shouted in dismay.

" _What?!"_ Launch snapped.

"What?!" Suno said in astonishment.

"What?" Jackie muttered in stunned confusion.

"Krillin, look out!" Goku called out. Krillin turned just in time to see a purple-panted knee take up his entire field of vision as Ten kneed him hard in the face and sent him onto his back. Krillin laid back in a daze as he struggled to clear his head and stand up.

"Pathetic," Ten muttered with a villainous smirk. Then he raised one foot and smashed it down on Krillin's kneecap. There was a sickening "snap!" of shattering bone and Krillin howled in pain before blacking out. The audience screamed in horror as Bulma's face paled and Suno covered her mouth in shock.

"K-Krillin is in no state to continue!" Ken stammered numbly. "Th-th-therefore, Tenshinhan is your winner!" Ten gave a mocking bow to Krillin's unconscious form as the crowd booed before the paramedics carted Krillin off to take him to the hospital.

"That son of a–" Launch muttered as she balled up her fists. Goku ground her teeth and the two of them looked ready to charge before Yamcha put hands on their shoulders.

"Don't," he warned them despite his own obvious rage. "I know you're mad. I am, too. But if we attack this slimeball outside of a match, we'll get disqualified. Then we can't kick his ass and _he_ wins. I know it sucks but you have to let it go. We'll kick his ass later." His fellow Turtle Students reluctantly relaxed and Jackie was surprised at Yamcha's maturity and control.

"Hey!" Bulma called from the stands as her fear gave way to fury. She climbed over the barrier before Suno or Puar could grab her and walked right into the ring and right in Tenshinhan's face. "Who do you think you are, huh?! Do you think this makes you a badass, hurting people? You think that makes you a _real man?!_ Is that is?" Tenshinhan said nothing as he looked down at her contemptuously. Bulma fumed and balled up her fists. "You're sick!" Without a moment's hesitation, Bulma hauled back and punched Tenshinhan right in the mouth, making his head snap to the side. He slowly turned his head back and pushed Bulma's hand away as he did so. He gave her a derisive smirk before backhanding her in a blur that sent her hard into the barricade.

"You're fucking dead!" Yamcha roared at the top of his lungs with murder in his eyes, control forgotten as he barreled towards Tenshinhan. Security guards flung themselves on him to no avail and he was nearly on Tenshinhan before Goku and Launch tackled him to the ground. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch! You fucking hear me?!" Yamcha snapped as he practically foamed at the mouth while he kicked and struggled and looked up at Ten with all the hate a human being could have in their heart. Ten laughed and walked past him while Suno helped Bulma back up over the barricade.

"Yamcha!" Bulma called to try and get his attention. "I'm all right!" she assured him despite holding her shoulder.

"Calm down," Goku whispered to try and soothe her friend like he had calmed her. "Please, Yamcha. You've got to calm down! One of us will get him! I promise!" Gradually, Yamcha went slack as the rage went out of him. The security climbed off and Goku and Launch helped Yamcha up. Goku walked away to prepare for her match with Chaozu.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha was fuming before the match began. He was in his guard but his whole body was tensed up and stiff with fury. Launch could tell that his mind wasn't in the fight and took steps to fix that as she strode across the ring.

"Hey," Launch said while snapping her fingers in Yamcha's face, "Get it together. I know you're mad but I want you to focus. One of us will take care of these Crane dipshits. But I don't want any asterisks besides my name if I beat you." Yamcha smiled and nodded before he took a deep breath. He breathed in his anger and breathed it all out.

"Okay," Yamcha said as he opened his eyes, "Let's focus on you and me." Launch gave him a smirk and a waggle of her eyebrows and Yamcha rolled his eyes, already feeling a little better. "You know what I mean. May the best turtle win." Yamcha held out his fist and Launch bumped hers against it before jumping away from each other and got into their guards.

Launch charged towards Yamcha with a jumping knee that Yamcha pushed down before he followed up with a palm strike to the chin as soon as Launch touched down. Launch deflected the hit with her forearm to push Yamcha's arm away and went for an elbow to his exposed chest but he caught it in his other hand and shoved her away. This exchange of blocked and countered strikes continued for several seconds with neither person gaining an edge. Just as it had been with Goku and Krillin at the last tournament, the pair had sparred so often that it would be difficult for one to surprise the other.

The change came when Launch went for a sweep kick that Yamcha leaped over. This turned out to only be a feint by Launch as she swiped up at Yamcha and caught him full in the chest with a kiai. Yamcha dropped like a rock and landed in a crouch with a hand at his chest.

"When'd you finally figure out kiai?" Yamcha asked with a wince. Launch grinned and flicked a finger across her nose.

"Couple years ago. Kept that one close to my chest, along with a couple other secrets I was savin' for today." Yamcha grinned right back and got back into his guard.

"That makes both of us," he said as he charged Launch and pulled back his fist. She was prepared to block his telegraphed punch as was thinking about countering with an elbow to the ear when Yamcha's fist came surging forward faster than she'd anticipated, glowing with a blue-purple light as it rammed into her stomach and drove the wind out of her. Launch staggered back and Yamcha quickly grabbed her by the shoulder, jumping up before slamming her into the ground. He backflipped away a few times before jumping high into the air to bring his knee down onto her. Launch barely rolled away from the attack in time and came up on one knee, wiping spit from the corner of her mouth as the crowd cheered.

"C'mon, Yamcha!" Bulma called out as the crowd cheered, "Get her!"

"Are you cheering _for_ Yamcha or _against_ Launch?" Suno asked. Bulma smirked.

"Yes." she stated matter-of–factly Suno just rolled her eyes.

' _Damn,'_ Launch thought as she got back to her feet. ' _This might be a problem.'_ Launch didn't know to sense ki or anything like that but the power Yamcha had been able to put into that punch without seeming to use up too much of his energy did plenty to illustrate the difference between their power. ' _I've got one good shot if I'm gonna make it to the next round.'_ Launch took a deep breath before suddenly surging forward and driving a flying kick into Yamcha's chest that sent him stumbling back. Launch pressed her advantage with a blur elbows, punches, knees and kicks in an all-out sprint that made Yamcha give ground with every blow, whether he blocked or not, as sweat flew off her body.

' _She's putting all her energy into it,'_ Jackie realized. ' _Working herself to exhaustion to knock Yamcha out of the ring and hoping she'll have enough time before her bout with Goku or Chaozu to catch her breath.'_ It was an admirable strategy, if incredibly shortsighted. Yamcha proved this when he blocked an elbow strike from Launch that was a little too slow and caught her just behind the ear when he countered with a spinning backfist. Launch staggered away on wobbly legs, gasping for breath and barely able to hold herself up.

"C'mon," Launch demanded when Yamcha hesitated. "If you wanna… wanna make it to the next round, you better hit me as… as hard as you can." Yamcha nodded and pulled back one hand for a palm strike even as Launch wearily pulled back her fist. Yamcha's blow caught her right under the chin and the blonde warrior collapsed like a house of cards.

"Nine… ten! Yamcha is the winner!" Ken declared. The crowd cheered as Yamcha held out a hand to help Launch up. She took it before pushing Yamcha away as soon as she was on her feet.

"N-next time," she told him shakily, "Next time your ass is mine." Yamcha smiled and shook his head as he watched Launch walk off. She stumbled, lurched, and almost fell over a few times but she made it to the fighter's area under her own power. She leaned against a wall to support herself before her legs gave out from under her and she slid to the floor. She sat there for a few moments, eyes closed, gasping for breath, more exhausted and more disappointed than she could remember being in her life.

"Hey." Launch slowly opened one eye to see Goku smiling at her and holding out a cup of water. Launch took it and gulped the water down gratefully, letting the cup slip from her tired fingers after she'd drained it. "You did really good," Goku assured her friend. Launch smiled wearily and reached up a hand to tousle Goku's hair.

"Thanks, kid."

OoOoOoO

Goku wore a stern expression on her face as Chaozu floated into the ring. The smug little imp only touched down when Ken informed him that the match couldn't begin until Chaozu was actually _in_ the ring. Jackie reflected that he had never seen Goku so angry.

' _I only hope it doesn't lead to her being careless,'_ he thought as he stroked his beard. Chaozu giggled to himself as Goku stood with her feet planted and neither fighter got into their guard.

"I bet you're really mad," Chaozu teased, "Aren't you?" Goku said nothing. "Mad that Tenshinhan broke your stupid bald friend's leg, huh? Well, guess what? There's _nothing you can do about it!"_ Chaozu laughed louder. "Ten's going to beat that old man! He'll beat either of the other Turtle Students if they make it to the finals! But that's not going to happen because they're not getting past me and _neither are you!"_ Chaozu thrust out his hands on "you!" and was clearly expecting something to happen. Goku took a step forward. Chaozu's eyes bugge even wider than normal and he thrust his hands forward more emphatically. Goku took another step forward. And another. Then she broke into a sprint and thundered towards Chaozu like a one-person stampede with such fury in each step that the ground shook under them. At the last second, Chaozu flew up into the air and across to the other side of the ring and stayed in the air as Goku turned slowly and glowered up at him. ' _This is bad!'_ Chaozu thought. ' _My psychokinesis doesn't work on her!'_

"Well, this is bullshit," Launch muttered. "How's Goku supposed to knock him out if he can fly?" Jackie, however, could sense the Crane Student's panic and wasn't quite so worried about Goku's chances. Chaozu pointed a finger at Goku while being slightly unnerved by Goku's unchanging glower.

"D-Dodonpa!" Chaozu cried as he released a golden spear of light from his outstretched finger. It passed right through Goku and hit the grass behind her. She dissolved, proving to be nothing more than an afterimage, with the real Goku not even a foot away. "Dodonpa!" Chaozu repeated as he fired again. Once again it passed through with the real Goku back where she'd been originally. "Dodonpa! Dodonpa! Dodonpa!" Chaozu fired again and again but he might as well have been aiming at the sky for all the good it did in hitting his target. At one point, Goku's afterimages filled up the entire side of the ring she was standing on and Chaozu howled in impotent frustration. "Hold still!" he screamed as he fired blindly into the row of Gokus. They faded from sight instantly to leave only the true Goku who was standing right in the path of Chaozu's beam… and then she punched the Dodonpa, destroying it in a burst of light.

"Impossible!" Shen screamed as Goku rubbed her first. Chaozu broke into a cold sweat of terror as Goku leaped high into the air to catch Chaozu under the chin with a twisting uppercut that sent Chaozu sailing through the air and over the horizon.

"I'm soooorry, Teeeeeeeeeeee–" Chaozu called, his cry cut off by a splash. Everyone's eyes went wide with shock as they realized that Goku had knocked Chaozu _off of the island._

"S-Son Goku is the winner!" Ken stammered as Goku walked out of the ring. She glowered at Tenshinhan who returned her gaze unblinking.


	31. Yamcha Gets Serious!

Chapter Thirty-one

Yamcha Gets Serious! The Truth of Tenshinhan!

There was a short break between the quarter and semifinal rounds. During that time, Goku went to the hospital where Krillin was being treated to visit him. A nurse took her to Krillin's room where he was lying in a bed with his leg in a cast and up in a sling.

"He's still recovering," the nurse had told Goku when she asked why Krillin was still sleeping, "But he should be awake by the time the tournament is over." Goku had thanked the nurse before they left and put her Dragon Ball at Krillin's bedside.

"I hope Grandpa's spirit keeps you safe," she said to her unconscious friend as she looked down at him in his bed. "I'm gonna beat that Tenshinhan jerk up. I promise." She stood there for a few seconds and just watched Krillin sleeping. Then she leaned over the railing and gave him a peck on the forehead before running back to the stadium.

While Goku was visiting Krillin, Yamcha had gone over to the crowd to check on Bulma.

"Are you okay?" he asked with clear concern in his voice. He didn't like the color of that bruise on her shoulder. Bulma made a "pfft" sound and waved dismissively to calm him down.

"I'm fiiiine," she assured him as she rotated her arm. It made her wince but she looked like she had full range of motion and nothing was popping so Yamcha guessed it must have just looked worse than it was. "I'm a mad scientist whose father is a mad scientist. This is nothin' special. There was this one time I was messing with my dad's ionic torch and it burned a hole right through my–"

"Aaaatatatatata, don't wanna know!" Yamcha shouted in distress as he waved his hands to cut her off. "I'm just glad you're okay." He smiled and leaned over the barricade to kiss Bulma quickly on the lips and scratch Puar behind the ears before he headed back to the fighter's area.

"So…" Suno asked, "What _did_ you burn a hole through?" Bulma leaned over and whispered in Suno's ear. Suno listened and her eyes grew wide.

Jackie sat with his legs folded and his eyes closed in solemn meditation as he opened his mind to the channels of ki energy. He could feel every ki signature in the arena from the smallest child to Son Goku. She was an inferno of power whose light flickered and danced with barely-controlled energy. It startled him to think that if she could temper that strength then she could grow _even more powerful._ He sensed darkness as well. He sensed Shen's darkness, a soul corrupted by nearly three hundred years of bitterness and jealousy and rage. In Tenshinhan, he sensed that same darkness as there was in all the Crane students. That was the fall of the Crane School. To teach hate, to teach a desire to kill and a disregard for life corrupted one's very soul. And yet… and yet even in that darkness, Jackie found a single point of light. Jackie stood up slowly and resolutely, knowing what he must now do.

Tenshinhan was also meditating but where Roshi had opened himself, Ten was closed off. He had turned his thoughts inwards to his goals. To victory. To _revenge._ In that darkness was his tranquility and his power. In this darkness, he was the center of the universe. A voice suddenly cut through that darkness.

' _Tenshinhan!'_ Shen's voice echoed inside his head and Ten's third eye opened while his other two remained closed.

' _Yes, Master.'_

' _I have sensed the ki of this 'Jackie Chun,''_ Shen informed him. ' _He is nothing more than the old pervert Muten Roshi. I do not know what he attempts to achieve with this little masquerade of his but if the opportunity presents itself, break his brittle, ancient bones.'_

' _Master,'_ Ten thought suddenly, ' _Forgive my boldness… but are you not the same age?'_

' _Silence!'_

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ken crowed, "We are now ready to begin the semifinal round!" Jackie Chun and Ten made their way into the ring as the crowd cheered for Jackie and booed Ten. Jackie took off his coat as Tenshinhan cracked his knuckles before the pair moved into their guards. "This is sure to be an interesting match, folks!" Ken shouted with barely-restrained excitement. "Fighters ready? Begin!"

Tenshinhan was the first to strike when he charged forward and swung at Jackie Chun with a punch. He was shocked when Jackie blocked the strike and responded with a kick but Tenshinhan was able to block that as well. Jackie threw out a few more strikes to test Ten's speed before Ten retaliated with a high kick that Jackie was able to duck underneath. He grabbed onto Ten's other leg before the young triclops had a chance to react and yanked backwards to send Ten flipping through the air. For a moment, it seemed as if Ten would land in the audience before he suddenly froze in midair, as if he chosen not to obey the laws of gravity. Ten then rotated in the air until he was standing straight up and flew back into the ring with a smirk.

"Oh, great," Yamcha muttered. "So _all_ the Crane students can fly. How come Roshi never taught us?"

"Turtles can't fly," Goku pointed out as she watched intensely. Yamcha blinked as he thought about that. It… it made sense?

"You'll have to do better than that!" Ten boasted before he got into a runner's stance… and disappeared. Jackie threw out his fist at seemingly nothing before Tenshinhan materialized… inside Jackie's guard! He slammed his elbow up into Jackie's chin to send him high into the air and followed him up. They traded punches high in the sky, each one able to dodge or block the other's assault before they landed with their backs to each other.

"Let's see how you like this!" Jackie declared as Tenshinhan turned to face him. Tenshinhan was suddenly surrounded by a ring of Jackie Chuns that circled him at dizzying speed before closing in and battering him with blows.

"If you expect this trick to fool me," Tenshinhan said in spite of his bruises when the ring of Jackies had widened again, "Then you're sadly mistaken. My third eye sees through all your _deceptions!"_ He emphasized "deceptions" with a kick that smashed into Jackie's jaw and sent him crashing into the wall. Ten charged forward and moved his hands at a furious pace as if he had a dozen arms. "Can you find these?!" he taunted. Jackie's hands flew out and grabbed Tenshinhan's wrists and crossed them across his chest.

"Done!" Jackie said with mock geniality. His muscles had suddenly grown as he had tapped into more of his power even though he wasn't going MAX yet. He drove his knee into Tenshinhan's stomach with his arms still trapped and yanked him by his wrists to bring his face down into Jackie's upraised knee before finally releasing his wrists. Ten staggered away and wiped blood from his nose. He stared at the blood on his hand with a look of surprise on his face that quickly gave way to rage. Ten let out a wordless, guttural roar as he charged Jackie, kneeing him hard in the stomach over and over before driving a spear strike into his sternum. Ten grabbed Jackie's wrist and turned his back to Jackie as he twisted the other man's arm, no doubt intending to snap Jackie's arm over his shoulder. Jackie responded by headbutting Tenshinhan in the back of the head to make Ten release him and stagger away again as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jackie and Ten charged each other again and battered each other with a whirlwind of punches. To most of the spectators, their limbs had completely disappeared and bruises appeared in random places on the fighters' bodies. The battle only got worse when Jackie managed to trap Tenshinhan's hands under his armpits and Ten proceeded to batter Jackie with vicious headbutts. Jackie fired back with one of his own as Ten was getting ready to deliver one and they both staggered away in pain.

' _Master Shen's old rival is truly amazing. Even at his age, he's incredibly fast and skilled!'_ Ten conceded reluctantly. ' _Without question, he is the greatest opponent I've ever had!'_ He looked at the smear of blood on his hand again but didn't feel rage this time. When presented with such a challenge, Ten became… excited. He smiled that almost-smile as he got back into his guard.

' _This boy has incredible potential,'_ Jackie thought as he too returned to his guard. ' _He's taken every attack I have and kept coming! I could use all my power to try and win this fistfight… but maybe there's a far more important battle I could win.'_

"Come on… old man," Tenshinhan breathed out before he finished catching his breath. "Don't waste my time. Let's finish this!"

"You're wasting your time with Shen," Jackie said. It was so out of nowhere that Ten dropped out of his guard in shock. "I know he's your Master but that only means you've learned wrong. He's twisted and evil, I know. You would be a better martial artist and a better person if you walked in the light." Tenshinhan scowled as he balled his hands into fists.

"I've heard enough!" he snapped as he got into a wide–legged stance. "If you're going to insult my master to my face, I'm not going to play games anymore!" The idea that Tenshinhan hadn't been going all-out yet shocked Jackie. Tenshinhan brought his hands up to the sides of his head with the palms facing inward and his fingers splayed out. "Here is the power of the Crane School, old man! Taiyouken!" A flash of light suddenly bathed the arena as everyone cried out in pain. Everyone, that is, that wasn't wearing sunglasses. Tenshinhan charged Jackie and delivered a punishing salvo of spear strikes. Jackie tried to defend himself but between the light blinding his eyes and the pain in his head making him ki-blind, he was completely defenseless. Ten ducked a wild swing and around behind Jackie before delivering a knee to the back of the head that sent him down in a heap.

"And Jackie Chun has been knocked down with a knee to the back of the head!" Ken narrated to the still-blind spectators as their sight was returning. "I must now administer the ten count! One… two… three… four… fi–" Jackie sprang suddenly back to his feet as Ten looked on in shock.

"What?!" he cried. Jackie Chun rubbed the back of his head and smirked.

"Can't you take it easy on an old man? My eyes are bad as it is," he chuckled as Tenshinhan fumed. "You're not a killer, Tenshinhan. Shen has tried your whole life to make you _into_ one but I know that you aren't. You'd be a fool to throw your life away to his teachings."

"Shut up!" Tenshinhan snapped as he charged Jackie. "Your lies won't get to me! I know you're just jealous of my master, Muten Roshi!" He threw a punch at Jackie… who caught it in his palm.

"Jackie Chun is Roshi?!" Yamcha, Launch, Goku, and Bulma all exclaimed at once. Suno rolled her eyes. Tenshinhan grunted and snarled as he tried to pull his hand from Roshi's grip.

"Something wrong?" Roshi asked. "Is your heart not quite as black as you thought? Just because I'm Muten Roshi doesn't mean that my words aren't true. I've known Shen longer than you've been alive." Tenshinhan growled in fury and ripped his hand away before jumping back.

"I am not some insipid Turtle student for you to lecture!" Tenshinhan barked as he pivoted to the side. "But I do know _one_ way to shut you up for good!" He dropped down low as he raised his hands overhead before bringing them down to his side. "Kaaaaameeeeee…" Roshi's eyes went wide.

"Impossible!" He breathed in disbelief. ' _There's no chance for me to dodge! If I move, he'll hit the audience!'_ Yamcha gawked as Goku watched Tenshinhan intensely.

"Haaaameeeeeeee…."

"Oh, this is fucking _bullshit!"_ Launch spat. "How many more fucking people are gonna figure out the Kamehameha before me?!"

"Haaaaaaaaa!" Tenshinhan roared as he threw out his hands. The blue-white beam exploded forth from his palms with all the rage and hate of an erupting volcano. Bulma and Puar shrieked as the blast came roaring towards them and Suno put herself between the blast and her friends. Roshi cried out in pain as he caught the blast in his open palms, the heat was unbearable even through the ki buffer he created to keep the beam from touching him. He had never experienced a Kamehameha so _hot_ with anger before! With a shout of exertion, he forced the beam up into the sky where it dissipated harmlessly. Tenshinhan was breathing heavily from the energy he'd put into the blast and was almost as weary as Roshi was from fighting it off.

"I can… replicate any technique I see," Tenshinhan explained as he wiped sweat off his brow. "It's a power of my third eye. Don't you get it, old man? You can't defeat me!" Roshi nodded as he got out of his stance and put his hands behind his back.

"All that proves to me is that there is still time for you to change. You're young and your life is full of possibility. Walk in the light, Tenshinhan." With that… Master Roshi hopped out of the ring.

"R-ring out!" Ken declared in shock. This was turning out to be a _very_ confusing tournament for him. "Tenshinhan is your winner!" Roshi's wig slid off his head as he bent down to pick up his jacket, the heat having melted the glue. With every step towards the fighter's area, the weariness started to settle in.

' _Maybe it's time,'_ Roshi thought, ' _For me to step aside.'_ Goku was waiting for Roshi with a cup of water when he came back to the fighter's area and he took it gratefully.

"Master Roshi," she asked, "How come you were pretending to be someone else?" Roshi smiled and ruffled her hair.

"That's a story I'll tell you another day," he told her. "For now, focus on the tournament." He took another sip of water.

"Is it because you missed having hair?" she asked. Roshi nearly choked.

' _Ha!'_ Shen thought. ' _The old fool. I knew he was a coward!'_ Tenshinhan said nothing and thought nothing. Or at least, nothing verbally. His mind was a mess of conflicting thoughts and his heart was troubled. For the first time in his life, Tenshinhan… was unsure.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Yamcha entered the ring and got into their guards. Despite the dark cloud of Tenshinhan hanging over the proceedings, the two friends couldn't help but smile. This would be the first time they'd fought in four years!

"Go, Yamcha!" Puar shouted as he clapped his forepaws.

"Come on, Goku!" Suno cheered.

"Go Yamcha! Or Goku!" Bulma called out, caught between rooting for her boyfriend or her best friend. "Er… go, guys!"

"Fighters ready?" Ken asked. They both nodded. "Begin!" Goku and Yamcha dashed towards each other and met in the center of the ring with an exchange of punches and kicks. To most of the audience, it would look like they were trying to kill each other but Suno, Roshi, Tenshinhan, Shen, and the recently-fished-out Chaozu would know the difference. This was just warming up.

"Hey Goku," Yamcha said as he and Goku parried each other's blows, "Where'd you pick up that new stance?"

"I learned all kinds of new things while I was travelling the world!" Goku told him with a grin. They hopped away from each other and landed in their guard.

"Good to know," Yamcha told her with a smirk. "I've come up with some surprises of my own!" That made Goku go starry-eyed with excitement and Yamcha chuckled. He held out one hand and gestured for Goku to bring it. "Come on, come on!" Goku charged forward and Yamcha met her with a ki-charged punch. Unlike Launch, however, Goku was fast enough to see it coming and blocked it. She moved inside of Yamcha's guard in a blur of motion and slammed her foot across his jaw with a spinning kick. Yamcha stumbled back and Goku rebounded as soon as her feet touched the ground and drove her shoulder into his gut to drive the air out of his lungs. Yamcha grabbed Goku around the waist suddenly before she could fall and lifted her up to slam her down into the stone. He pressed the attack while she was dazed and slammed a punch down on her that she rolled out of the way to avoid before kipping up to her feet. Yamcha slid on his knees across the ring and uppercut Goku on the jaw to send her up into the air before he flipped backwards and sprang up with his hands, spinning in the air to drill the point of his foot up into Goku's stomach before she dropped to the ground like a dead weight.

Yamcha pressed the attack when they both touched the ground, undeterred even when Goku landed on her feet. He let loose with a maelstrom of strikes that Goku blocked and diverted before blistering Yamcha's chest with a series of pam strikes that turned his chest raw. Yamcha growled as his anger rose and swung down at the top Goku's head with an elbow that she hopped backward to avoid but Yamcha used the momentum and rolled forward to handspring towards Goku and drive a kick into her face. The kick sent Goku flying back before skidding across the ring and Yamcha jumped into the air and came down with a punch. Goku rolled out of the way and wrapped Yamcha's wrist in her tail, punching him several times on the chin before letting him go. Yamcha got uneasily to his feet as his fury continued to grow.

' _Damn it,'_ he thought as he charged her again, ' _She's just playing with me! Why can't I find that power?!'_ He unleashed another flurry of punches and kicks at Goku but she was always just a _little bit faster._ Yamcha slammed his palm down into the ring, seemingly in anger. "Take this!" he snapped as ki surged through his body and blasted up at Goku through the ground. With no way to dodge it, Goku was forced to absorb the attack before Yamcha jumped up into the air and punched her back down to hit the ring hard.

' _Incredible,'_ Roshi thought. ' _Yamcha shows far greater ability for ki manipulation than I would have expected. He didn't even destroy the ring!'_

"Wow," Suno muttered as she watched intently, "Yamcha's been training hard." Bulma nodded proudly.

"Yup!" she said emphatically with her hands on her hips. "Just you wait! He hasn't even used all his tricks yet!" Despite Bulma's insistence, Goku was back on her feet when Yamcha came at her, even if she was unable to guard herself from a sudden onslaught of five snapping kicks from Yamcha's left leg and a roundhouse from the right. The blow sent Goku careening into the wall which exploded upon impact. Goku got up as Yamcha charged forwards and swung upwards with two underhand swipes that sent waves of kiai crashing into Yamcha, one after the other, stopping his charge. Then Goku darted forward with her dropkick and crashed it into Yamcha's sternum to knock him onto his back.

"Yamcha is down!" Ken declared as Goku got back into her guard and waited patiently. "One… two… three…"

' _Not yet!'_ Yamcha raged as he got back to his feet. ' _I'm not done yet!'_ He charged at Goku in a dead sprint and she ran to meet him. The pair collided in the center of the ring in a knuckle lock and Yamcha tried to push Goku down. Despite being taller than her, he couldn't move her back an inch. He growled in frustration as he pushed harder but she just pushed right back! They broke away from the knuckle lock and attempted a few jabs at one another before jumping away from each other.

Goku was having a great time! Yamcha had so many cool moves and he'd gotten a lot stronger since the last time they'd fought! She hopped eagerly from foot to foot with her tail swishing from side to side as she wondered what Yamcha would do next.

For half a second, Yamcha watched her tail move. It would be so _easy_ to just… grab it. She'd be powerless! He could just throw her out! He quickly dispelled those thoughts from his mind. It wouldn't be fair. Just a cheap trick. Besides, if he was able to grab her tail but couldn't beat her then it would be one more thing Tenshinhan would know about Goku. _He_ certainly didn't need any help. No, Yamcha decided. If he was going to win this, he'd win it with skill, regardless of whether or not he could tap into that power.

"Hey, Goku," he shouted across the ring as he brought up one arm and squeezed his wrist in his other hand. "Check this out!" Puar clapped his forepaws together with excitement as a yellow orb of ki floated above Yamcha's palm and grew to about the size of a melon.

"Here it comes," Puar declared triumphantly. "Yamcha's secret weapon!" Bulma rubbed her hands together eagerly as she watched.

"Ohhh, I almost feel bad for Goku," she said, although she certainly didn't _sound_ it. "This thing is great!"

"A new technique, huh?" Suno muttered as she folded her arms. Goku stood intently in her guard despite her starry eyes and inside she was practically bouncing with excitement. She _loved_ seeing new techniques!

"Sokidan!" Yamcha called out as he lobbed the ball at Goku. It flew towards her and she jumped over it at the last moment. Suno rolled her eyes as it sailed past Goku.

"Some technique," she muttered sarcastically as she gave Bulma a sidelong glance. Still, she was surprised how… unphased Yamcha was. The reason for Yamcha's cockiness became clear as he suddenly curved the first two fingers of the hand he'd launched the Sokidan with towards himself and the sphere immediately started flying backwards towards Goku! Goku heard the high-pitched whirring sound as the ball came closer and hopped to the side to avoid it and watched it head straight for Yamcha.

"Nice try," Yamcha said with a smirk before moving his fingers again to redirect the ball back at Goku. Everywhere Goku moved to avoid the Sokidan, Yamcha tracked her. It soon became clear that the chase was starting to tire Goku out while Yamcha was quickly getting worn down from the energy it took to fire, maintain, and control the Sokidan. Goku finally came to a stop and tried to punch the ball like she had the Dodonpa but Yamcha redirected to avoid her fist. "Gotcha!" Yamcha declared as he jerked the ball forward to strike Goku in the back, exploding on impact and sending her up into the air. Yamcha pushed one last surge of ki into his fist and smashed it down into the back of Goku's head as she came towards him to make her hit the ring hard enough to smash the stone.

"Son Goku is down!" Ken declared as Yamcha stumbled away from her and tried to catch his breath. "One… two… three…"

"Come on," Yamcha hissed between his teeth. "Come ooooon." He was almost out tricks and he didn't know if he had the energy for the Kamehameha at this point!

"Four… five…" Tenshinhan scowled as he watched. If Son Goku should fail…

' _How many people are going to deny me my vengeance?!'_

"Six…" Suno pressed her palms together and brought her hands to her lips as her brow furrowed with worry.

' _Come on, Goku….'_

"Seven…" Goku's fingers began to curl up into fists and her arms moved under her body as she finally started to push herself up.

"Eight…" Goku gave a sudden shove that whipped up the ground under her in little dust devils and she hopped to her feet. "Son Goku is up!" She grinned even as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Ooouuch," she whined despite her smile, "That hurt! That's an awesome technique, Yamcha!" She got back into her guard as a vein throbbed in Yamcha's forehead. "Come on! We're not done yet!" Yamcha growled as he charged her again and thought that he was keeping his anger in check by not vocalizing it even as Goku was deflecting every kick and punch.

' _No good'_ Roshi thought in disappointment as he watched. ' _Yamcha's letting his anger direct his fighting. It's made his strikes wild and unfocused. If he can't get control, he doesn't have a chance!'_ Roshi's thoughts seemed prophetic as Goku suddenly got inside Yamcha's guard and caught him under the chin with a backflip kick. Everything went white for Yamcha… and then he was on the ground.

' _Is this it?'_ Yamcha thought as he looked up at the sky. ' _I tried everything I had. It still wasn't enough. Maybe it was never going to be.'_

"Three… four…"

"Come on, ya big lug," Launch muttered in a rare moment of concern, "Get up!"

' _I was never in Goku's league. The only time I even came close was when she was hungry. Maybe I should just… lie here and accept it.'_

"Yamcha!" Puar called out on the verge of tears. "Don't give up now, master!"

"Five… six…"

"Come on, Yamcha!" Bulma cried out as she leaned over the barricade. "I know you can do it!"

' _What am I saying?'_ Yamcha thought as his eyes widened. ' _I can't give up now! I can't let the last three years mean_ nothing! _I'm not done! Not yet!'_

"Seven… eight… nine…" Yamcha suddenly jumped to his feet and threw back his head to roar in defiance. A green aura shone around Yamcha's body that made a sound like a howling wolf as his eyes turned red.

"Come on!" Yamcha declared as he charged at Goku. She ran forward to meet his charge and Yamcha could feel his body surging with power. He met Goku strike for strike this time before he pushed himself harder. "Wolf Fang Fist!" His strikes came faster than ever before, precise and powerful as he put Goku on the defensive and pushed her back. He slammed her in the chest with a double palm strike that sent her skidding to the edge. "Let's finish this!" he challenged as he hopped back and brought his hands down to his side. "Kaaaaameeeee…."

"Heh," Launch chuckled with a smirk, "I knew he could do it." Goku brought her hands down to her side as well and quickly began to charge the blast.

"Kame…"

"Haaaaaa..."

"Meeeeee…"

' _Strange,'_ Roshi thought, ' _Why is Yamcha's Kamehameha… red?'_

"Haaaaaa!" Goku's blue beam flew from her hands, pure and true to meet Yamcha's red beam that roared defiantly like a raging inferno. The beams collided and pushed against each other as purple tendrils of energy sparked and flew away. Yamcha let out a cry of effort as he pushed with the last bit of his energy to push his arms forward and push the beam a little more. Goku pushed back in response and let out a cry of power as her Kamehameha overwhelmed Yamcha's and sent him flying out of the ring to crash against the barricade before he slumped to the ground in defeat.

"Ring out! Son Goku is the winner!" Yamcha looked up to see Goku literally teetering on the edge of the ring, _pinwheeling her arms to keep balance._ Almost. He'd _almost_ had her.

' _But only almost,'_ he thought glumly, completely burned out. Suddenly, his field of vision was completely filled by Bulma's upside-down face.

"Hey, don't get so down," she told him. "You'll get her next time. I'm sure of it." She gave him a kiss on the lips and Yamcha slowly got back to his feet and staggered back to the fighter's area.

"There you have it!" Ken announced. "The finals will be Son Goku vs. Tenshinhan!" Goku glared at Tenshinhan from the ring while he returned her gaze with his arms folded.

' _I'll make him pay for what he did to Krillin!'_ she thought.

' _I'll finally have my revenge for what you took from me, Son Goku!'_ Even as he thought that, though, Tenshinhan's doubts stirred in the back of his mind. Was it truly revenge he sought?


	32. The Tournament Finals! Break Free, Ten!

Chapter Thirty-two

The Tournament Finals! Break Free, Tenshinhan!

The crowd cheered wildly as Goku and Tenshinhan met in the ring and the hot summer sun was suddenly cut off by a gathering of dark clouds. Tenshinhan glared at Goku… but blinked in astonishment when she brought her hands together and bowed at him. She never broke eye contact and glared right back but the action itself showed _far_ more respect than Tenshinhan had been expecting. For reasons he wasn't quite sure of, he bowed in response.

"What are you doing?!" Shen demanded. "Don't show respect to that Turtle simpleton!" Tenshinhan… tuned his master out as he and Goku stood up and moved into their guards.

"Fighters ready? Begin!" Tenshinhan and Goku slowly circled each other as the clouds began to darken overhead. Tenshinhan made the first move and threw out a kick to capitalize on his reach advantage. Goku jumped high over the kick and went for a punch at Tenshinhan's head that he deflected to direct Goku towards the ground. She landed on her hands and kicked back with both feet at Tenshinhan's knee. Ten jumped over the kick and turned as he came back down to see that Goku had pushed off with her hands to be in front of him when he landed and charged him. Ten sprinted forward to meet her charge and the two clashed in a furious exchange of punches and kicks with each blocking the others' attacks at a pace too fast for almost anyone else to see. They met forearm to forearm, bodies trembling with nervous energy as they glared at each other before hopping away again and circling.

"Wow," Yamcha muttered, "So _that's_ what it looks like when Goku gets serious." Launch nodded and moved closer to Yamcha. Unconsciously, he put an arm around her shoulders. As the Turtle and the Crane circled each other, Goku found herself smiling. She couldn't help it. Even though she was mad at him and even though Tenshinhan was a _big jerk,_ she could tell this was going to be fun! Tenshinhan… found himself smiling back. Goku leaped at Tenshinhan and he made a swipe with the edge of his hand to knock her down but, to his shock, Goku wrapped her tail around his arm and swung by her tail to punch him hard in the back of the head to make him double over. Goku yanked down with her tail to send Tenshinhan down into the ground before uncurling her tail and jumping into the air to drive her feet into his back. Ten rolled away at the last second to avoid impact and came up with one arm thrust out to unleash a hail of yellow ki bullets from his palm. Goku swept them aside with a wave of kiai before sweeping them up again when she remembered that they would have hit the audience.

"Got you!" Tenshinhan declared triumphantly as he charged across the ring and drove his elbow into Goku's gut. He followed up with a series of punches to the stomach that drove Goku higher and higher up into the air before finishing with a kiai aided palm strike right on the bridge of the nose that sent Goku flying up into the sky with a thin trail of blood following her up for the first hundred feet. He flew up after and above her and waited until she was only a few feet away before he thrust his arm out again. "Dodonpa!" He roared and the yellow lance flew out of his finger and struck Goku true in the chest to send her hurtling back to Earth where she smashed violently into the ground.

"Eeesh," Bulma muttered as she watched. "That looked pretty bad." Roshi frowned as Tenshinhan descended back to the ring. Perhaps he'd given up too early. Worse still, perhaps he'd been _too late._ Shen might have turned Ten into a true killer after all. Before Ken could begin the count, however, Goku burst out of the ground with both fists out to smash Ten under the chin and send him staggering back. Goku battered Ten with a relentless series of expertly precise jabs, heedless of the blood flowing from her nose.

' _Looks like Goku picked up a few boxing lessons while she was travelling the world,'_ Roshi thought with a chuckle. The fault in a boxing stance, though, was that it left your legs open to attack. Tenshinhan threw out a hard kick that caught Goku in the shin and broke her concentration for just a moment. That moment was all Tenshinhan needed as he grabbed Goku by the back of the head and slammed her face down into the tiles, over and over again before hauling her up by her hair and tossing her up again. Ten pulled his hands back as she fell and unloaded with sixty-four pinpoint accurate spear strikes all over her body. Ten let her drop on the sixty-fourth and backed away.

"You may as well count," he instructed Ken with his back turned to her. "She couldn't get up now even if she wanted to." Those exact points Ten had struck were the sixty-four energy points on the human body. Each two-fingered blow had been delivered with a ki-charged intensity that ensured total shutdown of that energy point. She would be completely immobilized.

"Three… four…" Ken stopped counting. Ten blinked. Why? Why would he stop? Unless she was… Slowly, as if he already knew the impossible thing he was about to see, Ten turned around. Son Goku was _getting to her feet_. Ten was too awestruck to attack.

How?

How?!

It was no matter of physical toughness or mental conditioning, every human being, no matter their age, size, or power; had those same energy points in the same places! He had hit _every single one!_ It wasn't possible! No human could get up from that attack. Yet there she was. Covered in tiny purple bruises and wiping a thin trickle of blood from her nose but otherwise… Goku grinned and got back into her guard. Tenshinhan… laughed. Without an ounce of malice, he laughed.

"I hate to say it," he admitted, "But I'm enjoying this! I've never had a fight like this! It'll be a shame to kill you, Son Goku." Tenshinhan sounded genuinely regretful. Shen was _appalled._ Had Roshi actually _gotten through_ to Ten? Was he feeling… guilt? Despite the threat against her life, Goku's smile was undeterred.

"You're going to have to try harder to kill me," she encouraged as earnestly as Ten had apologized. "Especially since I'll be getting serious to stop you!" Tenshinhan chuckled as the first flashes of lightning danced through the clouds and were followed by rumbles of thunder.

"So you've been holding back so far?" he asked. Goku nodded emphatically and Tenshinhan cracked his knuckles. "That makes two of us." He charged her again and was much faster this time. "Come on!" Goku met his charge and the two crashed into each other with the force of a train collision in an explosion of strikes. Elbows and punches and kicks and knees being thrown out at a pace too quick for anyone but the other finalists and Suno to follow and even for _them_ it was a struggle. Powerful, full-force blows that neither combatant attempted to block, each going for an all-out offensive that left their bodies covered in bruises and welts. Tenshinhan went for a spinning kick that went right through Goku and he nearly lost his balance. He smirked when he realized she was using the afterimage technique and held his forearm up over his head. "You can't fool me with those kinds of tricks!" He reminded her in a taunting tone as she dove down… right through him. Goku spun in surprise to see Tenshinhan's foot coming right for her face… and he went through that, too.

"Got you!" Goku declared from Tenshinhan's left and he pivoted to see her barrelling towards him.

"You think so?" he asked with a smirk as he brought his hands up to his face. "Taiyouken!" Ten charged into the blinding light… and right into Goku's fist. He staggered away and collapsed onto all fours as he held his face and groaned. How. _How was she doing these things?!_

Ken recoiled in pain from the light and wondered when he'd taken his sunglasses off. No sooner had he wondered that then his sunglasses were somehow back on his face. It was _very_ strange.

Goku turned to Roshi and gave an uncharacteristically cheeky wink before Tenshinhan suddenly crashed into her like a cannonball to tackle her to the ground and tried to put his hands around her throat as she fought to keep him from strangling her. She managed to put her feet up under Ten's chest and shoved him away before getting into her guard and… and nothing. She couldn't make her body move! Tenshinhan charged again and smashed his knee into her face. Goku staggered away and was able to move again when she wiped blood from her nose.

"That's…" she gasped out, "That's cheating!" Tenshinhan blinked in confusion and wondered just what in the world that meant when Goku leaped into the air to attack him again. Once again, however, Goku couldn't move! It was a hesitation in her movements too subtle for most to see before Tenshinhan brought her down to the ground with a hard chop.

' _Wait,'_ Tenshinhan thought as he reflected on that hesitation, ' _I know what this is…'_ He turned his gaze towards Shen and the still-damp Chaozu in the audience. Master Shen was rubbing his hands together with a wicked smile on his face. How _could they_?! ' _Chaozu!'_ Ten demanded. ' _Stop this!'_ Chaozu slowly turned towards Master Shen.

' _M-master,'_ Chaozu thought, ' _What should I–'_

' _What are you simpering fools waiting for?!'_ Shen demanded as Goku got to her feet and into her guard. ' _Now, Chaozu!'_ Chaozu reluctantly stuck out his hand and the crowd watched in terrified confusion as Goku seemed to fight her own body's movements. Her arms were outstretched and her feet were firmly planted to the ground. A perfect target.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Launch demanded furiously.

"Snap out of it, Goku!" Yamcha called out. He just _knew_ it had to be some kind of Crane trick! Roshi frowned. He knew _exactly_ what was happening.

' _Master,'_ Tenshinhan begged, ' _Stop this! I don't want to win this way!'_

' _This isn't about winning!'_ Shen scolded. ' _This is about revenge! Kill her! Kill her now! Drive your fist through her chest and crush her heart in your hand!'_ Tenshinhan's face was screwed up in agony while the sky rumbled and flashed as he slowly balled his hand up into a fist and pulled it back… then dropped it.

"I can't!" He confessed aloud. Everyone stared as the mental conversation turned verbal. "I can't do it! I don't _want_ to do it! If I kill her, I'll be disqualified! I want to win this on my own. And I…" Ten swallowed as he came to the sudden realization. "I _don't want to be an assassin. I don't want to kill."_ Shen was turning purple with rage.

" _ **How dare you?!"**_ Shen bellowed. "You are a killer! You are an instrument of death! It is what I _made_ you for! It is what you were trained to be from the moment you could walk! Now kill her! Kill her now! Do it!" Ten glowered at his master and deliberately put himself between Goku and Master Shen and Chaozu, protecting his enemy from the only family he'd ever had. Shen shrieked with rage and pulled at his hair wings. "Chaozu!" he demanded. "Kill her! Crush the air out of her lungs until her eyes burst!" To Tenshinhan's surprise… Chaozu shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Master. Tenshinhan is my friend!" Chaozu spoke in a tremulous voice that was still clearly defiant. "If he wants to win on his own, I have to respect it!" Chaozu dropped his hand and Goku gasped as she was able to move again. She didn't know _what_ was going on… but she was starting to like Tenshinhan.

"Fine!" Shen snapped as he threw out his arm and his fingertip began to glow. "I'll do it myself!" Ten didn't move. Instead he crossed his arms over his chest and glowered with all three eyes. "What," Shen sneered "Is that supposed to stop me? That I'm supposed to _care?_ I'll kill you both!" The crowd dove out of the way as Shen's fingertip grew brighter "Dodon–"

"Kamehameha!" The blue beam of light flew from the fighter's area and struck Shen to send him flying into the sky and punched a hole through the clouds. Roshi grinned as he watched Shen fly away. "Superior killing technique my ass. Waited over two hundred years for that," he muttered with satisfaction before turning back to Goku and Ten. "You two go back to what you were doin'." Ten turned back to face Goku as she hopped away to create space between them. They stared at each other for a moment before the sky suddenly opened up. A torrential rain came down on the stadium and everyone pulled out their umbrellas as thunder crashed and bolts of lightning streaked down from the sky.

"All I have left is this victory," Ten told Goku over the pouring rain as they circled each other again. "I cannot afford to lose. Even though I won't kill you anymore, Son Goku, I will do _whatever it takes_ to win." Chaozu swallowed when he heard that. Did Ten mean he was going to use the Kikouhou? Goku grinned as she charged at Ten… and then slipped in the rain and fell on her face. Tenshinhan was so startled that he slipped right in the middle of his own charge and fell down as well. Everyone in the arena face-faulted as one at the sight of something so ridiculous.

Goku and Ten took off their boots as everyone got back up before sprinting at each other again and clashing in the rain. Now, though, it had become less of a fight and almost… a dance. Goku's movements were swift and graceful, as if she had committed the _Odori_ style to memory after the weeks she spent with Suno, while Tenshinhan's Crane Style seemed so light and free now, as if a great weight had been sloughed away. The two moved as smoothly and fluidly as the water that came down around them.

Tenshinhan caught Goku in the side with a kick and she slid across the water on all fours before using her ki to anchor herself as Tenshinhan came towards her. She threw out her hands as he got close and struck him in the chest with a double palm strike that made Yamcha cheer from the sidelines. Tenshinhan slammed into the wall with a groan and watched as Goku came charging towards him like a bullet. He dodged at the last second and she crashed with both feet into the wall and nearly would have ringed herself out it if she hadn't stabbed her tail into the ring to anchor herself. Ten let out a frustrated huff of air through his nose as Goku got back into her guard. This was no good. They were too evenly matched! They were going to start wearing down soon and if she had more energy left in her than he had, he'd be sunk. It was time to get drastic.

"Goku!" he called out. "Let's see how you like this! Shiyouken!" Every muscle in Tenshinhan's body tensed up as he hunched forward and his veins pressed against his skin. He clenched his teeth to keep from screaming as unsightly mounds began to bubble and grow just above his shoulderblades. Finally, he couldn't hold in the scream anymore and cried out in pain as the mounds burst and stretched into fully-formed _arms._

"I…" Ken stared. "I have nothing to say." Suno began to turn green.

"That," Bulma muttered, "Is _so_ messed up." Being Bulma, however, the very next words out of her mouth were "I _have_ to run tests on him!" The third eye, the flying, the _arms!_ This guy was a treasure trove of scientific anomalies waiting to be examined. Tenshinhan smirked and cracked all of his knuckles before splaying his fingers.

"I can do that too!" Goku told him cheerfully. Ten stared at Goku in disbelief as she held out her arms. She _couldn't._ Could she? "Juunishuken!" In seconds, her arms were moving fast enough to look like she had not just eight but _twelve_ arms. Now she wasn't just copying techniques she saw, she was _improving_ them! Still, Tenshinan just laughed with some small amount of relief.

"I'm sorry, Goku," he said as he got into a low stance, "But it's not quite _the same!"_ He charged at Goku and battered her with his four fists, always having two free no matter how quickly she blocked. He even indulged himself in a bit of a battle cry as he unleashed his rapid fire fisticuffs. "Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!" That made Launch chuckle. Finally, Ten grabbed Goku by her arms and legs and pulled her up into the air. "Give up!" He told her as he pulled on her limbs. "I'll pull them out of their sockets! Give up now!" He pulled harder and Goku screamed in pain.

"Never!" she cried defiantly even as Ten pulled harder. Goku lashed out with her tail, the only thing she had left, whipping Tenshinhan in the face over and over. Despite this, his grip didn't let up, so Goku was forced to do something she didn't really want to and wrapped her tail around Ten's neck and squeeze. Ten squirmed and fought and tensed the muscles in his neck to try and loosen her tail from around his throat. Slowly, however, Ten's knees began to buckle until he finally began to fall to his knees. Even so, his iron grip remained until Goku had brought him fully to the ground and his vision began to swim with his extra arms sinking back into his back. Goku released her tail from around his neck once she was free and Ken began the count. Ten got up at eight and shook his head to clear it. That was _too close._

"This ends now," he growled resolutely before he flew up into the sky with such force that he cracked the ring and sent up a spray of water. Goku jumped up after him, sending another huge crack through the heavily abused ring and another spray of water into the crowd. Tenshinhan flew up into the clouds and looked down to see Goku rocketing up to meet him. Some part of him knew he shouldn't have been surprised. He met her punch with a punch of his own and the pair dueled high in the sky, among the crashing of thunder and the howling winds, flashes of lightning illuminating their duel.

"Incredible!" Ken narrated from the ground below with a pair of binoculars. "I have never seen anything like this in my entire life! It certainly brings a new meaning to the term 'Mile High Club'!" Suno squinted up at the sky and watched as silhouettes were framed against the clouds like giants with every flash of lightning. It was so hard to see what was going on! There was a flash of lightning and a sudden cry of pain before a tiny, smoking body plummeted towards the ground like a rock and smashed painfully into the ring. Tenshinhan took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow and flew up above the stormclouds. If that bolt of lightning hadn't given him the opening he'd needed to knock Goku down, he might have been in trouble.

"Goku!" he called down from the heavens while using ki to amplify his voice, "If you don't dodge this attack, _you will die!"_ Ten brought his hands together and pressed his fingertips to each other as Chaozu's white face grew even paler.

"Tenshinhan!" he called out in a panic. "Don't do it, please!" Roshi pulled off his sunglasses with a trembling hand as his eyes grew wide.

"He wouldn't… not the Kikouhou!" he whispered. Why would Ten even _think_ of using such a move? Was the Tenkaichi Budoukai worth years of his life?! "Goku!" he called as the girl picked herself up. "You've got to move! Now!" Goku looked around quickly.

"Where?" she asked. "Where should I go?!" She couldn't leave the ring! She'd lose! Roshi stroked his beard and thought. The average Kikouhou was about the size of a small car, so Goku would have to–

"My target," Tenshinhan bellowed out in a strained voice as he gathered energy, "Is the ring!" They all stared up with mouths agape as the clouds began to glow orange as if an angry God was speaking to them. "Move or die, Goku! Those are the only options! Move or die…" High above in the sky, Tenshinhan gathered the last of his energy and held it inside him for just a moment, holding it until the pain was unbearable. "Now! Kikooooouhooou!" A massive orange square ripped through the stormclouds and flew down towards the ring before everything was enveloped n a blinding flash of light and heat.

"Jeez," Yamcha muttered while he rubbed his eyes as the light died down, "I'm gonna need to start wearing glasses after thi–" he opened his eyes and saw "Hi… hi... hi…"

The ring… was gone. It was just gone. There was a giant square chasm where the ring _used_ to be that went down for a good five hundred feet.

"That comes out of my salary…" Ken whined to himself with his arms hanging limply at his sides.

"Amazing," Roshi muttered as he looked down at the ring before he cast his eyes towards the clear blue sky. "Simply amazing." He had never seen a Kikouhou like that before in his life.

"Screw that!" Launch blurted out with her fists balled in rage. "That bastard killed Goku! She's as gone as the ring!" Roshi chuckled as he put his sunglasses back on.

"I wouldn't go that far," he assured her.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan was gasping for breath as sweat replaced the rain that had flash-misted off of his body from the heat of the Kikouhou. If he was honest with himself, he was amazed he still had the energy to keep himself in the air. He didn't think it was possible to be so tired or sore. Every muscle in his body was screaming for rest and he felt like his skin was on fire. All the same, he couldn't let his guard down. He could still sense Goku.

"Now," he muttered, "Where are…" he turned his gaze upward to see Goku plummeting down towards him and laughed. "I'm surprised to see you could jump so high!" he called up to her. "This was an excellent battle!"

"It's not over yet!" Goku said defiantly as she got closer. Ten only smiled and shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he told her, "But the ring is destroyed and so is the ground beneath it! The second you land, you lose! I've got enough energy to keep myself in the air. You can't win!" Goku glared at him.

"Don't tell me…" she brought her hands down to her side, "What I can't do! Kaaameeehaaameee…" Ten smirked.

"You can't be serious. Even as weak as I am now, I can deflect your Kamehameha. All you'll do is use up the last of your–" Goku suddenly spun around so that her back was to him.

"Haaa!" She cried out and the blue-white beam shot from her hands to send her into Ten's stomach like a rocket. He wheezed out the last of his energy in pain and the pair of them plummeted towards the earth.

OoOoOoO

"Ha!" Launch laughed as she pumped a fist in the air. "I saw that beam! Get him, Goku!"

"Astounding!" Ken shouted as he looked through his binoculars and was running short on superlatives. "Both fighters are dropping out of the sky towards the city! It will simply be a matter of gravity now!" Ken fished in the inside pockets of his suit and pulled out a capsule. He threw it on the ground and it exploded open to reveal a red hoverboard which he took off on to follow the action with a camera drone hot on his heels.

"Nimbus!" Suno called out and the magic cloud zoomed down towards her as Roshi unfurled his magic carpet and Bulma put on her sonic discs while Chaozu floated up into the air. Launch and Yamcha hopped onto the carpet with Roshi and they all flew off with Puar hanging onto the carpet for dear life.

"Both fighters are falling towards the street!" Ken narrated as Goku and Ten came closer and closer towards the ground. "However, it looks like Tenshinhan is falling _just a little faster than Goku!"_ From his hospital bed, a barely-conscious Krillin smiled. Suddenly his door opened and he strained to sit up. The nurse was just in here a second ago…

OoOoOoO

Goku and Tenshinhan were falling so fast that the air whistled around them. It looked like Goku just might win… when she smashed into the side of a tractor trailer as it made a sharp turn through the intersection they were falling towards. Ten hit the ground half a second later and barrelled through the asphalt.

"Goku was out of bounds first!" Ken declared as he zoomed onto the scene. "Tenshinhan is the winner of the Twenty-second Tenkaichi Budoukai!" The driver looked out of the window and stared in slack-jawed disbelief. He'd been listening to the tournament on the radio for the last few hours! Goku's friends rushed to her and pulled her out of the dent she'd made in trailer as Chaozu flew to Ten and tried to pull his friend up.

"Are you okay, Goku?" Bulma asked as Suno and Yamcha helped Goku onto shaky legs. Goku made a groan of assurance and Roshi tousled her hair.

"You won, Ten!" Chaozu told his friend ecstatically. Ten groaned as he sat up. He certainly didn't _feel_ like a winner. He'd won by luck. He forgot that as the crowd finally caught up with the rest of them and a large mob of the audience swarmed Ten and lifted them onto their shoulders as they cheered his name and another mob did the same for Goku. Well, now he felt like a _little_ more of a winner.

OoOoOoO

Once they were all carried back to the stadium, the fighters changed out of their gi with Goku putting on Krillin's suit to replace her ragged and burned gi.

"Please," Ten insisted, "Let me split the prize money with you. If you hadn't hit that truck, I would have lost. It really could have gone either way." Goku shook her head firmly.

"Nah," she insisted right back, "You won, it's only fair. Besides, I wouldn't know what to do with it!" Yamcha's stomach gurgled.

"I dunno about you guys but I could use some food," he grinned as Bulma and Launch playfully elbowed him from each side and glared at each other when they realized what the other had done.

"I'll pay for dinner," Ten said resolutely, "And I won't take no for an answer!" Roshi chuckled.

"Ohh, you'll regret that," Roshi told him with a playful wink. "Believe me." Everyone laughed… except for Goku. She clenched the Power Pole in her fist as the other hand balled up tight.

"I'm not hungry!" she said loudly and everyone's laughter died in their throats. "Something's wrong with Krillin!"

"Goku?" Suno asked softly before Goku sprinted away. She had no idea how Goku could _still_ move so fast! "We better follow her." Everyone nodded and they chased Goku to the hospital.

OoOoOoO

Goku smashed down the door to Krillin's room… and there was Krillin, lying on the floor with his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. His eyes were vacant and a thin stream of blood ran down his mouth to the floor.

"Krillin?" she asked in a small voice as she got closer to her friend's body. He wasn't breathing. She collapsed to her knees beside him and reached out to hold him. "No…" she whispered as she pulled Krilin to her chest. She couldn't feel his heartbeat. When she realized that, she couldn't hold back her sobs any longer. They ripped out of her so painfully that it felt like her heart was coming out with each ragged gasp.

The others arrived moments later and were horrorstruck. Launch covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head desperately as tears ran down her cheeks. Yamcha put an arm around Bulma as she buried her face in his chest and tried to fight back his own tears. It was a battle he lost. Suno felt the kind of numb pain that only came to those who had seen too many friends die. Puar wailed helplessly and Tenshinhan was hit by a wave of guilt. If he hadn't broken Krillin's leg… Roshi's hands were trembling with a mixture of fear and sadness and _rage._

"Who did this?" he demanded in a hoarse whisper. _Who had murdered his boy?_

"I-i-it was a monster," the nurse stammered and he pointed into the room. "Green a-a-and he had wings! He-he-he took the ball on his nightstand. The kid tried to stop him and…" Goku's head snapped up at that. The Dragon Ball. Someone had killed Krillin over her Dragon Ball. It was her fault. Someone had murdered her best friend _and it was all her fault._ Her grief and guilt mixed into her stomach like a horrible lead weight… before something burned it away. She looked up at the open window and glared. Goku sobbed out growls of rage as a single strand of lightning danced through her hair. Someone had _killed_ Krillin. She had _someone to hit._ Someone who she could make _pay._

"Bulma!" she snapped as she stood up. "Dragon Radar!" Bulma pulled herself away from Yamcha and wiped her eyes. She started to say something but Goku cut her off. "Now!" she demanded with tears still running down her cheeks. Bulma nodded hastily and handed her the radar. None of them had ever seen Goku so _angry_ before. "Nimbuuuuuus!" Goku roared in fury. The cloud flew out to the window and Goku jumped out onto it and Nimbus rocketed away as if it could sense its master's rage.

"Goku, wait!" Suno called out… but she was already long gone. "We have to go after her! She's in no shape to fight! I'm the only one who didn't fight today, I'll try and catch up to her!" Suno hopped out the window and threw out the Capsule with the hover car her mom had given her for her birthday. She managed to get into the car and turn on the engine before it hit the ground and immediately began to chase after Goku. Everyone else started to run out of the hospital and nearly crashed into Ken.

"Ken," Yamcha asked as he helped the announcer up, "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Someone stole the roster from this year's Budoukai!" he explained frantically as he waved around a piece of paper. "They left this behind!" Roshi took the paper from Ken's hand… and felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"No…" he whispered as the paper slipped from his numb fingers. "No, no, no." He had _prayed_ this day would never come. Was so certain that it couldn't _possibly_ happen.

Son Gohan had always told him about Goku in the letters they exchanged over the years. How strong she was and how proud he was of her. Roshi had become proud of her as well, of her skills and her power but also of her good nature. Even though she had only lived with him for a year, Roshi knew that he could not have loved that girl more if she were his own daughter. But she was weary and beaten and tired beyond all possibility. As Roshi stared down at the seal of the Great Demon King Piccolo, he knew that he would never see Son Goku alive again.


	33. Tale of the Demon King!

Chapter Thirty-three

Tale of the Demon King!

 _Two hundred seventy-five years ago..._

No one knew where Piccolo Daimaou came from or how he came to power. He came upon the world as swift and as sudden as a wildfire with his hordes of demonic henchmen. All the armies of the world and their mightiest weapons were as nothing to Piccolo's power. As Piccolo Daimaou prepared to lay waste to the world, however, there was one man who chose to stand when others had fallen. At the twilight of the human race, one man chose not to go quietly into the night. Mutaito, the greatest martial artist on the planet, gathered together five hundred of his fellow martial arts masters for one final stand against the Demon King.

It was a massacre. The masters might have been able to cut into his demonic army but they could not stand against Daimaou himself. Hundreds of styles and philosophies, thousands of techniques, forever lost to time. In the end, Mutaito stood alone against the darkness. However, he would not be alone for long.

OoOoOoO

Muten Roshi tore through the night sky on his Nimbus Cloud toward the mist-covered peak of the Yariyama. The mountain was tall and jagged and practically impassible without the Nimbus Cloud. He normally wouldn't even bother coming here but times were desperate. The human race was more important than his petty grudges.

He landed the cloud on a small platform near the mouth of a cave within the mountain and hopped down to the ground. Despite the circumstances, he was still hesitant to call out. Finally he sucked up his courage and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Sheeeeeen!" he cried out. For an agonizing moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind whipping through his shaggy brown hair. Would Shen really refuse him? _Now_ of all times?! Eventually, though, he finally heard the sounds of footsteps and let out a sigh of relief. Shen walked out of the mouth of the cave with one hand held out with a ki ball against his palm. For a moment, Muten thought Shen was going to attack him before he realized that Shen was only using the ball to light his way. Muten looked down and, to his surprise, found a toddler clinging to Shen's leg, peeking out from behind to look suspiciously up at Muten.

"What do you want?" Shen demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest and the ki ball faded away. Where Muten's purple gi was torn and tattered from fighting the demon armies, Shen's was pristine. Muten could guess where _he_ had been during the fighting.

"What do I _want?"_ Muten asked incredulously. "Shen, do you know what's going on right now? It's _hell!_ It's literally Hell on Earth right now! Master Mutaito has been trying to battle Piccolo Daimaou but he's losing! _Humanity_ is _losing._ He needs us, Shen! He needs _us!"_ Shen's eyes slowly narrowed as the wind buffeted his hair-wings.

"Go inside, Tao," Shen said softly to the toddler and shook his leg to make the child scamper off before returning his attention to Muten. "What," he asked, "You want me to fight with you? To put everything aside and pretend we're children again? You must be insane." He scoffed derisively and Muten ground his teeth in frustration. He could be so damned _arrogant!_

"Open your eyes!" Muten demanded as he stomped the ground hard enough to crack the stone. "Piccolo Daimaou is going to wipe out every living thing on Earth! We _need_ to work together! We have to fight together, Shen, please! Is pride worth so much that you would throw away _the world?!"_ Muten glared at Shen as his words echoed off the mountain. For a long time, neither one said anything and Muten started to turn away to leave, knowing he would be going to his death.

"I don't suppose," Shen said suddenly, "You brought that magic carpet with you?" Muten turned back to look at Shen with one eyebrow raised.

"No," he said while not daring to hope. "Why?" Shen rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Because I'm certainly not getting down the mountain with that cloud's ridiculous understandings of morality," he explained. Muten couldn't stop himself from smiling as he held up his arm with his hand open.

"You mean it?" he asked eagerly. Shen nodded and wrapped his arm around Muten's and clasped his hand.

"Yes, Muten. For one more day, we are brothers," Shen smiled and looked just a little bit like his old self. "And the history books shall say that at the edge of the world, Crane and Turtle stood together to drive back the night." He pulled his hand away from Muten's and turned his head to the sky. "To me," he called out, "Fuunsaiki!"

OoOoOoO

' _Hmm,'_ Mutaito thought begrudgingly as he wiped blood from his eye that had trickled down from a cut in his scalp. ' _This could be a problem.'_ Before him stood a veritable army of Piccolo Daimaou's hellspawn. Hundreds of them, maybe _thousands,_ all barrelling towards him. He dug his feet into the ground before breaking into a sprint as his hands glowed with yellow ki. He leaped into the air and thrust out his hands as he sailed over the sea of demons. "Riitetsujuu!" he called out as hundreds of bright yellow bullets flew from his hands and blasted apart swathes of the horde. He landed in a pocket one of his blasts had created and thrust his hands out with fingers outstretched and palms down. "Ryoukuken!" He spun on his feet as long hand-with blades of ki shot out of his fingertips and sliced through the demons like a saw.

Even as he fought, Mutaito could tell he was wasting his energy. For looming above him in the distance, standing atop a mountain of corpses of demons and martial artists alike with the full moon at his back was the Demon King. He could feel the hateful, mocking gaze from across the battlefield. Even if Mutaito destroyed Piccolo's entire army, which would not be impossible, merely difficult, he would be completely drained of energy and have no strength left with which to fight. However, he _needed_ to cut through the demons to have any hope of getting to their master. Even as he pressed on, even though he refused to go quietly into the night, Mutaito began to feel the edges of despair on his spirit. This battle looked hopeless. Then, Mutaito heard a pair of voices call out that he had never expected to hear together again.

"Master Mutaito!" called down the voices of Shen and Muten. Mutaito looked up towards the sky to see Muten riding his Nimbus cloud and Shen riding atop Fuunsaiki, his pegasus that seemed to be made of mist and stars. It dissolved as Muten and Shen dropped down to meet him with Nimbus soaring back up into the sky.

"We'll hold them off!" Muten assured him as he and Shen stood side by side. Shen nodded and got into his guard.

"You go after Piccolo Daimaou! Show this monster the power of the Teneraigen school!" Mutaito nodded at his students and felt overwhelming pride that the pair had come together as he jumped over the demons and began flying towards Piccolo.

"So," Muten said as he cracked his neck and knuckles before getting into his guard, "I'll take the thousand on the left, you take the thousand on the right? First one to clean up their side wins and the loser buys lunch."

"Oh come now, Muten," Shen admonished his rival, "Let's be serious." Then he smirked. "Give me fifteen hundred. You need the handicap." Muten laughed as he and Shen gave a battle cry and charged to meet the demons. Just like old times.

They struck with blinding speed and fury, each blast and wave of ki energy carrying tremendous force as they tore into the demons. Shen sprinted through the army of demons with arms outstretched as his Ryoukuken cut through them like a knife. Muten jumped into the air and raised his hands high overhead to charge a massive Riitetsujuu in his hands and flung it down to blast a hole in the army 100 metres wide. When it came to technique, they were not yet the masters they would become but _this_ was the height of their power. Together, they were all but invincible.

"Shen!" Muten called as they made their way back towards each other. "Back to back!" They jumped towards each other and stood back to back as they battered away Piccolo's army with lethal force, sending the demons flying as they came charging upon the students.

"Now!" Shen cried as he threw up his arms. Muten raised his arms as well and they locked their arms at the elbows.

"Bakuhatsu Dome!" they cried in unison as a bright orange ball of ki formed around them and blasted through the armies of hell in a massive explosion.

"Well," Muten said as body parts rained around them, "Think I'm winnin'." Shen chuckled and shook his head.

OoOoOoO

Mutaito flew towards Piccolo Daimaou and watched as the Demon King leaped into the sky to meet him head-on. The two collided in the air and Piccolo brought Mutaito hard down to the ground, overpowering him with his superior bulk. Piccolo was a colossus when measured against any regular person and Mutaito had always been shorter than average and more stockily built making the difference in size between them even more pronounced.

"I will commend you," Piccolo said with a chuckle as Mutaito got to his feet. "Of all the creatures of the Earth, you have shown the most spirit in defying me. When I am king of this world, I shall hold you in my memory, adversary." Mutaito spat and scowled at Piccolo as he got into his guard.

"Spare me your false pleasantries, monster!" he declared before he charged at Piccolo. "I will drive your evil from this world if it takes my last breath!" He leaped into the air and slammed his shoulder into Piccolo's gut to make him stagger back. Piccolo responded with a forearm to the face, smashing the strange pink patch against Mutaito's nose. He skidded back before leaping up again and smashing his fists onto the sides of Piccolo's head. That seemed to disorient him and Mutaito followed up on his vulnerability with an axehandle blow right on the crown of his head. He gripped Piccolo by the arm and flipped him bodily overhead to slam him hard down into the dirt. Piccolo growled and sprang to his feet before throwing out his hand. His arm elongated suddenly and his hand gripped around Mutaito's throat to pull his chest into Piccolo's knee. Mutaito staggered back and barely managed to avoid two thin read beams of death that shot from Piccolo's eyes before rushing forward and smashing a kick into the Demon King's knee and driving his elbow up under Piccolo's chin. He staggered away and brought his fingertips to his lips, his claws coming away with… purple blood.

"I will scar your soul!" Piccolo roared in rage. "Even in the afterlife, you will remember the torment of Piccolo Daimaou!" He opened his hands and let out a burst of ki blasts that Mutaito countered with his own flurry of Riitetsujuu and the balls collided in the air in an explosion like a dozen tiny supernovas. Piccolo came charging through the smoke and light to swipe at Mutaito with his claws, tearing through the white shirt of his gi and biting into his flesh. The blow sent Mutaito flying back to where Piccolo was already waiting for him. The Demon King threw out a kick that struck Mutaito in the back and he collapsed painfully to the ground. "Give up," Piccolo demanded. "Kneel before me and I will make the last moments of your life painless." Still, Mutaito rose and brought up his fists. Piccolo cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. "Very well." They charged one another again in an exchange of punches and kings that shook the ground beneath their feet.

OoOoOoO

Muten looked up from his and Shen's battle with Piccolo's armies to see that Master Mutaito was fighting Piccolo Daimaou… and losing.

"Master!" he called out in a panic. Master Mutaito couldn't die! Not while he had anything to say about it. With a sudden roar, his body flooded with power and he grew taller as his muscles exploded in size. He'd been saving this MAX POWER technique to try against Shen but time was clearly of the essence here. He leaped over the demons with Shen following close behind. Piccolo looked up just in time to see Muten barrel into him with the force of a runaway train as Shen helped their master to his feet. Piccolo got up just as Muten charged him again and met the charge with a punch… and gave ground! Muten flattened the Demon King with a barrage of punches and kicks that left him stunned.

' _Is that really Muten?!'_ Shen thought in disbelief as he watched his former rival, his lackadaisical, immature rival _batter the Demon King. 'But when? How? Where did he get this power?!'_

"One more shot and you're finished!" Muten roared as he slammed his massive hands together and brought them to his side. He'd been practicing this one for a few years and was hoping to use it against Shen, too. "Kaaaameeeehaaaameeee…" And as suddenly as the power had come… it was gone. Muten's muscle shrank back down to their normal size and he suddenly found himself looking _up_ at a very angry Demon King. Piccolo's hand was out in a flash and squeezed around Muten's throat. His yellow eyes were wide with rage as his grip tightened even as Muten fought desperately to pull the fingers away from his throat and the claws that bit into his neck.

"Dodonpa!" Shen called as a wide yellow beam caught Piccolo in the shoulder and caused his grip to loosen. Shen cursed himself even as he leaped at Piccolo with a flying kick. It was supposed to be a thin, puncturing beam! He'd have to practice more to get it right. As his foot drove into Piccolo's shoulder to free Muten from his grasp, Shen reminded himself that first there would have to _be_ time to practice. He and Muten leaped at Piccolo together with uppercuts but Piccolo grabbed their wrists and slammed them into each other before smashing them into the ground and casting them dismissively aside like garbage. They rose again and charged again only to be swatted aside easily once more. Mutaito watched in horror as his students fought valiantly… and hopelessly.

' _They will die,'_ Mutaito thought. ' _They will die in this battle if I do nothing. They will die… for me.'_ He scowled at himself and cursed his cowardice for not using his final technique sooner. ' _They are young! They should not throw their lives away. My life is no precious thing to me.'_ Mutaito could feel his broken bones and the fluid starting to fill one of his lungs. He didn't have much time, anyhow. "Piccolo!" he called out as he reached behind him. "Over here!" He threw a satchel on the ground and opened it to reveal… a rice cooker with a seal slapped onto its side. "It is time to end this! Your reign shall end before it begins!" Piccolo dropped Shen and Roshi's bodies and laughed.

"You barely have the energy to stand, adversary," he mocked. "How do you intend to defeat me?" Mutaito made several intricate motions with his hands before he locked them together with his two fingers upraised. He channeled all the ki in his body, every last drop of his life energy, even as his body screamed in protest and tried to cling to life.

"Mafuuba!" he roared as a massive blast of green ki shot from his body and struck the arrogant Piccolo Daimaou head on. His arrogance turned to horror as his body spasmed in pain and he was trapped in a bright green vortex. He howled in despair and struggled against the current as Mutaito waved his arms and directed Piccolo into the open rice cooker. Piccolo's last shrieks of dismay were carried upon the wind as the lid snapped shut. Cut off from their master, the demons froze and blew away like ash. Mutaito looked over at Shen and Muten to see them helping one another up and smiled before he collapsed. He died before he hit the ground.

"Master!" Shen and Muten called out in despair. They ran to him and Muten collapsed to his knees beside Mutaito's body and cradled his head in his hands.

"Master…" Muten whispered as he choked back tears. "Master! Please! Don't die, Master! You can't die!" His words received no answer. Mutaito was far beyond where words could reach him now. To train with the greatest masters of all, a student once more. There was a long and solemn silence as both stood over their fallen master.

"This is your fault," Shen finally said. Muten blinked away tears and stared at Shen in disbelief. How could he _say_ something like that?! Shen turned on him with hatred in his eyes and jabbed his finger into Muten's chest. "Master Mutaito died the moment he decided you were right. From the very _instant_ that he chose you over me! If he had listened to me, his students would have been ruthless! They would have been better and stronger, he would have had an _army_ to challenge the Demon King with! He would have had the willingness to kill and struck the Demon King down easily!" Muten's fists balled in anger as Shen continued. "If _you_ had listened to me, _you_ would have had the killing intent! You could have killed Piccolo when you had the advantage but you wasted your opportunity! This is your fault, Muten! _It's all your–"_

"Shut up!" Muten screamed and punched Shen hard across the jaw to send him sprawling into the dirt. Shen scowled at Muten and Muten returned the hateful glare. Shen picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Know this," he told Muten, "From this moment forth, you are my enemy. With every breath, I curse your name. We are no longer and will never again be brothers. Until I have breathed my last, I will _hate you,_ Muten Roshi. Never seek me out again or I will not hesitate to kill you." Then he turned his head to the sky. "Fuunsaiki!" he called out. The Pegasus swirled back into existence and he rode it away into the night sky leaving Muten alone to take Master Mutaito back to the temple and bury him.

OoOoOoO

Roshi rubbed the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes and sighed as he finished recounting his tale. Even after these centuries, the pain of loss was still raw in his memory.

"I have never," he told them, "Encountered a power like Piccolo Daimaou. He cannot be defeated with strength or skill. If he has somehow found a way to escape the Mafuuba then there is no way to defeat him. Not even Goku can match his strength." There was a solemn silence as everyone bowed their heads morosely and contemplated Roshi' forlorn words.

"Hey," Yamcha said as he held up a fist, "Hold on a second, guys! We can't give up yet! I know _one_ way we can stop Piccolo!" They all looked at him expectantly and he grinned. "The Dragon Balls! We know Piccolo's trying to gather them for something, right?"

"Whatever it is," Bulma said, "It can't be good. Probably to make himself immortal or something." Yamcha nodded.

"Right. So we have to get the rest of them _first_ to stop him! Plus, if we can get _his_ Dragon Balls, we can summon Shenron!" Launch grinned and pounded a fist eagerly into her open palm.

"Then we can use him to wish that stupid bastard dead!" She had to admit, it was a pretty good plan. Yamcha grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

"Exactly." He turned to Bulma and asked, "I don't suppose you've started building another Dragon Radar, have you?" Bulma shook her head before she broke out in a grin.

"Y'know what, though? I can build one in a couple hours!" she said cheerfully. "We can go back to the Kame House and regroup while I build it and wait for Goku."

"I would like to help in any way I can," Tenshinhan offered and Chaozu nodded his agreement. "It is the least I can do." He felt incredibly guilty for the part he played in Krillin's death. Perhaps defeating his murderer's master would help atone for it.

"Let's do it!" Puar declared triumphantly and even shapeshifted into a bugle to blare out a battle tune. Roshi chuckled and shook his head, smiling underneath his beard. He realized that he shouldn't have been surprised. Youth, he remembered, had a funny way of finding hope where the old only saw despair.

Z/N: Translation time! "Riitetsujuu" (力徹銃) means "Powerful Piercing Bullet", "Ryoukuken" (力倹) means "Powerful Blade", "Bakuhatsu Dome" (爆発) is just "Explosion Dome", and "Teneraigen" (天偉い拳) is "Great Fist of Heaven." 


	34. Suno's Hidden Power!

Chapter Thirty-four

Minions of the Demon King! Suno's Hidden Power!

Goku tore through the air on her Nimbus, her eyes flickering back and forth between the Dragon Radar and what was ahead of her. There were two Dragon Balls pretty close together but only one was moving so she figured that had to be the one with the monster that killed Krillin. As she looked up from the Dragon Radar, Goku saw a quickly-growing green shape in the sky. She got close enough to see that the green thing was shaped like a man but had wings like a dragon… and a Dragon Ball in one hand. It couldn't be anyone _but_ the monster that killed Krillin!

"Give me back my Dragon Ball!" Goku demanded as she got closer. "Give me back my Ball and give me back Krillin's life!" The monster turned in midair to look at Goku with an expression of amused confusion which only made her angrier.

"Krillin?" the monster asked. "You mean the brat who tried to stop me from taking this?" He held the ball between his claws and turned it over in his hand. "He was pitiful. Pitiful and stupid, to think he could stop me." Goku roared in anger and Nimbus rocketed towards the monster as Goku tried punching at him. The monster easily moved out of the way and struck Goku with a kick to knock her off of the cloud. Nimbus quickly moved to catch Goku and the monster gave the cloud a curious look. Goku snarled and brought her hands down to her side… and felt nothing. She was completely out of energy!

"I-if I was at full power…" Goku growled in frustration. If she didn't have any energy then how could she fight? She _had_ to think of something, though. Before Goku could come up with a plan, the monster spoke again.

"What you're full of," he told her, "Is stupidity. Like your stupid, dead, little friend. Now die!" The monster opened his mouth impossibly wide as a yellow light shone from inside his body. A beam of deadly light lanced out of his mouth and blasted Nimbus, vaporizing the cloud under Goku's feet.

"Nimbus!" Goku cried out in despair, more concerned with her cloud than herself. She looked back at the monster and his foot crashed into her face to make everything go black. The monster shook his head with a chuckle as he watched her drop, down and down and down. Too easy.

OoOoOoO

Suno bit back a curse as she felt Goku's ki drop. She wasn't dead, of that much she was certain, but it was clear that she had lost to that other mass of evil ki. That wasn't too surprising, all things considered, but what _was_ surprising was that it seemed like Goku had fallen to the ground. As she learned the hard way when Master Korin accidentally launched her off his tower, the Nimbus usually moves to catch its rider automatically unless they will it not to. That could mean one of two things and neither one was good.

By the time Suno managed to reach Goku, the sun was already starting to set. Between the slowness of her car and having to go on foot due to the jungle, the journey had taken far longer than anticipated. All the while, she latched onto the sensation of Goku's ki, at low as it was, to guide her and calm her nerves. When Goku had left, she had been terrified that her precious friend would die in her attempt to claim vengeance in much the same way her dad had. Goku was insanely strong, of that there was no doubt, but even Goku had her limits and coming off of the Budoukai like that to fight a fresh opponent would certainly make the girl reach them. As such, when it was clear to Suno that Goku hadn't sustained any life threatening injuries, all she could do was cradle her unconscious friend's body and sigh with relief.

Of course, Goku's current condition raised a number of questions but those could and would be dealt with later. Since she couldn't be woken, Suno's first priority was to get them out of the forest and someplace considerably safer. Someplace where she could hopefully find medicine or a doctor or even a good bowl of soup. With that in mind, Suno cast out her conscious and pushed her sixth sense as far as it could go. If she could find some people then she would be in a much better position even if they were bandits. As luck would have it, she could sense around thirty or so people off to the northwest. They were a ways away but that shouldn't be too much of a problem once they got out of the jungle.

As Suno hefted the unconscious Goku onto her back and started walking, she was thankful that she had quit her training with Master Korin early to get her driver's license.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo Daimaou sat in his massive throne on the airship of the strange little blue creature known as Pilaf with his son Piano at his side and stared at his hands. They were… ancient and withered and pale. He scowled at his hands. Where had his youth gone? Before he had been imprisoned, he had been young and powerful, without equal. He had spent an eternity screaming in the dark and when he was free he was _so old_ and too weak to even kill those three simpletons. He had recovered some of his strength since he had been freed but he was still far away from his full power. He'd had no idea how he might take his revenge on mankind when he'd been freed. There had been magicks that would restore his youth or grant him eternal life but he had no way of knowing if they still existed in these what he had discovered was three hundred years. Then Pilaf had said something that had saved his worthless life.

"Th-the Dragon Balls!" the worthless coward had stammered out. Piccolo remembered staring far down at them and felt a small measure of pleasure in the unmitigated terror that flooded their bodies underneath his gaze.

"What are these Dragon Balls?" he had demanded. Even his _voice_ was weak. Dry and raspy and paper-thin. Still, there was something in the name that was oddly familiar to him.

"S-s-seven orbs," he had explained, "A-and, when you gather them together, a dragon will grant your any wish." Piccolo had rubbed his chin and thought.

"You will help me gather these 'Dragon Balls'," he commanded them, "And I will use them to grant myself eternal youth to restore my power. Once my strength is returned to me, I shall fulfill my destiny and presume complete dominion over all the world." They had nodded obediently and it seemed that all was well until the tall one had spoke. The pale skin, the long hair. A… female, that was what they were called, wasn't it?

"What about us?" she had asked. "We freed you. We told you about the Dragon Balls. We're the ones who're going to go through the effort of _gathering_ them. What do we get?" Piccolo had glowered down at her. He felt the urge to remind her that what they were "getting" was their _lives._ And yet… and yet he admired her tenacity.

"Very well," he told her. "In exchange for your service, when I come into my kingdom I shall give you… half." The trio nodded to themselves and seemed to find those circumstances agreeable. Now, here they were.

"Tambourine is returning," Pilaf announced while looking down at his preposterous-looking Dragon Radar, an enormous contraption nearly as big as Piccolo himself. "He is carrying a Dragon Ball with him!" Piccolo nodded as Piano turned to Shu at the ship's controls.

"Open the hatch to let him in," Piano instructed. His first son, Piccolo had quickly realized, was more intelligent even than himself. He had quickly been able to grasp the new world's strange technologies. The dog-man known as Shu pushed some buttons on the "console", as it was called, and a hole opened in the floor in front of Piccolo. A wind whipped through the room as Tambourine flew up through the hole, flapping his wings to rise. When the hole was sealed again, Tambourine prostrated himself before the Demon King with one hand held high to deliver the Dragon Ball.

"As you commanded, Father," Tambourine said obediently. "It was just where their machine had said it would be." Piccolo reached down and plucked the Dragon Ball from his hand. In his monstrous hand, it was barely larger than a grape. He held the orb between thumb and forefinger and held it up, squinting at it and its four stars.

"Could something so small hold such power?" he asked aloud with a small amount of incredulity. There was something comforting in it, however. Something that gave Piccolo a feeling he had never had before. A feeling of… home? "Did you acquire the list?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Tambourine. His son nodded and rose to his feet with the stack of papers clutched in his talons.

"I have, father," said as he held the papers out to show Piccolo. "The listings of every Martial Artist to enter the Tenkaichi Budoukai in the last ten years. They were in the same place together and so it was a simple matter of… I believe the expression is 'kill two birds with one stone?'" Piccolo nodded his approval and pointed towards the wall.

"Spread all of the pictures out across the wall," he commanded. Pilaf and the female Mai moved to help Tambourine and he quickly opened his mouth. "No, Tambourine," Piccolo said sharply. "They are still useful." Tambourine closed his mouth and reluctantly handed half of the stack to Pilaf and Mai. They began posting the papers on the walls and Tambourine sneered as he crumpled one of the sheets up and tossed it onto the ground.

"Killed that one already," he muttered flippantly, "Feh. Some 'finalist.'" Piccolo's heightened ears picked up Pilaf and Mai muttering to themselves as they stared with wide eyes at the sheet on the top of their stack.

"I-it's her!" Pilaf muttered in shock. Mai agreed.

"Two-time finalist," she added, "Two-time runner up! No wonder she was so powerful!" Tambourine walked over to them and looked over their shoulders. He laughed as he plucked the paper from their hands and crumpled it as well, tossing it away dismissively.

"Killed her, too," he said as he went back to the work of hanging up the papers. Pilaf stared at Tambourine in a state of shock.

"A-are you certain?" he asked. Tambourine sneered but said nothing. "I only ask because she has proven extremely difficult to–" Tambourine was on him in the blink of an eye with a hand around his throat to lift him off the ground, shaking him violently.

"Listen to me, you worthless blue toad!" he roared. "When I say someone is dead, _they are dead!"_ Pilaf's skin began to turn even bluer as he desperately pulled at Tambourine's fingers. Mai tried to tackle Tambourine but he kicked her away. Piccolo groaned and, with some effort, rose from his throne.

"Enough!" he bellowed. Tambourine dropped Pilaf immediately and turned his eyes downward. Piccolo sighed and slowly sank back down into the throne. The rest of the pictures were hung in silence. Piccolo scanned the pictures and scowled. "Tambourine!" His son went on bended knee at his father's word. "You will go out into the world and kill every last person on this list. If there is even the slightest chance that any of them know the Mafuuba technique then my plans shall be in ruin. Wipe them out!" Tambourine nodded and rose to his feet.

"By your command, father. They are as good as dead." Tambourine waited for the floor to open up again with his arms at his side and his wings folded. Shu pressed a button and Tambourine quickly dropped away, opening his wings once he had dropped a hundred feet. "I believe I will start with that one called 'Namu'." Back inside the airship, Piano turned to Piccolo.

"But father," he hissed, "What about the Dragon Ballsss? You ccccertainly can't go hunting for them in your condition and I am not ssssuited for combat. Ssssurely you don't intend to have one of thosssse three-" Piccolo silenced him with an upraised hand. He closed his eyes and tensed himself in preparation. It had been painful enough just to create Tambourine and Piano.

"Poko-pen," he chanted, "Poke-pen, Dah-leh-ga, Tsu-tsui-ta. Poko-pen, Poko-pen poko-pen, Dah-leh-ga, Tsu-tsui-ta!" He opened his mouth impossibly wide as he felt something pushing up from his stomach and distending his throat. With what could only be described as a _horrifying retching,_ the enormous egg forced its way out of his mouth and plopped onto the floor, slathered in green viscera. Piccolo fell back into the throne wearily. He was drenched in sweat and could barely breathe. He was _so weak!_ Once he could create armies of his demonic children and now it was a struggle to create _three?!_ He _had_ to have those Dragon Balls.

"Pleasssse be careful, father," Piano urged as he put his hands on Piccolo's arm. "Each child you create takessss away from what little life you have left!" Piccolo scowled at Piano and yanked his arm away. His son did not care for _him._ He only expressed worry because if Piccolo died then so did all of his sons.

"When I have youth eternal," he reminded Piano, "It will not matter!" Then he turned as the egg began to crack. In moments his son burst free from his shell and flapped his wings. He was large and robust with bright green skin a long tail and two long horns out the back of its head. He was even more draconic than his older brother. "Cymbal," Piccolo declared as he looked upon his son. "Do you see this?" he held the Dragon Ball out for Cymbal to see and the child nodded, sniffing it curiously. They were always rather primitive in the first few minutes. "You will go and find more like this for me!" He turned to Pilaf and pointed at him. "He will show you." Pilaf paled considerable as Cymbal stalked towards him but managed to point to the map of the world on his Dragon Radar.

"H-h-here!" he stammered out. Cymbal nodded and stomped back over to Piccolo.

"Let no one stand in your way," Piccolo commanded. "Kill everyone who tries to take the Dragon Ball away from you!" Cymbal nodded and the floor opened up underneath him. Piccolo sighed and leaned back against his throne. Pilaf shuddered as he stared at all the fighters on the wall. This… this was more death than he had anticipated.

OoOoOoO

Namu looked up into the night sky to see a creature descending towards the village. He could hear its leathery wings flapping like a demon and tensed himself for battle.

"Are you Namu?" the demon asked when it landed.

"I am," Namu said with a nod. He could feel the demon's power. It was unlike anything he had sensed before. He brought his hands down to his side and breathed in his fear. He breathed in his panic and his despair. Then he breathed it all out… and as the creature's fist punched through his chest, his life along with it.

OoOoOoO

The full moon was reflected on the ocean outside Kame House as a forlorn mood hung throughout the bungalow. Yamcha, Ten, Chaozu and Launch sat in the kitchen while Bulma was just about finished with the Dragon Radar in the living room with Puar hovering around nervously. Roshi was sitting with her and watching the news intently. He had suspected that Piccolo Daimaou had stolen the Budoukai rosters to hunt down the world's strongest martial artists so that none would be left to oppose him. Which, of course, meant that almost everyone in the house was a target as well.

"Goku hasn't gotten back yet," Launch muttered. "Neither has Suno." She chewed on her bottom lip. "You guys don't think–"

"We can't think like that, Launch," Yamcha cut her off. "We have to stay positive." ' _Besides, Goku's the strongest of us. If she were to die, we'd be in_ real _trouble.'_

"Please," Tenshinhan said, "Explain these 'Dragon Balls' to me again." They'd told him before but he'd had a somewhat difficult time grasping the concept.

"There's seven balls," Bulma called from the living room, "And when you gather them together, it summons a giant dragon who can grant _basically_ any wish."

"We'll use the balls to kill Piccolo," Yamcha said, "And then next year we'll use them to bring back anyone Piccolo kills before we can stop him."

"But Yamcha," Puar asked, "Won't Krillin have decayed in a year?"

"Not with this!" Bulma said and held up the capsule that, disturbingly, held Krillin's corpse. "I invented these special cold capsules originally to store things perishable foods but the human body is pretty perishable too, isn't it?" She chuckled but quickly stopped when she realized nobody else was laughing.

"Muten Roshi," Ten asked, "Why not use the Mafuuba?"

"That's out of the question," Roshi told him perhaps too brusquely. "Mutaito took the secret of that technique to his grave." Before the conversation could continue, the news was interrupted with an urgent report.

"We interrupt this broadcast with a special news bulletin," the cat-man said as he frantically shuffled papers and Namu's face came onto the screen. "Earlier today, we received word that a man by the name of Namu, a finalist in the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai, was violently murdered. This note was left at the scene." Next to Namu's face appeared the same piece of paper that Ken had given them back on Papaya Island. "After consulting with historians, we can confirm that this is none other than the mark of the Great Demon King Piccolo himself. We will update you on this story as it continues."

"Great," Launch muttered. "Just fuckin' great. Now everyone's gonna start panicking." Yamcha nodded grimly and turned to stare out the window.

' _Damn it, Goku,'_ he thought. ' _Where are you? We need you!'_

OoOoOoO

Goku groaned as she woke up, the sun blinding to her sleep addled eyes. "Oh! Goku! You're awake! Thank God," she heard a familiar voice say. She carefully turned her head to side to see someone she didn't expect.

"S-Suno? W-What are you doing here? Where am I?" she asked, her head slightly fuzzy from the hit that monster gave her.

"I went after you when you ran off. I couldn't just let my best friend run off to fight a monster alone after she spent all of her energy in the Budoukai. As for where we are, this is Mabel Village. After I found you in a forest, I took you to the largest cluster of ki I could find. They were kind enough to let us stay here until you woke up," Suno answered from where she sat by Goku's bed.

"Uhg. My head hurts. How long have I been out?" Goku asked as she gingerly sat up.

"About half a day, I think."

"Aw jeez. That monster's probably long gone by now. Without my Nimbus, I'll never be able to catch him."

"Mmm. He probably _is_ long gone. I couldn't sense him while meditating no matter how far I pushed my mind. But," Suno smiled softly, "I wouldn't worry about catching him. We know he's after the Dragon Balls, right? Then we just need a Dragon Ball and he'll come to us."

"Yeah! You're right! Then I can get back at that jerk for killing Krillin!" Goku nodded vigorously only to stop and grab her stomach when it growled. "But I'll never be able to be him like this! I'm starving!"

"Well, you're in luck: The family that let us stay the night also invited us to breakfast." Suno paused and it looked to Goku like she was thinking about something. "Mm. But I'm afraid that'll have to wait."

"Huh? Why?"

"You see, there just so happens to be a Dragon Ball in this village. I saw some dog-person wearing it as a necklace last night. Right now, I can sense a mass of evil ki heading right for us."

"Is it that monster?"

"No, I don't think so. This one seems to be a lot weaker than the guy you fought."

"Well, we've gotta stop him before he can get the Dragon Ball!" Goku moved to get up but Suno stopped her.

"You're right but let me handle this. You're still recovering from that other monster and haven't eaten yet. Right now, I'm in a lot better shape than you are."

Goku shook her head furiously, "No! I can't let you do that! I can't let another friend die because of me!"

Suno was shocked for a moment but quickly regained her composure and smiled gently at Goku, "Don't worry. I'm not going to die. I'm positive that I'm stronger than this thing. Besides, I haven't been training for the past two years with Master Korin for nothing." Goku went all starry-eyed at this and Suno continued. "I've been wanting to show you the results of my training so why don't you watch? I've picked up quite a few tricks since the last time we were together."

"Wait, if you've been training with Master Korin, why didn't you enter the Budoukai?" Goku asked.

"I've never really been interested in that thing," Suno said with a shrug. "I want to be strong but I don't care about being the strongest. I only came because I wanted to see you again." Suno paused and looked out a nearby window, "Well, he's just about here. Shall we get going?"

Mabel Village was a rather quiet place. It was slightly larger than Jingle Village but only just and its scenery was the complete opposite from what Suno was used to. To add to its charm, the village was populated almost exclusively by the most adorable animal people Suno had ever seen. This peaceful scenery and tranquil atmosphere simply served the make the hulking mass of evil ki now standing roughly in the center of it stand out even more.

What Suno and Goku found was a very large dragon-looking thing that was nearly as wide as it was tall. With its green scales and evil aura, it was certainly more than enough to terrify the hapless villagers.

"All right, listen up!" it commanded in a deep voice. "I have just one question! Answer truly or you'll all die! Has anyone seen a little sphere with stars inside around here?" The villagers all cowered and trembled with fear. No one answered him. "Well? Do you want to live? A sphere with stars. Have you seen it or not?"

Finally, something broke and one of the villagers screamed, "It's Biskit! Biskit found one three years ago!"

"Ah, I see. Well, where is this Biskit? Bring him to me if you want to live!" No one moved. "NOW!" In a panic, several villagers rushed to a certain house and broke down the door. After the sounds of a struggle, they came out dragging a dog-person. Around his neck was a necklace with the One Star Dragon Ball. "Very good. Now I'll be taking tha-"

Just before he could reach the Dragon Ball, a voice called out, "HEY!" Every turned their attention to a certain girl with long, red hair. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not nice to bully people?"

The monster was shocked for a moment but quickly laughed before taking a few steps towards her. "Bully people? These lesser beings aren't fit to be called cattle, much less people."

"Lesser beings, huh? Yeah, that sounds about right, coming from something like you. If you're going to look like a dragon then I guess it's only fitting you have the attitude of one."

"Whatever. I'll deal with you later, little girl. Right now, I have to get-"

"This Dragon Ball?" Suno held up her hand to show off the One Star Dragon Ball.

"WH-WHAT?!" The monster looked back to where Biskit was only to see that the Dragon Ball was no longer on his necklace. "H-how?! When did you-"

"Come on, you've gotta be kidding me," Suno said with a laugh that made Cymbal's eyes bulge out of his head. "If you're going to act all tough and evil, the least you can do is keep up."

"Why you little-! Don't you know who I am?! I'm Cymbal! The son of the Great Demon King Piccolo!"

"You say that name as if it's supposed to mean something to me."

"I demand that you give that Dragon Ball to me at once!"

"If you want it," Suno slid the Dragon Ball into her pocket, "Come and get it."

Cymbal roared in fury as his killing intent spiked. In a flash, he spread his wings and charged at Suno with speed unsuiting his bulk. At the last instant, Suno sprang backwards and scowled as his fist left a sizable crater in the ground. If even one of his hits landed, she'd be in serious trouble.

Cymbal came at her again and again with earth shattering punches and sky tearing claw swipes but Suno dodged each and every attack while constantly retreating. Eventually, Cymbal wound up for a right hook but, the instant Suno started to move to dodge it, lashed out with a right jab. Suno looked in surprise at the feint as Cymbal's fist came right at her… and sailed through her afterimage.

"Over here!" Cymbal had just enough time to turn around before Suno's impacted with his face and the accompanying kiai sent him tumbling far away. By the time he got back to his feet, Suno was calmly walking towards him. "Now that we're finally out of the village, I can fight seriously."

Cymbal laughed at her claim, "Trying to spare the lives of those other inferior beings, eh? A noble but wasted effort. Once I pry the Dragon Ball from your corpse, I'm going to raze that village and feast on everyone there!"

Suno hardened her glare, "You'll have to kill me first and that's not happening."

"You think a mere human can stand up to one of the Demon Clan? You inferior beings have become arrogant in Daimaou's absence! You may be fast but your blows lack power! I can easily crush you with one blow!"

"You're right. You _can_ crush me with one blow and my hits _do_ lack strength. But that's okay. Whether I have to hit you one time or a thousand, you die here."

"You certainly aren't lacking in spirit! Very well, human! I'll give you the honor of fighting you seriously! Come at me with everything you have!"

"Very well." In an instant, Suno vanished and reappeared in front of Cymbal. He could only look in shock as her palm sailed towards the center of his chest only to stop a hair's breadth from hitting. An instant later, a powerful kiai struck Cymbal and blasted him backwards. No, not a single blast. As only Goku, who had followed them, could see; she had struck him three times in that single instant.

Cymbal slid to a stop and roared as he charged Suno, his speed greater than what it had been before. While that was proof that he _had_ been holding back before, it didn't worry Suno in the slightest. It was clear that Cymbal was preparing another feint so Suno stepped into his guard rather than trying to dodge. It seemed that Cymbal wasn't _that_ much of an idiot, however, as he continued with his right hook instead trying the decoy feint. When Suno backpedaled to avoid his fist, he opened his hand wide and managed to catch her across the chest with his claws.

Suno immediately retreated a few feet back and glanced down at her chest. She wasn't cut but her bra and shirt were definitely ruined. She returned her focus to the now smug monster before her. "Looks like I underestimated you. I didn't think you'd be able to touch me at all." Cymbal chuckled and pounded his fist against his chest.

"Like I said, human: Come at me with everything you have! You won't stand a chance of surviving otherwise!"

"You're right. Masters Korin and Frost would be furious if they found out I was hold back against a demon. That's the last hit you'll get on me, though."

"Very well! Let's see if your actions hold up to your words!" With another roar, Cymbal used his wings to do a flying charge which Suno met head on. The instant before they impacted, Suno slid underneath the monster and slammed both of her palms into his stomach, flipping him into the air with a powerful kiai. When she rose, she saw Cymbal correct himself and land on his feet only to immediately charge again. Again, Suno met his charge head on and found herself suddenly dodging a flurry of blows powerful enough to blow away an entire house. As it was, the land behind her was being torn to shreds as the force of Cymbal's blows carried onward. This thing had plenty of power but absolutely no control.

The instant she found an opening, Suno struck out kiai-enhanced blow to Cymbal's sternum and followed up by a roundhouse kick to the side of his head that spun him around. Her follow up was delayed as she was forced to duck Cymbal's tail that nearly caught her in the face. Cymbal turned around and held out his hand before unleashing a blast of lightning energy at her that forced her to retreat. He brought up his other hand and let loose blast of blast of lightning so Suno responded in kind with wave after wave of kiai to deflect the blasts. Eventually, the kiai stopped and the lightning was free to strike her position and create a cloud of dust. When Cymbal stopped and started chuckling, Suno appeared and unleashed a barrage of kiai-enhanced strikes towards his torso. When it appeared like he was getting his bearings, Suno vanished only to reappear and continue the barrage from the different angle. Again and again, Suno changed the angle of her assault until Cymbal was surrounded by a hurricane of endless blows. In that instant, he understood perfectly: _She was hitting him with one thousand strikes_.

For the nine hundred ninety-eighth strike, Suno did a backflip kick that launched Cymbal into the air and she quickly followed him. For the nine hundred ninety-ninth strike, she struck him in the center of his spine and blasted him into the ground. She brought her hands down to side and began to focus her ki. "Kaaameeehaaameee…" Cymbal got up on unsteady legs and held out his hands as he began to charge a massive amount of lightning energy. Before he let it loose, Suno used a full body kiai fired _behind_ her to launch herself towards the ground and landed kneeling well inside Cymbal's guard. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" For the one thousandth blow, Suno used a perfect Kamehameha to turn Cymbal's weakened body to ash.

Breathing heavily, Suno rose to her feet and dusted herself off. Just before she turned around, she felt something slide down her cheek and rubbed it to find a drop of blood coming from a scratch on her cheek. It seemed that, in a way, Cymbal actually won that fight. Suno looked over to see if Goku was watching and… was she _blushing?_

OoOoOoO

Piccolo gasped in pain and clutched at his chest as his eyes went wide with shock. Someone had _killed_ Cymbal! He had felt his son's death and it filled him with rage. Not for the loss of Cymbal but for what it symbolized. Someone was standing against him. Someone was _defying_ him! He closed his eyes and stretched his consciousness out to find Tambourine's mind.

' _Tambourine!'_ his voice echoed in his son's mind. ' _Heed my call!'_

' _Just a moment, father,'_ Tambourine thought. ' _You've caught me in the middle of something.'_ He looked down at the strange pink substance wrapped around his body and looked up at the strange dragon-man named Girran who looked rather proud of himself. Tambourine expanded his chest and ripped the substance apart with ease. Girran stared in shock as Tambourine grabbed him by the shoulders and ripped him down the middle with barely an effort. He let the corpse drop to the ground and brushed the viscera off his arms.

Piccolo impatiently tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling while he waited for Tambourine's reply.

"Get him!" A voice bellowed. Tambourine looked to the left to see half a dozen of those dragon-men flying towards him with claws outstretched. He opened his mouth wide and reduced them to bones with a single blast. He gave a satisfied smile and took off into the sky.

' _Now then,'_ Tambourine thought, ' _You were saying?'_

' _Someone has killed Cymbal!'_ Piccolo thought. Tambourine blinked.

' _... Who?'_ Piccolo groaned aloud.

' _Your brother. I created him to gather the Dragon Balls after you left. I will put the coordinates into your mind. Go there and raze the area to the ground! Show them the penalty of their defiance!'_ Tambourine nodded obediently and changed the course of his flight.

"By your will, father," he said aloud, "It will be done." He supposed that this "Yamcha" would have to wait.


	35. Goku's Revenge!

Chapter Thirty-five

Goku's Revenge! Hunt for the Dragon Balls!

When Suno and Goku returned to Mabel Village, it was to a hero's welcome and a breakfast feast was quickly declared in Suno's honor. Suno would have politely declined but she was quite hungry. Goku was _even more_ hungry so to her this was the best idea ever. Suno had never seen someone eat so many pancakes. By the time breakfast was over, the last few traces of dawn mist had faded away and the sun was rising high into the bright blue sky on a bright spring morning.

"Guhhhh," Suno groaned out as she leaned against her chair and patted her stomach. One of the villagers had been nice enough to give her a new shirt. "I don't know if it ever happens to you, Goku, but I am _full."_ Goku didn't say anything and Suno sat upright to look over at Goku. Her fists were balled so tightly on the long table that they were shaking and her face was frozen in an uncharacteristic scowl. "Hey," Suno said as she put a hand on Goku's, "I told you, we'll get the guy who killed Kri–" Suno suddenly felt that evil ki pressing down on her mind like before. The one she'd felt when Goku's ki had disappeared. "Goku," she said softly, "He's co–"

"Get out of the way," Goku said in almost a growl. Suno's eyes widened as Goku looked up towards the sky. Suno followed her gaze up and saw him. The monster that Goku had fought earlier and the one that must have killed Krillin. "Suno," Goku said as she pushed her chair back and hopped down from it, "I'm not going to say this again. I have to fight him myself. _Get out of my way._ " As Suno quickly moved away to get the animal people's attention, Goku felt a little bad for getting so angry at her friend. She couldn't help it, though. It was this horrible monster that made her so angry. He had to _pay._ The monster slowly descended with his wings outstretched to catch the wind like a parachute as he landed in front of them. The adorable animal-people scattered as Goku violently shoved the table away so there was nothing standing between her and the monster.

"I don't know what's more insulting," the monster said as he started walking towards Goku, "The fact that you're alive or the fact that someone like _you_ killed a demon." Goku said nothing as she walked forward to meet him. "Well don't think you'll survive this time, you brat. I, Tambourine, son of Piccolo Daimaou, will ensure that there is nothing left of you but a–" It quickly became difficult for Tambourine to finish his boast as Goku leaped into the air and drove a kick into his jaw. There was a sickening crack and Goku felt his jaw break against her foot. It felt _good._ Tambourine tumbled away in the dirt and struggled to his feet. His yellow eyes were wide in terror as he tried to hold his jaw in place as purple blood flowed out of his mouth and down his fingers. Goku charged again with a roar and smashed her shoulder into Tambourine's stomach. This time she heard his ribs break as he gasped in pain. He stumbled away and swung at her desperately. Goku caught his wrist and flipped him over to slam him hard into the ground. She kept her grip on Tambourine's wrist and wrapped her legs around his elbow. She yanked hard and, in a few seconds, that snapped too. Tambourine howled in agony as Goku let go of his arm and staggered away with his arm limp at his side. He turned and ran, stumbling and whimpering as his wings opened up and he tried to fly away. Goku growled and crouched low for a jump.

"I won't let you get away!" she yelled as she leaped high into the air and drove her feet into his back to bring him back towards the ground. "Give me back Krillin! Give me back Nimbus!" With another growl she grabbed Tambourine's wings and yanked hard as she pushed her feet into his back. There was a wet ripping sound and Tambourine tumbled to the ground with his wings still in Goku's hands. Goku hit the ground feet-first and made a small crater on the impact. She watched Tambourine struggle onto his hands and knees and start to crawl away with purple blood flowing from the gashes in his back.

' _This can't be happening…'_ Tambourine thought in disbelief, near–delirious with pain. ' _How can a human so easily defeat one of us?!'_ He fell into the dirt and lay there for a moment before pushing himself back up. ' _H-h-have to get back to father! Back t-to the ship!'_

"This is for Krillin," Goku whispered as she brought her hands down to her side. "Kaaa meee haaa meee," an enormous ball of blue-white light gathered in Goku's hands, larger than any she'd done before, "Haaaa!" She thrust her hands forward and a massive blast rushed towards Tambourine.

"Father, help me! Fath–aaaaaah!" Tambourine's death scream dissipated as the blast completely overwhelmed him and he disappeared in the white-blue light. When the light finally dimmed, there was a massive trench in the ground where the Kamehameha had been fired that blasted through trees and rocks and into the mountains… but no Tambourine. He had been blasted to ash and carried on the wind. Goku's chest rose and fell quickly as feral adrenaline pounded through her veins. The monster who killed Krillin was dead. She wasn't happy, though. She didn't feel any better. She just felt angry. She threw her head back and roared and her voice echoed across the plains.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo Daimaou clutched as his chest again and fell forward with an agonized gasp. He gripped the arm of his throne with one shaky hand to keep himself from falling as his eyes went wide in a mixture of pain and disbelief.

"Tambourine assss well, father?" Piano asked. Piccolo raised his hand as if to strike his pteradonian son with a backhand yet he let his hand drop. All that killing the boy would accomplish would be to bring him that much closer to death. Piccolo growled and slammed his fist on the arm of his throne.

"This will not stand!" he declared angrily before turning to glare at Shu. "Plot a course for that Dragon Ball. I will deal with this myself!" Shu frantically manipulated the controls and the airship groaned slightly as it changed its course. Piccolo sat back in his throne as his claws dug into the stone. He would suffer these indignities no longer!

OoOoOoO

Morning came quickly in the Kame House. There was no alarm to wake everyone. Instead, they had Bulma.

"DONE!" she declared with the Dragon Radar high above her head loud enough to shake everyone from their slumber. She was wide-eyed with bags under her eyes and her hair sticking out wildly but she was _triumphant._ Puar had been sleeping on Turtle's back but quickly found himself on the ceiling. Yamcha, Launch and Roshi came stomping down the stairs at the sound, Chaozu had been sleeping in Roshi's armchair, and Tenshinhan had been standing in the kitchen as still as a statue. "I would have finished a couple hours ago," Bulma said as Yamcha took the Dragon Radar from her hands, "But I kinda dozed off around midnight for a couple minutes. Nothing that ten cups of coffee couldn't fix, though!" She giggled deliriously and Yamcha gave her a hug as she started to stagger.

"Great work, hon," he told her encouragingly. Then he handed the Radar to Roshi and guided Bulma gently to the couch. "You just try and lie down." He ran back upstairs and found the capsule with his sword in it. "Hello, beautiful," he muttered before he pressed the button and tossed the capsule up. He smiled as the sword landed in his hand and slowly unsheathed it just enough to see his eyes in the blade. "Did you miss daddy? Daddy missed you." He sheathed the sword and tied it to his belt as he made his way back downstairs.

"Chaozu, Ten, Yamcha, Launch and myself will gather the Dragon Balls," Roshi was explaining. "This will make Piccolo come to us. Remember, under _no_ circumstances should we attempt to confront Piccolo Daimaou. We have no chance, even the five of us together. Our best hope is to distract him long enough to take whatever Dragon Balls he has and summon Shenron to strike him down." Tenshinhan frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's too passive," he complained. "We should take the fight to him! I understand that your master could not defeat him, Muten, but I'm sure that I am strong enough. If we had the Mafu-"

"Absolutely not!" Roshi told him curtly as he jabbed a finger in the Triclops' face. "You don't know what it would cost! If one were to use the Mafuuba, it would leave us that much weaker should it be unsuccessful!" Roshi and Tenshinhan glare at one another before Bulma spoke up.

"Hey," she said, slurring her words with exhaustion, "W-wait a second! You cantjusst leame back here!" She pushed herself up off the couch and Yamcha moved to catch her before she fell forward. "Why d'I have to–"

"Bulma," Yamcha said softly, "You're in no shape to go anywhere. Besides, you're not a fighter. It's safer for you to–"

"I don't want the last time I ever see you be when you walk out that door!" Bulma blurted out as she clutched desperately to Yamcha's shirt with tears in her eyes. "I-It's just, w-with Krillin, a–and Goku and Suno are still missing! I can't…" she swallowed down a sob as the tears ran down her cheeks. "I can't lose you, too," she whispered as she slumped against Yamcha.

"Hey, hey," Yamcha said softly as he brought his hand up under Bulma's chin and brought her eyes up to look at him. "It's going to be fine. I promise. No one else is going to die. We're gonna end this then we'll use the Dragon Balls next year and get everyone back." He bent his head down and kissed Bulma gently on the lips. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss before going slack against him as her body finally gave out to weariness. Yamcha caught her before she could hit the ground and slowly guided her to the couch, snoring softly.

"Are we done here," Launch asked with a roll of her eyes, "Or should we stand around with our dicks in the wind and let Piccolo get _more_ Dragon Balls?"

"I am not familiar with this phrase," Tenshinhan said as the five quickly shuffled out of the Kame House.

OoOoOoO

Goku paced back and forth as she stared down at the Dragon Radar. She had dug a tiny trench in the dirt in the center of the village but she didn't care. There was a Dragon Ball coming towards her that just _had_ to be be the one that Tambourine guy had stolen when he'd killed Krillin. She was going to get it back!

"Goku," Suno said softly as she put a hand on Goku's shoulder, "You've got to calm down. You're scaring people." The animal people had given a wide berth to Goku after her merciless display against Tambourine an hour before. "I know you're angry and I am, too. Whoever this Piccolo Daimaou guy is that Tambourine mentioned is obviously the real problem here but take it from me, revenge doesn't solve anything. Tambourine's dead but do you feel any better?" Goku just glared up at her and kept pacing. Suno sighed and shook her head. She could tell she wasn't going to get through to Goku right now. Suddenly she froze and Goku snapped out of her funk to look up at her friend with concern.

"Suno?" she asked softly and stood up out of her trench. "What is it?" Suno's face was pale and she was trembling. Goku put a hand on Suno's shoulder and shook her gently. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"Power," Suno whispered, "Never felt something so… evil!" Before Goku could ask anything else, there was a roaring sound like an engine and Goku looked up to see what looked like a fat airplane with glass bubbles on the top and nose.

"Lord Piccolo," came a voice from the plane, "We've arrived." It sounded like Mai. What did Pilaf and his friends want to do with someone who killed people?

"You're using the outside speakers," came Shu's voice. Then there was a thunk. "Ow! I was just trying to–" Goku glared up at the plane before looking at Suno.

"You should go inside," she told her. "Give me the Dragon Ball and get somewhere safe." She wasn't angry this time and she didn't say it because she wanted Suno to stay out of her way. She was worried about whoever might be in that plane. Suno nodded and handed Goku the Dragon Ball before she turned towards the villagers.

"Everyone," she called as she waved forward with outstretched arms, "Get inside!" The villagers screamed and ran as they huddled into their houses and Suno ran into the house of the Panda villagers that had let Suno and Goku stay in their house while Goku recovered. Goku glared up at the plane and put on the necklace before she got into her fighting stance. She had to be ready for anything. The bottom of the ship opened up and something _huge_ fell out of the hole and smashed down into the ground to create a huge crater. A green man in a dark blue robe with the character for "Demon" on the front and a red cape climbed out of the hole and glared down at Goku.

"So," he said in a deep, rumbling voice as he cracked his knuckles, "You're the brat who's been killing my children?" Goku glared up at him and shook a fist at him.

"And you're the jerk who's been sending monsters to gather the Dragon Balls and kill people! I'm gonna beat you up!" For some reason, that made the big green man laugh.

"So you don't know who I am?" he asked. "That's a pity. I am Piccolo Daimaou, whelp! The Great Demon King and soon to be the absolute master of this world! Yours will simply be the next body used to pave my road to conquest!" Goku growled and jumped up to punch him in the face. Piccolo took the hit and staggered back with a hand on his jaw. "Huh," he remarked, "Impressi–" he was cut off when Goku jumped back up as soon as she landed and hit a dropkick into his knee to make him fall flat on his face. Piccolo snarled as he got up and dodged as she ran to hit him with an elbow. He tossed away his robe and cape with a flourish to reveal the blue gi he had on underneath. "Very well. Let me show you how fearsome I am!"

"Come on!" Goku challenged him as she charged again. "All you've done so far is ta–" Piccolo swung his leg forward and caught her under the chin with a kick that sent her high into the sky. Piccolo jumped into the air to meet her and knocked her back down with a chop. He was _fast_ for someone so big! Goku smashed into the ground hard enough to burrow a hole with her body. Goku tried to collect her thoughts and come up with a plan of attack but, before she could get any ideas, Piccolo's huge hand reached into the hole and yanked her out. He shook her by the front of her shirt before he smashed his other fist into her face.

"Do you see how pointless it was to defy me?" Piccolo asked smugly. "You are near the door of death and I have only used half my strength!" Goku spit in his face and bit down hard on his thumb. Piccolo cried out in pain as he broke his grip and Goku grinned as she landed on her feet. She may have been in a _lot_ of pain but at least she'd done something to him! She knocked Piccolo onto one knee with a sweep kick and jumped forward to drive a knee into Piccolo's chest. However, he drove her away with a backhand and Goku crashed painfully into someone's house. Piccolo laughed as Goku staggered away from the house. She _really_ didn't like his laugh. "Well?" he taunted. "What will you do now?" Goku glared and brought her hands down to her side. Piccolo's eyes went wide for a moment and that made her smile. She was _scaring_ him!

"Kaaa meee haaa meee…" Goku couldn't see it but Piccolo's scared expression had gone away. "Haaaa!" she threw her hands out and was surprised that Piccolo wasn't even trying to defend himself. The beam came straight for Piccolo and he opened his mouth wide… and snapped his jaws shut around the beam and it dissolved in an instant. "Wh-what?" Goku asked in quiet shock as her arms dropped limply to her side.

"You had me worried there for a moment," Piccolo admitted as he wiped his mouth. "I thought I was in trouble." He chuckled and flexed his fingers. "An amusing little technique, though. Shall I try?" Goku was too stunned to speak and Piccolo laughed again. "Yes," he said as he brought his fists up, "I believe it's time for you to die!" His body began to glow and tendrils of yellow energy snaked off his body as he let out a low growl. Goku couldn't move. He was _strong! Too strong!_ How could she fight him? Suddenly, Piccolo thrust his hand forward and as his palm glowed with yellow light she snapped out of her daze. "Obliterate!" Piccolo bellowed as a beam of yellow light shot out of his hand. Goku jumped away at the last second, high into the air. She whipped her Power Pole off her back and pulled it back before swinging hard.

"Power Pole extend!" Goku cried out and the staff shot down mid-swing to strike Piccolo on the jaw. Piccolo's head whipped around and he took a step back. Goku grinned to herself when she saw that. Maybe there was something in the Power Pole that could hurt him. Something magic!

Then Piccolo's arm stretched up to grab her by the ankle.

"Got you!" Piccolo taunted as he slammed Goku hard into the ground. His arm snaked back to its normal length and he stood over her with his other palm inches from her face. "Obliterate!" The blast hit Goku squarely and buried her in a blast crater in a blinding burst of light. Piccolo stood over her for a moment but she never stirred. He sneered down at her and plucked the Dragon Ball from around her neck and held it up to the sun. "All too easy." Then he slowly turned his gaze on the village and opened his mouth wide. A blast of light flew out of his mouth and he whipped his head to the side to sweep the village with the deadly beam, giving the villagers barely enough time to scream. When Piccolo was finished, there was nothing but bones and ash. He smirked and flew back up into the airship. He sat back down in his throne and rolled his neck with a relaxed sigh. It felt good to get some exercise. "Where is the next Dragon Ball?" He asked. No one replied. They were all too stunned in terror by the mass murder Piccolo had just committed. "If you will not do your duties then you are of no use to me," Piccolo warned. "Now, where is the next Dragon Ball?" Pilaf scrambled over to his Radar and fiddled with some buttons before turning back to look at Piccolo.

"It, um," he swallowed and took off his ridiculous hat to wipe away his sweat, "It appears that the balls have started to move." Piccolo nodded and looked down at the balls in his hand.

"Very well," he said nonplussed. "That means that someone else is gathering the balls as well. Let them. All they are doing is making our task easier. When the five have been gathered, take me to their location and I will finish this quickly." He opened his mouth and tilted his head back before dropping the balls into his mouth and swallowing them to store them safely away in his gullet. "Soon I shall be invincible."

OoOoOoO

One of the piles of rubble that used to be a house rumbled and Suno burst out of it with a gulp of air and then fell out of the rubble as she gasped for breath. That had been _way_ too close. She had actually felt the heat of Piccolo's blast pass over her head as she'd ducked down. If it hadn't been for all her training, heck if it hadn't been for her training just with Korin, she'd almost certainly be dead. As dead as… everyone else. A chill swept over Suno as she stared out over the field of death and destruction that had once been such a beautiful little village. Even when the Red Ribbon Army had attacked Jingle Village, she had never seen _so much_ death and had never been this _close_ to it. It was horrible! How could someone like Piccolo Daimaou exist? Suno heard a cough and groan and sprinted towards the crater where Goku lay prone. The ground was hot under her feet as she ran down to meet her friend.

"Goku," Suno said softly yet urgently as she shook the other girl's shoulders, "You've got to get up! Come on, we've got to go…" Go where? To meet up with the others? To hide in Jingle Village? Where could they go?

"Suno," Goku said in a strained voice as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her, "I… I can't move." Suno's eyes went wide and she had to force herself not to panic.

"G-Goku," she stammered out, "Can you move your fingers or toes? Can you feel them?" She was screaming at herself inside. Why hadn't she taken Roshi up on teaching her how to heal? Then she might be able to do something right now. She didn't know _what_ but it would probably be better than the _nothing_ she could do right now if Goku was–

"No," Goku said as she struggled to shake her head, "I mean I feel them but it just… it hurts too much to move!" Suno sat backwards and was visibly relieved. Well this was still _bad_ but it wasn't as bad as she had thought it was. "Suno," Goku said, "We have to go to Korin's tower." Suno blinked and stared down at Goku. What the heck could Korin do for them? "Just trust me. We need to get him to train us again." Suno sighed and nodded as she picked Goku up onto her back and carried her out of the crater. As she loaded Goku into her car, Suno could only hope that there was still a world left down here when they got off Korin's tower.

OoOoOoO

The Capsule Plane carrying the five martial artists soared through the sky with Launch at the controls. She had the most experience with flying planes though that experience wasn't exactly legal. Yamcha leaned over the back of the pilot's chair and scanned the skies for anything that might be the sort of thing a Demon King would fly and, against hope, a yellow cloud. He sighed and looked down at the duffle bag over his shoulder that was carrying the Dragon Balls.

"Can't believe we've gotten five of 'em already," he muttered to himself. Roshi nodded from his cross-legged seat on the floor of the plane. He seemed to be mentally preparing himself for the battle ahead.

"Hmm," he muttered, "With no resistance. I suspect Piccolo became aware of our presence early on and has decided to let us do the work for him."

"It seems Muten is right," Tenshinhan called from the back of the plane as he looked down at the Dragon Radar in his hand as Chaozu sat beside him. "If I am reading this device correctly then there are a pair of Dragon Balls headed towards our direction." Yamcha nodded as he felt a cold knot in his stomach.

"This is it," he muttered as he looked out the window and pointed over Launch's shoulder at the ground. "Land in that clearing," he told her. "Put the plane behind that mountain." Launch nodded tensely.

"Got it," she said and steered the plane towards the ground with the controls in a white-knuckled lock. She brought the plane into a smooth landing and the five quickly filed out of the back of the plane and hid under an arch in the rock as they waited for the airship that apparently carried King Piccolo. Yamcha thought that it certainly didn't _look_ like the sort of ride a Demon would own. "So what's the plan again?"

"Chaozu will wait here until we've managed to take Piccolo's Dragon Balls," Roshi told her as he buried the Dragon Balls behind her, Yamcha, and Ten. "Once we are able to get the Dragon Balls away from Piccolo, we'll throw them to Chaozu and he'll summon Shenron. You remember the words, Chaozu?" The alabaster imp nodded. "Good. As for you three…" Roshi struck each of them with a blow to the back of the neck that made them drop like sacks of flour. "You three will live." He turned back to Chaozu and looked sternly down at him. "Don't reveal your position for _anything,_ do you understand? No matter what happens to me." Chaozu nodded nervously and Roshi nodded back. He took a last deep breath to steel himself for the moment and tossed aside his jacket as he walked out from under the arch. "Piccolo Daimaou!" he called out. "I've got your Dragon Balls! Come down if you want them!" The bottom of the airship opened up and Piccolo slowly descended to the ground. He looked the same as Roshi remembered except, well, older.

"Finally," Piccolo said sardonically, "Someone who knows who I am." He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "You certainly don't intend to _challenge_ me, do you old man?" Roshi chuckled and scratched at his beard.

"Look who's talking," he taunted. Piccolo let out an irritated growl and Roshi chuckled again. "I know you quite well, Piccolo Daimaou, though I doubt you remember me. I could have stopped you three hundred years ago but I failed and others had to die. I won't make that mistake again." He got into his guard. "My Dragon Balls are buried somewhere in this field! You want them, you'll have to kill me first!" Now it was Piccolo's turn to laugh.

"So you think you'll be able to beat the Dragon Balls out of me, is that it?" he asked. "I think you'll find that an even more impossible task than you anticipated." Piccolo's face suddenly scrunched up and he seemed to be… swallowing in reverse. He opened his mouth to reveal two Dragon Balls on his tongue and chuckled before swallowing them again. "As an act of goodwill for gathering the Dragon Balls for me, I'll give you this one chance to ask for a quick death." Roshi scoffed and leaned his head from side to side to crack his neck.

"Are you gonna talk all day," he asked, "Or are we going to fight?" Piccolo smirked and got into his own guard. A wind swept across the field as the warriors glared at one another. The Demon King and the Invincible Old Master. When they clashed, it was more than a battle, more than a desire for world conquest clashing against revenge for a fallen master. When the being of pure evil met the greatest martial artist to ever be born, it was the very essence of good against evil, of the dark versus the light.

Tenshinhan groaned in pain as he looked up at the battle in a barely-conscious daze. The others had yet to recover so, for the moment, only he and Chaozu could bear witness to the awesome spectacle. Piccolo Daimaou was like no creature he had ever seen before and Muten Roshi was attacking with skill and precision beyond anything Tenshinhan had ever dreamed of being capable of as a fighter.

' _What are you doing, old man?'_ Tenshinhan wondered in a daze. He could sense the differences in Piccolo and Muten's powers. It was a hopelessly uphill battle and, while Muten was fighting valiantly, Piccolo was clearly holding back and toying with the ancient master. ' _You can't hope to outpower this monster. What is your plan?'_

"Bankoku Bikkuri Shou!" Roshi called out and lightning shot forth from his fingertips to ensnare Piccolo. He growled in pain for a moment as his body went rigid before he suddenly drew in his arms and threw them out to shatter the field of energy. Roshi shielded his eyes from the blowback with a grimace. ' _Should've seen that coming,'_ he thought as he brought his arm down just as Piccolo barreled towards him and smashed him away with a backhand. Roshi tumbled through the air but landed on the ground with his hands to handspring away and land on his feet as Piccolo charged again with a knee that passed right through him. Piccolo Daimaou blinked for a moment in disbelief as he was suddenly surrounded in a ring of Roshi afterimages. He sneered in contempt.

"An amusing trick," he said in a backhanded compliment. "Now begone!" He threw his arms out and surrounded himself in a dome of ki that blasted the afterimages to nothing and Piccolo looked up to see the real Roshi hovering in the air above him, having leaped into the air with moments to spare, his shoes burned clean off and his pants singed. Piccolo growled and threw out an elongating arm only to be shocked when Roshi gave a roar and suddenly bulked up considerably. He grabbed Piccolo's wrist and yanked him up into the air with astonishing force, pulling Piccolo face-first into his fist and spinning Piccolo around by the arm before slamming him into the ground. Roshi descended a few moments later like a missile and smashed into Piccolo with both fists with an impact that shook the Earth.

' _He might be stronger now,'_ Ten thought as Roshi was suddenly sent flying out of the ground from a kick by Piccolo, ' _But it's not enough! If you have a plan, now is the time!'_ Had the old man really thought he could fight Piccolo Daimaou head-on?!

Roshi was gasping for breath as Piccolo pulled himself out of the ground and dusted himself off. His muscles were on fire and he was fairly certain he could feel a few broken bones already. To make things worse, he suddenly felt a tightening in his chest.

' _Should've known,'_ Roshi thought as he chastised himself for this arrogance. ' _Couldn't keep this form up. Not in this condition and not at my age. You're a damn fool, Muten.'_ He reached into his back pocket with one hand as Piccolo slowly drew closer. ' _Well,'_ he continued to think, ' _Since I'm already dyin'...'_

"I must admit," Piccolo said as he walked towards Roshi, "You are a formidable warrior. That technique you used to increase your strength seems strangely familiar. You said you saw me in my first attempt to take over this world? Who are you? I would have remembered an enemy of your caliber."

"Is that…" Roshi breathed out, each breath a struggle as his body began to shut down, "Is that so? Well enough… to call me… adversary?" Piccolo's eyes went wide with realization and shock and he began to backpedal away from Roshi. "Ah," Roshi said with a hint of amusement, "So you remember that? The name you gave to my master…" Roshi threw a capsule hard onto the ground and from the smoke appeared… _a rice cooker with a magic seal slapped onto the side._ "Mutaito?!"

"No…" Piccolo muttered in abject terror as he broke out in a cold sweat. "Noooo!" He howled in horror and flew back up towards the airship. "No, no, no, no, no!" It wasn't fair! He was so close! How? How was this possible?! How could he be alive?!

OoOoOoO

"I don't understand," Pilaf muttered as they watched from the airship. "Why is he running?" Piano shook his head and grabbed at the frame of the window he was looking out of in green-knuckled fear.

"Thisss isss horrible!" He cried out in dismay. He hadn't even been alive for a week! He wasn't ready to die!

OoOoOoO

As Roshi threw out his hands, Tenshinhan watched with rapt attention and his third eye flitted to capture every single movement no matter how small. Ten had to burn this technique into his mind in case Muten failed.

"Mafuubaaaa!" Roshi called out and a green cyclone shot forth from between his palms to suck Piccolo in. The Demon King cried out in fear and desperately flailed his arms as if he were swimming through the air. He wouldn't go back!

"Not again!" Piccolo cried as Roshi moved his arms to try and direct Piccolo down into the rice cooker. "I can't go back! I don't want to go back!" Not again, he thought, back into the screaming eternity of darkness! Roshi screamed with effort through clenched teeth as every vein stood out in his MAX Power body and the green vortex containing Piccolo drew closer and closer to the rice cooker until…

Muten Roshi's heart let out its last beat. His arms dropped to his sides and the vortex dissipated to let Piccolo collapse onto the ground. His eyes began to close and his whole world turned slowly to darkness.

"Three hundred years…" Roshi whispered and a small smile curled onto his lips. "Not… not bad." With those final words Roshi fell towards the ground and his body returned to its normal size. ' _Goku… Krillin… Gohan… Mutaito… I'll be seeing you soon.'_ And Muten Roshi was no more.

OoOoOoO

Far away in her palace, Uranai Baba felt her brother's death. She could not sense ki as her brother had but a fortune teller could sense energy in her own way. She felt her brother pass from the world and felt an immeasurable sadness. When you live to three hundred years, you learn not to care about other people too much after a while. They'll grow old and die right before your eyes. So when Muten died, she experienced a feeling she hadn't known in centuries. Her heart was broken. She pulled her hat down over her eyes and wept miserably as her pink ghost shooed the customers away. There would be no good fortunes today.

OoOoOoO

Shen had flown back to the Crane Temple in disgrace after losing his students and being humiliated once again by Muten Roshi. He was in a blacker temper than he had ever known when he suddenly felt a ki that… wasn't there anymore. A ki he had been able to feel practically his entire life.

"Muten?" he whispered in disbelief. Disbelief and… and sorrow? That didn't make any sense. '" _Until I have breathed my last, I will_ hate you, _Muten Roshi!"'_ The words echoed in his mind. He had hated Muten for centuries. Why would he feel grief? They had always been rivals. Why should he feel sorrow? Why… _why was he crying?_

OoOoOoO

Goku frowned as she lay in the back of Suno's car as they drove closer to Korin Tower.

"Something bad has happened," she muttered somberly. She didn't know what but something was wrong. She desperately hoped no one else had died. She didn't want to lose anymore friends.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo struggled to his feet after the old man had died with trembling breaths. His whole body was still shaking with fear that he tried to force down. That had been _entirely_ too close. Now, though, the old man was dead. Nothing else stood between him and the Dragon Balls. He closed his eyes and focused on the unique energy signature he had felt when he had held the balls in his hand and called the other five forth with his mind. He heard them burst out of the ground and flew towards him to land at his feet. He coughed up his two Dragon Balls and the seven clattered together and began to glow.

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" he bellowed to the sky. "I summon you!" The sky turned black as thunder rumbled and lightning shook as an enormous beam of light snaked off into the sky. Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and even Piccolo were stunned with awe.

' _Now, Chaozu!'_ Tenshinhan told his friend through telepathy. ' _Go! You have to wish for the dragon to kill Piccolo before he can make his wish! Hurry!'_

' _R-right, Ten!'_ Chaozu thought before he flew off, resolute despite his terror.

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron spoke in a voice as deep as infinity, "Speak now and I shall grant your–"

"Shenron!" Chaozu cried out as he flew closer, "I wish for you to destroy Pi–" Before he could finish the sentence, Piccolo glared at Chaozu and two thin red beams of death burned a hole through the back of Chaozu's head. The albino dwarf tumbled through the dirt and came to lie dead at Piccolo's feet.

Tenshinhan stared in horror with mouth agape and had to bite his lip so hard that it bled to keep from screaming in despair. He had just watched his only friend die… on his order.

Piccolo let out a sigh and shook his head. This day had been filled with entirely too many close calls. As he looked up at the Eternal Dragon, he felt a strange and familiar energy. When he realized what was so familiar, his mouth quirked up in what could only be described as a spiteful smile.

"Ah," he said, "So you're _his_ creature are you?" His eyes turned black and he spoke something in a language that he could only recall ever hearing in a dream. Shenron's eyes turned black as well and Tenshinhan's despair only deepened as he watched the Eternal Dragon bow its head in subservience to the Demon King. "Shenron!" he commanded. "I wish for youth eternal so that I may rule the lesser races of man and beast for all of time!"

"A simple task," Shenron asked as Piccolo's body began to glow. Piccolo stared down at himself as the wrinkles disappeared from his skin and he reached back to feel his head take a rounder shape. He felt every fibrous sinew of his body course with magical energy as the yellow patches on his arms flushed with new life and turned bright pink. Piccolo laughed triumphantly as his body surged with power once more. "It is done. Farewell." Shenron began to ascend as Piccolo shook his head and grinned.

"I think not," he told the Dragon. "You might someday be used against me. I cannot allow that. I cannot allow anything that might threaten my power to live." He threw out his hand up toward Shenron. "Obliterate!" He bellowed as the blast shot forth and struck Shenron full-force in the stomach. The dragon roared in pain before it exploded violently while the sky above turned bright blue. Piccolo smirked as chunks of Shenron's corpse rained around him before dissolving into ash. Then his smirk widened into a full-on grin and he let out a loud, boisterous laugh of triumph. He had _won!_ He was _invincible!_ Finally, after centuries of waiting, he would be master of all the world. There was nothing _he_ could do to stop him.


	36. Goku Strikes Back! Final Showdown!

Chapter Thirty-six

Goku Strikes Back! Final Showdown with the Demon!

Piccolo Daimaou flew back up into the ship and walked back towards his throne. Like the worthless sycophants that they wore, Pilaf and his slaves crowded around him and smothered him with hollow praise.

"Congratulations, Lord Piccolo!" Pilaf said with a terrified false earnesty. "You have recovered your youth! Soon, we shall all rule the world!" Piccolo glowered down at them before turning his attention to Piano.

"Do you know this technology well enough to fly this ship?" he asked. Piano nodded and Piccolo gestured towards the bridge. "Then do so." Shu looked nervously at Pilaf as Piano walked towards the controls and took the chair.

"I-it's fine," Pilaf assured Shu unconvincingly, "I'm sure that Lord Piccolo is just giving you a break. You've worked very hard flying the airship for the last few days. We've _all_ worked hard to help Piccolo regain his youth, r-right?" He looked up at Piccolo pleadingly and Piccolo… smiled.

"Yes," Piccolo told him in a reassuring tone, "You certainly have. In fact, I think it's time you all received your reward." Pilaf and Shu grinned widely although Mai looked suspicious. Their expressions all unanimously turned to horror as Piccolo pointed his palm towards them. "Your _eternal_ reward." The trio barely had time to scream before the white-hot blast stripped them to the bone and blasted a hole in the bottom of the ship. Piano fought to regain control while Piccolo was unmoved by the rocking of the vessel around him.

"You might have waited," Piano muttered under his breath, "To kill them until _after_ I had landed?" Piccolo ignored his son and settled down into his throne.

"My mind is clear. My youth restored. My body strengthened. Take me to my throne."

OoOoOoO

It was a perfectly normal afternoon at the palace of King Furry, the ruler of the world. Four golden spires atop alabaster towers, around a center spire that topped a wider blue tower that all stretched towards the sun. There was a soft breeze blowing through the trees and the guards were making their way around the perimeter as King Furry shuffled papers on his desk and enjoyed a rare moment of peace in his usually busy days of running the world. The breeze blew through his open window and he sighed pleasantly before he leaned back in his chair with his hands on his lapels. It was a lovely day.

Then an airship dropped out of the sky and smashed into one of the towers before violently exploding. The guards charged towards the fire with the logical assumption that it had been a crashed landing and there might be survivors inside. So they were shocked when ten lances of light shot from the flames and pierced through their skulls. Piccolo Daimaou walked through the flames with Piano following closely behind, neither worse for wear after their landing. Piccolo smiled to himself as other guards charged them and rolled his shoulders.

"I do love the way humans die," he said before he waved his hand in a wide arc to blast them all to bits. It was a simple enough path to the king's office. He could have flown, honestly, and been done in minutes. However, it was _far_ more fun to make him sweat. They had such strange little weapons, these humans. Full of sound and fury but in the end accomplishing nothing. Soon enough, he stood before the door to the king's office and blasted the door down with a kiai. He strode into the room as bullets bounced uselessly off his skin and simply waited for them to stop. "Who is the king among you?" he demanded before settling his gaze on an orange fox-man sitting behind the desk the other men were crowded around. "Is it you?" The fox-man nodded. "Rise." The fox-man stood slowly from the chair with trembling limbs and walked towards the front of the group. "Kneel." The fox-man knelt before Piccolo… and twin threads of death flew from Piccolo's eyes and punctured through his skull. His shocked expression was frozen onto his face as he slumped to the floor. "No one who leads so many could kneel so quickly."

"I'm the man he died for," a gruff, older voice said from amongst the crowd of men and animal-men. They parted and a blue wolf-man stepped forward, "I am the King," he told Piccolo, "I'll kneel, if it will save lives."

"For a time," Piccolo told him, "Starting with your own." King Furry walked towards Piccolo Daimaou and stood before him, face wracked with turmoil before he slowly bent his knee.

"Oh God," King Furry sobbed as he looked down at the floor. Piccolo smirked.

" _He_ will not help you," he assured the now-former King.

OoOoOoO

Goku frowned as she looked up at Korin's lookout. It looked like it was getting closer but it just didn't feel like they were going fast enough. Something really bad was happening with that Piccolo jerk, she just _knew_ it!

"How much longer?" Goku asked Suno as the other girl made her way swiftly up the tower while carrying Goku on her back.

"I don't know," Suno muttered through gritted teeth. "I don't mean to be rude, Goku, but this isn't as easy as it looks!" Goku recoiled slightly and Suno sighed. "I'm sorry, Goku. I guess I'm just as worried as you are." They climbed in silence for a little bit before Suno said something. "How are you feeling? Can you move at all?"

"A little bit," Goku said as she wriggled her tail. She was still in a lot of pain but she could move a little. She wasn't going to try and move too much because she didn't want Suno to drop her. Then Suno would have to climb all the way back down and up again!

"Okay," Suno said after they climbed for a little longer, "I think I see the top! Hold on tight!" Suno reached her arms out and pulled herself up through one of the holes in the bottom. For a few seconds she was dangling in the open air by just her fingertips before she pulled herself and Goku up into the lookout. "Can you walk?" Suno asked Goku. Goku nodded and hopped off of Goku's back. She was still sore but she didn't want Suno to keep carrying her around. She felt kinda bad and besides that, she wasn't a baby!

"Korin!" Goku called out as she and Suno climbed the stairs to the next floor, "Where are you?"

"No need to shout," Korin said as they climbed up the stairs. "Where else _would_ I be?" He leaned on his cane and looked at the two of them suspiciously as his whiskers bobbed. "Hmm. Sure looks bad down there. So what the heck are you doin' here?"

"We were hoping you could train us again," Goku told him. "Last time I got strong enough to beat up that Tao Pai Pai jerk. If you trained me again, I could defeat Piccolo for sure!"

Korin stared at her for a minute before walking off to grab something. "Hold on. You're in pretty rough shape. Lemme fix that." He returned a moment later with the pot of senzu and threw one at Goku. "Here, eat this." Goku stared at the bean for a moment, confused, before shrugging and eating it. She and Suno were both surprised as Goku's body was instantly healed and Goku was reenergized. Korin laughed at this before saying, "See? More than just an easy meal, isn't it?"

Goku laughed as she stretched her now pain free body, "Wow, you're right! So will you train us again?"

"Nope," he told her flatly. "There's nothin' left for me to teach you." Goku was crestfallen. This had been her only idea!

"Why not?" she asked. "We _need_ to get stronger to fight Piccolo Daimaou!" Korin sighed and shook his head.

"There's no way I could train you to get stronger. You're already stronger than me, Goku, and getting Suno up to your level wouldn't help you." Korin looked at them with as genuinely apologetic expression as you could get from a cat whose eyes were always closed. "I'm sorry but there's nothin' for you to learn here. I know it's hard, but there's just no way to win against Piccolo Daimaou. He's unlike anything on this planet, and I've seen it all in these eight hundred years I've lived." Goku was quiet for a while and stared uselessly at her hands. Was this it? Was it all over? Then Korrin said something that shook Goku to her very core. "Not even Muten Roshi could stand against him."

Goku was frozen. Master Roshi was… dead? She had a bad feeling earlier before the sky went dark and Shenron was summoned but… was that what she was feeling? At once, her memories of her old Master returned to her. The first time she met him, when she went to him for help with Frypan Mountain, the year-and-a-half she spent training with him and Krillin before the 21st Budoukai, her fight against him at the finals, getting the Itetsuku Sphere from him, the raid on the Red Ribbon Army's base, the tournament at Uranai Baba's palace, and everything at the 22nd Budoukai. She had loved being around Master Roshi because, in a way, he reminded her of her grandpa. When he was around, she missed her grandpa a little less. And now… he was gone.

A rage surged inside Goku the likes of which she hadn't known before. Even the rage she had felt from Krillin's death could not compare for it had been tempered by her guilt whereas her anger over Master Roshi's death only added more hatred to the one who took them away from her. Never before had Goku been so thoroughly consumed by the desire to kill someone before. No matter what it took, even if it killed her, she would make Piccolo pay.

"That…! That monster! I'LL KILL HIM!" Goku turned around and started to run towards the edge of the platform but was stopped by Korin's voice.

"WHAT?! What do you think you're doing?! Do you want to get yourself killed this time?!"

Goku turned to look at Korin, "I'm gonna do whatever I can! I can't let him get away with killing Master Roshi!" This seemed to take subdue Korin as his words were much softer as he held out his paw.

"But wait… Please… You're gonna die for sure this time!"

"I don't care! I can't just do nothing!"

Korin was silent for a moment as he contemplated something, his face scrunched up in many different emotions.

"Please," Suno said softly, "There must be _something,_ Master Korin. Anything. Whatever it is, whatever you're hiding, we're willing to take the risks."

"Very well," he muttered. "If you're already willing to die, there's something you can do. Hang on." He quickly puttered off down the stairs and returned with a teapot and a tea cup. "You know that water I had you two chasing? _This_ is the real deal. This is the Water of God." Korin poured the water into the cup and offered it to Goku. It was the darkest water Goku had ever seen and she could feel the cold moving through the cup and up her arms. It smelled kind of funny, too. She wasn't looking forward to drinking it.

"So, if I drink this, will I get stronger?" Goku asked.

"I can't say for certain. The Water of God isn't some game like the "Super Holy Water", it's a magnificent elixir that can draw out any and all hidden strength within you. So if you're already as strong as you're gonna get, this won't do anythin' for ya."

"Hmm…" Goku hummed and looked at her fists, "I wonder… Do I still have any hidden powers…?"

Suno smiled at her friend, "Knowing you? Of course. You probably have more power than we can even imagine. Why don't you drink it and see?"

"Not so fast," Korin interrupted. "The Water of God is also a potent toxin. If you don't possess tremendous stamina, spirit, and will to live; you'll die instantly." Goku's eyes bugged out wide and so did Suno's. That certainly explained why he had been so hesitant to bring it up.

"Wait, what?!" Suno asked in shock. Goku stared down at the water again and frowned. Now she _really_ didn't like it.

"It's only after your body battles and defeats the poison that any hidden strength can be drawn out."

"Di-Did you drink it, Master Korin?" Suno asked.

"I tried but I couldn't take it and spat it right out."

"How many people had drunk it and lived?" Goku asked. If not even Master Korin could stand it then anyone who has must be really strong!

"Do you really wanna know?" Korin asked. Goku nodded but Suno wasn't so sure. "Fourteen people have drunk the Water of God… Every one of them a skilled and powerful fighter… But nobody lived to tell the tale."

"Not even _one?!_ " Goku exclaimed. This certainly raised the question of how Korin knew that the water would, in fact, make you stronger but both of them trusted him enough not to question him. Goku had a determined look on her face as she said, "I'll try it!"

"Are… Are you certain? This is a decision only you can make…"

Goku nodded, "I'm not gonna die. If I don't do it and fight Piccolo then I'm dead anyway. I've got to avenge Krillin and Master Roshi so I have to get strong enough to defeat Piccolo no matter what!"

Korin nodded slowly as Goku brought the cup to lips. Just before she could drink it, an unexpected voice made her stop.

"Wait! Goku…" Suno paused and close her eyes before taking a deep breath. When she reopened her eyes, they were as clear and determined as they had ever been. "If… If you're going to drink the Water of God then… Then I'll drink it too!" Korin stared at her for a moment and shrugged before heading back downstairs.

"Suno," Goku said softly as she looked at her friend, "You don't have to do this." She'd told Suno before that she didn't want any more of her friends to die and if something were to happen to Suno, this would be even _worse_ than if Suno were killed in a fight. It would be Goku's fault. _Again._

"Yes I do, Goku," Suno said firmly, "I… I don't want to li–"

"Okay," Korin said as he appeared again with another cup, "Got it!" Suno's face was bright red as Korin poured the cup and handed it to her. "This is your last chance to ba–" Goku immediately slammed the cup back and drained it before letting it fall from her fingers. "...Wow." Suno grimaced and chugged the Ultra Divine Water as well. For a few seconds Goku felt… okay. It didn't even taste that bad. Then she was on her back and screaming because everything was pain.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan had woken up Yamcha and Launch after Piccolo had flown off and had to tell them the bad news. Launch's hair had turned blue while she was unconscious and her personality had been extremely different. Which confused Ten but hadn't seemed that important at the time. It was a sullen flight back to the Kame House and the Bulma girl's reaction had been… distraught, to say the least. Ten had left them to their grief and flew off to the south and found an island where he could be alone.

For several minutes he had wept, miserably and bitterly. It had been such an alien experience to Ten that for the first few moments he hadn't even understood what was happening to him. Tears were for other people, weaker people. Yet he had wept all the same. He wept for Chaozu, his only friend. He wept for Muten Roshi, who had seen the light in him. He wept for the world and how it would suffer under the heel of Piccolo Daimaou. Quickly enough, however, Ten's despair had given way to determination. As he stood atop a rocky outcrop and laid the rice cooker down on the ground, he told himself that the age of demons hadn't begun just yet. He thrust out his hands and a green cyclone of light began to swirl between them.

"Mafuuba!"

OoOoOoO

Yamcha glowered on Roshi's couch at the TV while the news was playing. Launch was in the kitchen and staring out the window again and Bulma was curled up on the couch beside Yamcha. Part of him knew that he should put an arm around her, comfort her, do _something._ He'd promised her that no one would die and he'd let her down. He couldn't do it, though. He was in too black of a mood. They'd failed. Big time. He just felt so… helpless. So _useless._ The anchor-cat suddenly announced that King Furry had an important announcement and Yamcha's stomach tightened into a miserable knot. The king stood stock-still in front of the camera in a nervous sweat and looked like he was being held hostage. That only made Yamcha feel worse.

"Citizens of the world," King Furry said slowly, as though he could delay whatever awful news he was about to reveal by taking as long as possible to say it, "I come to you today with tidings graver than I could possibly imagine. I am afraid I must tell you that as of this moment I must step down as King. Your new ruler is… Piccolo Daimaou." The camera swung around and Piccolo Daimaou's face filled the screen. Bulma shrieked in shock and gripped Yamcha's arm as Launch ran into the room to see what was happening. Bulma had never actually _seen_ Piccolo before.

"Hello," Piccolo said smugly. "For those of you who do not know who I am, I am Piccolo Daimaou. I am now the ruler of this world! I despise 'peace' and 'justice'. As of this moment, I dissolve all peacekeeping and law enforcing agencies. Terror, violence, and death shall reign! To commemorate my ascent to the throne, this day, May 9th, shall forevermore be known as Piccolo Daimaou Day!" Then he chuckled and said, "And just _wait_ until you see how I plan to celebrate." The camera panned out slowly to show Piccolo seated in a throne with a globe beside him. He spinned the globe idly and smirked. "As you all know, y–" he paused and chuckled, " _My_ planet is divided into 43 sectors. Each year, on the anniversary of this day, I shall draw a slip of paper containing one of these sectors. That sector will host the Piccolo Day celebration… before I destroy it." He chuckled again. "After all, you do seem to _love_ your fireworks, don't you?" Then he threw back his head and let out a booming and boisterous laugh. Yamcha growled between his teeth and his fingernails dug into the couch as Piccolo rummaged through a box containing the slips of paper. "Ah, it appears that the first sector shall be… Sector 29! West City!" Bulma brought her hands up to her mouth in horror. Her parents! All her friends! "I am a merciful king, of course. Your deaths shall be instantaneous." Then he laughed again and Yamcha grabbed the TV suddenly, raising it high overhead with a roar before smashing it to pieces on the floor.

"That is _it!"_ he declared furiously as he gripped the hilt of his sword. "I am _not_ going to just stand around and wait for him to wipe out the entire planet!" Yamcha turned his attention to Launch. "Launch, go sneeze. Then we're gonna find Tenshinhan." To his surprise, Launch shook her head.

"No," she said emphatically, "If we're going to fight, I'm going to be _me!"_ Yamcha nodded and admired Launch's courage. He supposed it didn't make a difference either way.

"Alright," he said, "Now let's–"

"No!" Bulma cried out as she grabbed Yamcha's arm with a desperate urgency, "You can't do this to me, Yamcha. Not again! How many more people are going to die this time?! I _have_ to go with you! He-he's going to blow up my city!" Yamcha's first impulse was to wrench his arm away and scold Bulma for what could only be described as insanity but when he looked at her eyes… her beautiful blue eyes that were shining with barely-held tears, he thought better of it. That wasn't what was needed right now.

"Look, Bulma…" he sighed and put his arm around her, "This is our last shot. Launch, Ten, and me; we're the only ones left strong enough to try and fight Piccolo. If we lose, there's no coming back either way." Bulma whimpered and clung to Yamcha tighter. He smiled at her and turned her chin up to look at him. "Hey, there might not be anyone _strong_ enough left but I know there'll be someone _smart_ enough." Bulma's eyes widened with understanding and Yamcha nodded. "Between you and your dad, you'd be able to find somewhere that Piccolo couldn't get to you and however long it took, you'd be able to think of a way to beat him. That's why you need to stay behind, Bulma. If we lose, _you're_ the only one left who could save the world. I believe in you." Bulma smiled and wiped her eyes before grabbing Yamcha's hair and pulling him into a kiss. It was a kiss like they might never see each other again. A kiss like the end of the world. After an all-too-brief eternity, Bulma smiled and stroked Yamcha's chin, looking a bit more like her old self.

"Well, you two better get goin'," she said with a grin before giving Yamcha a smack on the butt. He jumped and blushed before he ran out the door and Bulma grabbed Launch's arm as the other girl started to leave. "Hey," she said perhaps a bit too harshly and Launch looked… angry? Could Blue Launch _get_ angry? "I mean…" Bulma sighed and let go of the other girl's arm. "Just keep Yamcha safe, okay?" Launch smiled and gave Bulma a quick hug.

"Sure thing," she told Bulma as she broke the embrace and gave a little wave as she ran out the door. She hopped onto Yamcha's Flying Squirrel and wrapped her arms around his middle as they flew south to find Ten.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan guided the swirling green light down into the rice cooker and watched it snap shut with a satisfied smirk. This had been the third time he'd successfully performed the Mafuuba and he was feeling fine.

"I knew I could do it," he muttered to himself as he wiped sweat off his brow. "I knew I was strong enough." He felt a little more of the confidence, the _arrogance_ he had felt before meeting Son Goku when he heard a horn from above. He turned around to see Yamcha and Launch, the girl who could apparently change the color of her hair.

"Well," Yamcha said as his flying contraption hovered down to be level with Ten, "Looks like you're makin' progress. Wanna go fight the Demon King?" Tenshinhan raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I did not have any other plans," Ten told him with the tiniest bit of a smile. Yamcha's eyebrows raised up on his face in surprise.

"Was… was that a _joke?"_ Yamcha asked in almost disbelief before he waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind. Between the three of us, especially with the Mafuuba, we have a real shot at beating Piccolo. One final, all-out assault. No going back, no retreat. Just so you know what you're getting in for." He held his hand out for Tenshinhan to shake. "Last chance to back out… although I don't really have a plan if we don't have the Mafuuba…" Ten stared down at Yamcha's hand for a moment before he clasped it firmly and shook it.

"You know," Ten said with a chuckle, "It's funny. Until yesterday, I wanted to be the greatest assassin of all time and had trained all my life to kill people. Now I'm off to save the world." Yamcha grinned and shrugged.

"Eh, I was a desert bandit. I've killed like five people directly and… I dunno, _more_ indirectly by stealing their stuff. Launch used to rob people at gunpoint and steal cars and planes." Launch nodded and Tenshinhan's eyes widened in surprise.

"It doesn't matter what we were or what we did," Launch said, "All that matters is _who_ we _are_ and what we're _going_ to do." Yamcha nodded and turned the flying machine towards the horizon.

"C'mon, Triclops," he said as he revved the engine. "World ain't savin' itself."

OoOoOoO

Goku sat up with a groan and slowly opened her eyes once everything stopped hurting. As she rubbed her eyes and blinked them a few times, she realized that something was different about her and it wasn't just that she was stronger. She could _feel_ something different. She could feel… energy. She could sense her friends' energies and Piccolo's terrible, evil power. She could feel Suno and Korin's powers, too!

"Wow, Suno," Goku said to her friend as the other girl sat up and held her head, "You got stronger, too!" Suno slowly shook her head and opened her eyes.

"Whuh?" she muttered as she looked at Goku. "Oh! You can sense ki too, now?" Then she gasped in surprise and clapped her hands to her cheeks. "Goku! Your power's _huge!_ " Goku grinned and stood up before she helped Suno to her feet.

"Well," Korin said with a smile, "Glad to see it didn't kill either of you. Would have been a pain to push your bodies off the edge of the tower." They stared at him and he sighed. "It was a _joke."_

"Master Korin," Suno asked, "How long have we been out?" Korin frowned and started counting on his fingers while muttering under his breath.

"I'd say, oh… about six hours now." Suno and Goku's eyes bulged at that statement.

"Six hours?!" they asked together in disbelief. That was _so long!_

"Well," Korin said, "The good news is that Piccolo hasn't killed anyone else yet. Although people _have_ started killing each other since Piccolo got rid of the police and military. Your three friends are going to go try and fight him so I'd get a move on if I were you." Goku frowned at that. There was no way Ten, Yamcha, and Launch could beat Piccolo but she could sense how far away they were.

"We'll never be able to get to wherever they are in my car," Suno muttered with a hand under her chin in thought. Goku shook her head and balled her fists resolutely.

"We _have_ to get there," she said firmly. "We have to help them!" She wasn't going to let any more of her friends die! Piccolo Daimaou wouldn't be killing anyone else! "If that jerk hadn't blown up my Nimbus…"

"Oh," Korin said, "Is that all?" He hopped up onto the railing around the platform and whistled loudly. Goku and Suno ran to look over the railing as they heard a deep rumbling from just underneath. Goku gasped and stared as an _enormous_ Nimbus hovered just under them. It was as big as a whale! "Take as much as you want," Korin told her. "That's the original cloud that yours broke off of." Goku grinned and was prepared to jump before Korin put a paw on her shoulder. "Oh, almost forgot. Can't have you runnin' off to fight to the death lookin' like that, can we?" He gestured to the torn and tattered remains of Krillin's suit and pointed his staff at her. "Bazam!" Goku was suddenly hit with a bright light and her clothes were replaced by a full Turtle School gi! There were, Goku noticed, a few changes. The black shoes, blue wristbands, and blue belt were now all white, and so was the character for "Turtle". Korin shrugged and grinned. "I jazzed it up a little." Goku hugged Korin before she jumped onto the huge yellow cloud and bounced as she landed.

"Make sure it's a big piece," Suno told her as Goku started gathering the cloud up in her arms, "The old one was getting kinda cramped." Goku nodded and made sure she had a big pile of clouds in her arms before she threw it into the sky and it hovered just over her head. She jumped onto it and Suno landed behind her.

"Let's go, Nimbus!" Goku told the cloud as she thrust her fist out towards the horizon. The cloud streaked across the sky and the two girls laughed as Korin watched them fly off. He could tell Goku was about Piccolo's equal in power now. He only hoped that it would be _enough_ to be equal. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling and sighed.

"You sure you don't wanna come down and help?" he asked. As usual, there was no answer.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo Daimaou sat idly in his throne and smiled in contentment. All his enemies were defeated. There was nothing left to fear, no challenge left to overcome, and _he_ was too great a coward to face him. He could close his eyes and feel all those worthless ants slaughtering each other. Not all of them, of course. Some were trying to hold onto their "goodness" or "humanity". In time, however, they'd all be murdering each other like rats fighting for a scrap of cheese. It was their nature to be cruel, after all.

Yet now, in his moment of greatest triumph, he suddenly felt a strange… emptiness? His adversary was long dead. All the Earth was his domain and there were no worlds left to conquer. It was tedious enough to make him weep and yet… and yet… there were other _worlds_ to conquer, weren't there? Even before he had begun his conquest over mankind centuries ago, Piccolo could remember looking up at the stars and feeling them calling to him, calling him home. As if… as if the stars were _singing,_ only to him. Yes, Piccolo decided, that would be it. He did not care how long it would take, he had _eternal_ youth after all, but some day he would leave this worthless world and spread the terror of Piccolo Daimaou out across the stars.

Piccolo suddenly felt the smallest pressure on his mind that snapped him out of his reverie. It seemed that there were still _some_ fools who sought to oppose him. As he did not feel that the three worthless powers were worth his time, he quickly made the chant and opened his mouth. The egg flew out and shattered on the ground and Piccolo smirked as he felt no strain from the exercise whatsoever.

"You," he gestured to his newest son, "Shall be Drum." Drum was a tall, robust creature. He was nearly as tall as Piccolo himself with mottled green skin and pointed ears and no nose. Like all his brothers except for Cymbal, he had clothes; a pair of blue pantaloons and blue boots with an orange sash around his middle. "There are interlopers coming that seek to do me harm. Destroy them!" Drum nodded and charged through the nearest wall… and immediately plummeted several stories to the ground below. Piccolo groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew the fall wouldn't kill the boy but… _why were they all so stupid when they were born?!_ "Piano," he bellowed, "Get in here!" It was time to see what his bright, young boy knew about rocket ships.

OoOoOoO

"All right," Yamcha said as the King's Palace drew near, "Let's go over this one more time." He felt like a bit of an asshole for saying that, they'd been coming up with and going over the plan, and backup plans, for the last six hours. Still, it was better to be over prepared than underprepared. "We'll all go at Piccolo at once to take him off-balance. When Launch and I get him to ourselves, we'll try and give you an opening, Ten. That's when you hit him with the Mafuuba."

"I still don't understand why I don't attack with the Mafuuba immediately," Ten objected. "He won't be expecting it. The only person he believed to know the technique is dead. He was even surprised that Muten was capable of it." Yamcha sighed and shook his head.

"Ten, I'm telling you," he'd said as he'd said several times over the past several hours, "It's _because_ he didn't expect it to happen before that he'll be on his toes. That's why he had that monster of his steal the listings of all the competitors in the Budoukai. He's afraid that _any_ martial artist might be able to use it. Once me and Launch get him to focus on us, that'll be your best chance."

"Uh, guys," Launch said with a tap on Yamcha's shoulder, "I think someone's expecting us." She pointed down to the ground and the three saw a large, green… creature staring up at them.

"Huh," Yamcha muttered, "That is an ugly sumbitch, isn't he? Hold on, Launch!" Yamcha suddenly pushed forward on the controls and brought the Flying Squirrel into a nose dive towards the strange green monster, down and down until he could see the white of its beady eyes. "Now!" He and Launch jumped away as the machine smashed into the monster in a ball of fire and rolled onto their feet as Tenshinhan landed beside them. Yamcha grinned as the flames roared but then he frowned as the demon walked out of the flames unharmed. "Man," he muttered, "As much as that thing cost, I would hope it did _something!"_

"Ha," the demon laughed, "You'll have to try harder than that, little man! I am Drum, son of Piccolo Daimaou, and I will–" suddenly _Launch_ sprinted forward!

"Shut up already, you big dumb jerk!" She flew at Drum with a kick and pushed off the wall when he sidestepped to slam her elbow into the small of his back. Drum staggered forward but then swung back to hit her with a hammer-like blow that smashed her into the wall.

"He's fast for a big fellow," Ten muttered. Yamcha nodded and the pair charged him with a roar and attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks. Launch joined in as well and the three kept him off-balance with an assault from all sides until Drum swatted Launch away with a backfist and sent Yamcha through a tree with a headbutt. He was able to handle Tenshinhan easily enough once the triclops was on his own and grabbed him by the throat. Ten let out a gurgle and kicked his legs as Drum raised him high overhead and squeezed. Launch bounded to her feet and let loose a huge kiai through a roundhouse kick that struck Drum right in the elbow of the arm that was holding Ten and forced him to release his grip with a cry of pain.

Yamcha leaped at Drum with the broken tree he'd been put through high overhead in both hands and smashed it down onto the demon, who snarled up at Yamcha as the tree burst into splinters. His eyes glowed and crackled with energy and Launch leaped onto his back to yank on Drum's ears, the twin lightning bolts from his eyes missing Yamcha by inches before he drove his palm into Drum's gut. Launch yanked back harder as Ten dove down and smashed into Drum's knees to bring Drum crashing to the ground. Yamcha and Ten stood side by side as Yamcha brought his hands to his side and Ten pointed a glowing finger at Drum.

"Dodonpa!"

"Kamehameha!"

The two beams flew forth and met another pair of lightning bolts that Drum launched from his eyes in a fiery collision. Launch smashed her elbows into Drum's kidneys to send him stumbling forward as Ten charged forward and drove both knees into Drum's chest to send him staggering back with his hands covering his face against a salvo of kiai from Launch. Drum roared and swatted the blasts away and prepared for another attack… when Yamcha's sword pierced through his back and burst out of his stomach. Yamcha grit his teeth and yanked up to split Drum's neck and head completely in half, coating his sword and face with purple blood as the dead demonspawn fell forward. The three gathered around the corpse and Yamcha wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt.

"Well," he muttered, "That wasn't so–" Yamcha was cut off by the sound of someone slowly clapping. The three looked up to see Piccolo Daimaou slowly descending towards them and Yamcha had to fight to keep his grip steady on his sword.

"Well, well, well," Piccolo said. "It seems that there _are_ creatures left foolish enough to try to defeat me. Although I'm sure you'd prefer to think of yourselves as 'brave'. I'm afraid that you're actually _quite_ mad." Yamcha raised his sword up as Ten and Launch got into their guards on either side of him. "Oh? No great speech? Nothing about how you won't let my evil stand or how I'll pay for all the lives I've taken?"

"Kiss my ass and go to Hell, you big green loser!" Launch blurted out angrily and Yamcha stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. Her hair _was_ blue, right? Piccolo threw his head back and laughed.

"Well," he said, "I've certainly never heard that bef–"

"Now!" Ten called and the three charged him at once. Launch got in close with knees and elbows while Ten had took the middle range with his kicks and spear strikes and Yamcha had the longest reach with his sword. Not that it mattered since none of them seemed to be able to _hit_ the bastard! He was faster than anything they'd ever seen! Even Tenshinhan, who'd seen Piccolo fight Roshi, was unprepared for just how powerful Piccolo was with his youth restored. He swatted them all casually aside before Ten managed to spring up onto his feet and threw out his hand. "Dodonpa!" He called out. He couldn't risk the Kikouhou since he had to reserve his energy for the Mafuuba. Not that it mattered as the beam passed right through him and he was suddenly in front of Ten with a hand around his throat.

"That technique seems familiar," he said. "You must be a student of someone who opposed me." He squeezed and his claws bit into Ten's neck as Ten let out a croak of pain.

"D-did you ever see… this?!" he brought his hands up to his third eye with his palms facing out, "Taiyoken!" Piccolo cried out in pain and tossed Ten away as he was hit directly in the eyes with a blast like the glare of the sun. There was a high-pitched whistle as Yamcha hurtled his sword at Piccolo with all his might and bit into Piccolo's wrist before the blade shattered.

"What?!" Yamcha cried incredulously as he and Launch charged. "Oh, come on!" They let fly another flurry of punches and kicks before Piccolo suddenly slashed Yamcha across the face with one hand and his other hand sliced deep, bloody gashes into Yamcha's stomach to send him flying away. Yamcha cried with pain and clutched at his bleeding face as Piccolo drove a knee into Launch's chest to send her crashing into one of the towers. Ten jumped at Piccolo again and Piccolo smashed him into the ground with a slap before he turned his attention to Yamcha.

"You…" he growled, "You have been the first in centuries to wound me, the Demon King." He came closer and closer to Yamcha as the former bandit clutched his face and whimpered in pain, "So it seems only fitting that none in centuries _shall have felt as painful a death as you!"_ In that moment, time for Launch slowed to a crawl. Tenshinhan was down. Yamcha was helpless. She was the only one who could save him. She couldn't be afraid! In that moment, something stirred in Launch that she'd never felt. A power and a courage that even her blonde self had never known. She brought her hands down to her side and felt that power build and build.

"Kaaaameee…" ' _Sneeze!'_ the other voice told her. ' _You're not strong enough! You don't have the guts! You_ need _to be me!'_ "Haaameee…" ' _You'll screw up! You'll be afraid! You're always afraid!' 'No. No I'm not!'_ "Haaaaa!" The blast raced out of Launch's hand like a bolt of lightning… and Piccolo turned at the last moment and backhanded it over the horizon. That was all the distraction they needed.

"Do it, Ten!" Yamcha cried out despite his pain, "Do it now!" Ten threw down the rice cooker and thrust out his hands.

"Mafuubaaaaa!" he called out and as the rush of green energy swirled out towards him, Piccolo's expression was almost as exasperated as it was terrified. Tenshinhan fought to control the swirling vortex of energy as Piccolo raised and fought inside it. Even the Kikouhou hadn't been this painful! His arms were on fire and his head was pounding like it was going to explode! He let out a roar and pulled Piccolo down towards the rice cooker and was so focused on fighting the Demon King that he couldn't see the spiderweb of cracks spreading across the bottom of the rice cooker from the damage it had taken during his training…

Until it exploded violently into shards. Some of the shards cut into Ten's legs and he was sent flying back as Piccolo collapsed to the ground. He rose quickly to his feet and stomped towards Tenshinhan with a hand drawn back to kill. Launch leaped at him and Piccolo swatted her away with the sound of a sickening snap when she landed awkwardly on her arm.

"I am _so tired_ of that technique!" Piccolo growled as he stomped down on Ten's ribs. He raised his hand high and stopped when he heard a high-pitched whistle like something was falling towards him from high above….

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno tore through the sky on the Nimbus, the new one flying far faster than the old one ever could. "They're fighting Piccolo," Suno told Goku. When they sensed that Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Launch had arrived at Piccolo's location; they had decided that Suno would keep tabs on the battle as a whole while Goku would focus solely on Piccolo to get as firm of a grasp on his ki as possible.

Goku grunted in response as she grit her teeth. The others already had to fight that new mass of evil ki that, according to Suno, was even stronger than the jerk that killed Krillin and now they were fighting Piccolo. Goku knew that Tenshinhan was just about as strong as she had been at the Budoukai and even she couldn't do anything against him when they fought. As it was, she could only hope that they'd make it in time to save them as she urged the Nimbus on faster.

"Yamcha just went down. He's still alive but…." Suno reported. Even as she focused on the battle, she could feel Goku's ki bristling with anger. "Launch's ki spiked. I think she did the Kamehameha but…." They were so close now. Just a little more time was all they needed. "I… I don't know what Tenshinhan's doing. It's like a ki attack but it feels… weird. It's kind of like the Kikouhou but not as fierce. I guess it didn't do anything but he's much weaker now. And now Launch's ki dropped sharply…. Goku… I think Piccolo's going to kill Tenshinhan!"

Goku growled before shouting "Hold on!" and setting the Nimbus into a steep dive. They rocketed towards King Furry's palace, the wind whistling through their ears as they plummeted towards the ground. As soon as a tall figured garbed in blue was visible, Goku launched herself off of the Nimbus and towards it. The figure looked up just in time to dodge out of the way before Goku's feet could crash into his face.

"G-Goku! And Suno, too! You guys are alive!" Yamcha cried out in surprise as Goku glared as Piccolo and Suno landed beside her.

"A-Are you really Goku?" Ten asked. The ki was sensing from the two in front of him, _especially_ Goku, was insane. She wasn't _nearly_ this strong back at the Budoukai!

"Well, this is a surprise. I was certain that I had killed you," Piccolo said. A shared look was all it took before Suno quickly started to get their friends away from the impending battle.

"I guess I'm pretty tough!" Goku said before she looked at Piccolo suspiciously. Something was _different._ "Hey, did you change your face?" Piccolo chuckled menacingly as he spread his hands out wide and gestured towards himself.

"I've regained my youth and true power. Do you know what that means? It means that the opponent who beat you _utterly_ last time was only a shadow of the warrior you face now!"

Goku smirked, "You're not the only one who's gotten stronger! I'll beat for sure this time!"

Piccolo scowled, "You truly are a glutton for punishment." He slowly started walking forward until he was right in front of Goku, "You say that you're going to defeat _me?_ The Great Demon King Piccolo? I beat you. Humbled you. How could this possibly be any different?"

Goku grinned as she clenched her fists and glared up at Piccolo, "Because this time, I'm not going to stop fighting until you're dead!" Piccolo scoffed.

"I don't have time for your games. I have a celebration to attend and a city to raze. You'll be dead in five seconds."

Almost faster than Yamcha, Launch, or Tenshinhan could see; Piccolo flashed towards Goku and struck at her with a powerful knifehand strike. Without giving any ground, Goku merely brought up an arm and effortlessly blocked it. Piccolo and Piano gasped in shock while Ten, Launch, and Yamcha looked on in awe. Undeterred, Piccolo sent a blindingly fast punch towards Goku with his other hand but she redirected it and flipped him over her head and into the central tower in one smooth motion.

All of the spectators except for Suno were stunned as the tower came crashing down on top of the Demon King. Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Launch in particular couldn't even believe that the person standing before them was Goku. They had thrown everything they had at Piccolo and couldn't even so much as get dust on him while Goku was tossing him around like he was nothing.

The rubble shifted as Piccolo got up, completely unharmed. He glared with murderous fury at Goku who merely smiled impudently and said, "I think five seconds are up."

Like that, something inside Daimaou snapped. The air became heavy with killing intent as he screamed in a voice full of venom, " **YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"** He jumped high into the air before flying down towards Goku at incredible speed. Just before he landed, he reached out with one hand and fired a powerful ki blast towards her and bellowed out "Obliterate!". Goku jumped to avoid it but Piccolo sneered as he landed and immediately fired another blast at her. Unable to dodge, Goku was forced to cross her arms and take the blast head on. The force of the blast launched her towards another tower so she quickly flipped and landed in a crouch on it, the massive structure buckling from the force, before launching herself back to the ground.

Piccolo stared at the unharmed girl in equal parts amazement, confusion, and trepidation. "Just what _are_ you?! This is some kind of joke! Th-this is utterly ridiculous!"

Goku smoothly slid into her guard stance and hardened her glare, "Get ready! Now it's time for _my_ attack!"

Goku drew back her arm as Piccolo looked on, amused, "Attack? _You_ are going to attack _me?_ The Daimaou?" His face then contorted with rage as he screamed, "YOU ARROGANT LITTLE BRAT! WHEN YOU SEE MY TRUE POWER, YOU SHALL KNOW DEATH!"

"You took away a lot I really cared about. You've hurt and killed a lot of people! You won't get away with it!"

The air between the two fighters froze with tension so thick that it was almost hard to breath. Neither Goku nor Piccolo so much as twitched as they waited for the chance to move. Then it happened. In a flash, Goku charged Piccolo and rammed the fist she had pulled back into the side of his face. Piccolo went flying backwards and ended up sprawled on the ground a fair ways away.

From where he sat on the sidelines, Yamcha blinked a few times. "Did- Did anyone see that?" Launch and Ten shook their heads, both of them staring in Goku in equal parts awe and fear. Noticing that someone was being left out, the trio slowly turned their heads to look at Suno. Feeling their eyes on her, Suno looked at them out of the corner of her eye before nodding and returning her attention to the fight "Hey, Suno, you don't happen to be as strong as Goku, are you?"

Suno shook her head. "I'm also a lot stronger than I was before but Goku's a lot stronger than I am."

Piccolo groaned as he slowly stood up. "You'll _pay_ for that!" He charged at Goku and she ducked underneath his horizontal knifehand strike before countering with a sliding kick to his foot. She quickly jumped towards Piccolo but was caught off guard as he pushed himself off with his hands and sent a kick into her chest. Goku rebounded off the ground and managed to catch Piccolo square in the chest with a kick which stunned him long enough for her to follow up with a punch to the exact same spot and a kick to his head.

Piccolo stumbled backwards and glared fiercely at Goku but then the glare softened and he began to do the oddest, most disturbing thing. Piccolo Daimaou began laughing.

"Well done," he said as he wiped some purple blood off of his chin. "I gladly commend you, no other being has ever damaged Piccolo Daimaou's pride such as you."

"I'm tired of playing around! Show me what you've got!" Goku challenged. Piccolo smirked.

"Heh, so you noticed. I'm not surprised. I'm a bit out of practice, so fighting at my full power would leave me exhausted and I'd prefer not to do it since I still have things to do today but it seems you've given me no choice… my adversary."

Piccolo clenched his fists as he started screaming. Veins appeared on his hands and head as his entire body was enveloped in an aura of demonic ki that wavered and branched off like electricity. Ten, Yamcha, and Launch all moved back a few steps as they looked on in horror and even Suno took a half step back at this monstrous ki she was sensing. Goku, however, was completely unfazed.

"I hope you have made peace with whatever God you believe in," Piccolo said as he finished powering up.

"Same to you," Goku said, "Now _I_ can fight _you_ as hard as I want, too!"

"Do you expect me to believe that _you_ weren't putting out your full strength either? You must take me for a fool."

"Well, you _are_ a big jerk."

"And you are a walking corpse!"

Goku slid into her guard stance while Piccolo remained in his casual stance. He just smiled and waved his hand to send a powerful kiai at Goku who was forced a step back. Behind her, everything from the palace to the other end of the city was blown away. Even Goku was impressed by it.

"You really are strong. If anyone deserves to brag, it's definitely you," Goku said with a smile that dissolved into a glare. " _Let's go._ "

Goku and Piccolo charged at each other and then promptly disappeared. All throughout the courtyard, shockwaves sprang seemingly from nowhere as the two fighters clashed at supersonic speeds. The remaining towers shook, the nearby walls were destroyed, and even the ground was being cratered by the power of the impacts. Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Launch could barely even stand their ground.

While their clash seemed simple to most of the observers, it was anything. Both Piccolo and Goku were anticipating and reacting to moves four or five steps ahead. Goku went for an uppercut to Piccolo's stomach so he tried to counter with a horizontal knifehand strike. Goku stepped deeper into her attack and ducked under his arm before leaping up with a roundhouse kick aimed at his face. Piccolo leaned backwards to avoid it only for Goku to abort that attack and bring her leg in to chamber a kick aimed at the side of his head. He leaned away and forwards to avoid it only be caught by Goku's true attack as she brought her other leg around and connected with his jaw.

Piccolo got launched away and quickly regained his footing before stretching his arm out to grab Goku before she could land. He pulled her over to him and slammed his fist into her face sending her bouncing off the ground and into a wall. He immediately fired off a ki blast and smirked as she jumped up to avoid it. As she was distracted by the blast, his arm stretched out once again to grab her only to sail through her afterimage. He was stunned for only a split second but that was all it took for Goku so slam the Power Pole into his outstretched arm and send it crashing into the ground.

Goku landed and grabbed Piccolo's arm as he started to pull it in and use a sweeping kick to launch a kiai at Piccolo's shins. As he was bowled over, Goku yanked on his arm as hard as she could to pull him over to her. While he was in transit, she brought her hands to her sides as Piccolo looked up at her. "Kamehameha!" The pure blue beam was met by a dark yellow beam from Piccolo's mouth and the resulting explosion covered the entire area in dust. Before Goku could even blink, Piccolo's fist rammed into her stomach and lifted her off the ground before he sent her away with a backhand.

Before Goku could regain her balance, Piccolo brought his overlapped hands in front of him as he began focusing his incredible power. "I'll show you a demon's wrath! Bakurikimaha!" Knowing that blocking would not be an option if she wanted to keep fighting, Goku used multiple kiai to launch herself out of the way only to realize too late that now her friends were being targeted.

Seeing that the blast was heading right for them, Suno did the only thing she could think of. Using a low powered kiai, she pushed the others out of the way before using the last instant to avoid a direct hit. The blast clipped her and sent her spinning away, her clothes ruined and her right side a bloody mess, went on and vaporized the city.

Goku tore her attention away from the scene and back towards Piccolo, trying to take solace in the fact that she could still feel's Suno's ki. With her rage rekindled, Goku launched herself at the recovering Piccolo and caught him square in the face with a dropkick. The instant she recovered, she flashed towards Piccolo as he turned to face her and sent a flurry of jabs hammering into his stomach before following up with a rising uppercut that sent them both into the air. She then brought her hands to her side and finished up with a powerful Kamehameha to his chest that launched him into the ground where he created a large, dust filled crater.

Goku landed and maintained her guard even as she struggled to catch her breath. They had only been fighting for a minute or two but the amount of energy she had already expended was far greater than any of her previous fights. At this rate, she only only keep fighting at this level for maybe another minute or so if she was lucky.

Just as they were beginning to wonder if Piccolo had fallen unconscious, a voice rang out, "Bakurikimaha!" Goku only had time to look stunned before a bright, white sphere crashed into her, the explosion destroying most of what was left of the courtyard. When the dust settled, Piccolo was standing in his crater, his gi in tatters and his purple blood trickling out from various wounds all over his body. Goku, meanwhile, was lying on her back in another crater, he gi similarly ruined and her body similarly covered in wounds.

Everyone froze for a moment as they waited for something to happen. Then Piccolo started laughing. It was a low chuckle at first but it started to build more and more as time passed. Before it could get into full blown maniacal laughter, however, he quickly stopped as Goku struggled to her feet.

"You're running out of energy," Goku said weakly. "That last one wasn't nearly as strong as the first."

Piccolo went wide eyed before he chuckled knowingly. "I see now. You are just like me, adversary. Your power is unlike anything else on this planet. How fitting. Come. We are both at the end of our strength so let us see whose will is stronger."

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Piccolo and Goku drug themselves out of their respective craters and faced each other on the bit of even ground left. Neither of them assumed a guard stance and both were panting heavily as sweat poured down their bodies. Using great effort, Goku drew back her and slammed it into Piccolo's stomach with a yell. He staggered backwards, coughing up blood, before sending a kick into Goku's shoulder. She stumbled sideways and caught Piccolo in the side of the knee with a hammerfist strike which brought him down to his knees. Before she could follow up, Piccolo caught her in the face with a sharp jab which sent her staggering back only to return with a left cross to his jaw. At the same time, they both thrust out their hands and let loose a kiai which sent them tumbling away from each other, Goku conveniently skidding to a stop near her friends.

As they struggled to their feet, Piccolo spoke up, "You have fought well, adversary. Never has anyone pushed me so far before. Tell me your name so that I may honor you after you die."

Goku spat out blood as struggled to stay on her feet, "I'm Son Goku and I'm not gonna die here!"

Piccolo laughed, "Very good, Son Goku! That's the kind of spirit I expect from my adversary. However, your time has come to an end. I will end you with this next attack!" Summoning up the last of his energy, Piccolo flew high into the air and began charging one last blast.

Goku looked up at Piccolo, despair and determination running through her body and shaking her arms. If she put all of her power into one more punch, she was sure she could defeat Piccolo but getting to him was the problem. If she were to use the energy needed to jump or launch herself with a kiai, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to beat him. Just as she was about to try, a hand grabbed her by what was left of the back of her gi. "Finish him, Goku!" Launch said as she used her good arm to throw Goku towards Piccolo.

Goku stared at Launch in shock before movement caught her attention. Yamcha was in the air beside her and threw her even higher while shouting "Kill that bastard, Goku!"

Goku regained her senses and started pouring all of her power into her fist as Suno appeared besides her and sent her even higher. "You can do it, Goku!"

Goku was almost there. Piccolo was so close and she could tell that he was starting to panic but she still didn't have enough speed. Even if she connected, it wouldn't be quite enough. Then someone else was beside her. One last friend who hadn't really seemed to be much of a friend at all before. "Do it now, Son Goku!" Tenshinhan yelled as he threw Goku with all of his strength.

Piccolo Daimaou looked down at the girl flying towards him. For the first time in his long life, he understood the one thing that he had instilled in everyone else. The one thing that had always been his mightiest weapon. The one thing that let him survive some of his first battles against foes that just might have been able to kill him before he became the Daimaou. For the first time in his long life, Piccolo Daimaou felt _terror_ as he watched this girl, this _beast_ , fly towards him with her right fist outstretched. There was no dodging. There was no blocking. The ki he had been charging for his attack was long forgotten. He could only helplessly watch as his death approached him.

With a mighty scream, Goku's fist tore through Piccolo's stomach as she flew straight through him. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she realized what she just did. "I… won…" It was finally over. Krillin and Master Roshi could rest in peace now. "I WON!" Goku cried tears of joy, relief, sorrow, and pain as she fell back down to Earth.

Meanwhile, Piccolo floated in the air, teetering between life and death. "Un… believable…. That I, the great Piccolo…. Would be defeated…. I can say nothing… but brilliant…. But do not imagine… that we demon-folk… will so easily… disappear…!" Using the last of his life energy, Piccolo created one last egg and shot it as far away as he could. "One day… my son… avenge your father's death! Don't… let the fire of evil… die out…."

With that, Piccolo's soul left him and his body fell to the Earth. Piccolo Daimaou was dead.

SSVC/N: So, guys, we need to have a little talk. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate every review and I love you guys. You're the best. _However._ Some of you have some really, _really_ weird insistently-suggested ideas that I have to address. I don't like to just outright tell people things that are happening, but... Goku will not be hooking up with Vegeta. She will not be hooking up with Piccolo. Even ignoring the biological impossibility of Piccolo being Gohan's father or the fact that Gohan not being born until after the Saiyan Saga would mess up a _lot_ of things, the fact that some people think that because Goku has breasts and a vagina in this timeline would so drastically alter the personalities and relationships of these characters that _want to kill her_ in a direction towards romance that is never, _ever_ shown in the original series is, to honest, _really_ disappointing. Come on, guys. 


	37. An Audience with God! Shenron Revived!

Chapter Thirty-seven

An Audience with God? Shenron Revived!

Goku dropped out of the sky like a rock, plummeting towards the ground at an alarming speed. She was too tired to try and maneuver herself and didn't have the energy to slow her descent with a kiai but part of her didn't care. Piccolo was defeated so everything was okay now. Just before she could hit the ground, however, Nimbus swept under her with Suno riding it as she landed on it.

"You did it!" Suno cried out in excitement as she wrapped her arm around Goku before she winced in pain from moving her bloody right side. "Eeesh," she muttered as she let go of Goku, "We're pretty rough, aren't we? Let's go back to Master Korin." Then she turned to the others and gave a wave. "We'll be right back!" The others groaned in response as Suno and Goku flew off. Tenshinhan staggered over to Piccolo Daimaou's corpse and glared down at it. He drew back his foot and kicked at it, over and over. He wanted Piccolo to get up so that _he_ could kill him and do it again and again and–

"Hey," Yamcha muttered as he put a hand on Ten's shoulder and shook him, "It's over." Ten looked over his shoulder at the other warriors. Yamcha had torn his shirt to wrap around the bloody gashes on his chest and face and Launch had torn one of her pant legs to make a sling or her broken arm. Ten sighed and shook his head.

"Yes," he said, "But Shenron is still dead." The others nodded sadly and looked down at the ground. There was no way to revive those that the demon had killed, was there? They were suddenly broken out of their solemn mood by the sound of helicopter blades and were shocked to look up and see… a news helicopter.

"Was that thing always there?" Launch asked suspiciously. Yamcha shrugged and waved at it. Launch waved as well and Ten awkwardly raised his arm towards the chopper.

OoOoOoO

Bulma was incredibly grateful that one of her capsules contained a television. Once she'd remembered it and had it connected to Roshi's cable, she'd spent hours nervously switching between flicking through channels and pacing around the house. Every channel had just been showing Emergency Broadcast screens but she had remained vigilant. She'd lucked into the station that had been broadcasting the fight against Piccolo just as he'd arrived to fight the others and had watched the fight with rapt and almost terrified attention, choking back sobs before Goku and Suno had finally arrived. They were alive! The rest of it was a haze before Piccolo was finally defeated and Goku and Suno flew off again.

"As you can see with the aid of our Eye in the Sky," a rabbit-woman newscaster was saying now, "The battle with Piccolo Daimaou is at an end. The darkest moment in recorded history has passed and we have several brave young warriors to thank for our freedom, even though our cameras were unable to see most of the final confrontation between Daimaou and that strange young girl. The fighters have declined a statement and–" Bulma shut off the TV and flopped back against the couch with a relieved sigh. It was finally _over._

OoOoOoO

Korin winced as he saw Suno and Goku lying in a heap on top of the Nimbus.

"Eesh," he muttered, "You two look pretty rough." Suno chuckled at that before Korin returned with a senzu for each of them to heal their wounds and pointed his staff at Suno to fix her clothes with a magical blast.

"Thanks!" Suno said appreciatively as she looked over her new clothes, "But some of our friends were hurt pretty badly during the fighting. Could we take, like, three more senzu?" Korin shrugged and handed her three more which Suno gratefully stuffed into one of her pockets before bowing.

"So now all we have to do is gather the Dragon Balls next year, right?" Goku asked excitedly. She couldn't wait to get Krillin and Master Roshi back and to bring back everyone else Piccolo and his demons had killed.

"'Fraid not," Korin said sadly. "Piccolo Daimaou killed Shenron." Goku and Suno stared in crestfallen shock at that statement. They didn't even know that the Eternal Dragon _could_ be killed!

"Th… th…." Goku growled between clenched teeth and balled her fists, "That's not fair!" After everything they'd done, they wouldn't be able to bring anyone back? She let out a frustrated growl between her teeth and smashed her fist through one of the pillar that held up the roof.

"Hey, hey!" Korin shouted as he threw his hands out pleadingly. "Calm down! Don't destroy my house!" Suddenly his ears perked up and he turned his attention towards the ceiling. "Really," Korin said to… no one. "You're sure about that?" Then he turned his attention back to Goku. "It looks like you might have a chance to get Shenron back after all, kiddo."

"What is it, Master Korin?" Suno asked. "Whatever it is, we'll do it!" Korin shook his head at Suno.

"Sorry, kiddo, but Goku's been requested personally." Goku and Suno blinked at that.

"Requested by whom?" Suno asked in confusion.

"God," Korin said flatly. Suno's eyes bugged out wide and Goku just shrugged.

"WHAT?!"

"Okay," Goku said. "Where do I go?"

"He lives above the tower," Korin explained. "There's a hole in the top that you can put the Power Pole into and it'll send you up to his Lookout."

" _WHAT?!"_ Suno repeated.

"So I just go up there and talk to him and God'll bring back Shenron?" Goku asked. Korin nodded.

"That's the long and short of it. He also said something about wanting to train you."

" _ **WHAT?!**_ " Suno said one last time with her disbelief echoing into the open air before she threw up her hands and just gave up. This was, officially, too weird. "Well… I guess I'll be seeing you, Goku," she hugged her friend and turned to leave before Goku grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait," Goku said, "Suno… I want you to enter the next Tenkaichi Budoukai." Suno started to say something before Goku cut her off. "I wanna see how strong you can get and I wanna see how good of a fighter you can become. Promise me, Suno." Suno shrugged and smiled.

"Y'know what? Sure. I can do that." Goku grinned and pulled Suno into a great big hug before she let Suno go and watched the other girl fly off with the Nimbus. She looked back at Korin who gave her a thumbs up and jerked it towards the ceiling.

"Time's a-wastin', kiddo." Goku nodded and climbed up onto the bannister before grabbing one of the pillars and climbing up onto the roof. Sure enough, in the little golden teardrop on top of the roof there was a hole just big enough for her Power Pole. She jabbed the base of the pole down into it and looked up into the sky. She couldn't see _anything_ up there. She took one last breath to steel her nerves and gripped the pole tight in both hands.

"Power Pole extend!"

OoOoOoO

Suno returned to the remains of King Furry's palace where the others were still waiting for her and hopped off of Nimbus with one hand in a pocket.

"You guys look like you could use a little pick-me-up," she said as she held out her open hand with the three senzu sitting in her palm. Ten, Yamcha, and Launch stared back and forth between Suno and her hand with what could only be described as incredulous skepticism. "I know, I know. Just eat 'em." Ten reluctantly took the first bean and crunched it a few times before swallowing it. The skin under his ribs fluctuated for a moment before his bruises disappeared and he gasped suddenly as there was a strange and muffled popping sound. Ten ran his hands up and down his ribs with an expression of wonderment on his face. Launch took the second bean and chewed it quickly before swallowing. Her bruises also faded away and there was another popping sound as her broken arm shot straight out and tore up the sling. She grinned as she moved and flexed her arm to test its mobility. Yamcha took the last bean and shoved it into his mouth. He quickly undid the wrapping around his chest to see that his wounds had closed up and removed the wrapping around his eye even more quickly, grinning as he held his hands up in front of his face.

"Woohoo," he crowed, "Depth perception is back!" He ran his hands over his face and chest and was surprised at what he found. "Huh. Scars are still there… _Awesome!"_ Launch smiled and leaned against Yamcha's shoulder as she ran a finger along the scar on his cheek.

"I think they look pretty cool," she said with a tone that was _almost_ flirting. Yamcha blushed and was thankful when Tenshinhan changed the subject.

"Suno, is it?" he asked and Suno nodded. "Where is Son Goku?" Suno chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and wondered just how much she should tell the others. She barely understood what was going on herself.

"Weeeeeeeellll…" she said slowly, "Let's just say that Goku is going to bring back Shenron and then she's going to do some special training." Yamcha and Launch grinned and gave a cheer at that while Ten frowned and folded his arms over his chest.

"I see," he said, "Tell me, how is it you became so powerful? I could sense your ki at the Budoukai, yet now you have surpassed me. And Goku is far stronger than either of us." Suno, once again, decided to give Ten a less-than-complete version of the truth.

"I received training from Master Korin, the God of Martial Arts at the top of Korin Tower." After a slight pause she added, "He's a cat." Tenshinhan only nodded and rubbed his jaw in thought.

"Then that is where I will go once Chaozu is revived. I will _not_ accept third place!" Yamcha chuckled and gave Ten a pat on the back.

"Calm down, triclops. There'll be time for training and being all serious later. The world's saved! Let's go back to Kame House and celebrate!" Yamcha blinked before he realized that he'd destroyed his only means of transportation. He sure as hell wasn't going to make Ten carry them and he didn't think the Nimbus would let him ride it. "Uhhh…" he turned awkwardly to Suno, "Can we borrow your car?"

OoOoOoO

Goku had been soaring up and up and up into the sky for what seemed like… a while. She definitely didn't trust herself to look down and was gripping the pole with her legs as well as her hands now as the wind whipped through her hair. Finally she could see something that _almost_ looked like the bottom of Korin's tower. As she got closer, though, Goku realized that whatever the Lookout was was _way_ bigger than Korin's home. Her Power Pole reached up until it hit a little teardrop on the bottom that was just like the teardrop on Korin's roof. There was a ladder next to the teardrop and Goku quickly climbed onto it before she scrambled up towards the top and gasped in surprise. It was huge! There were palm trees and there was some kind of big palace thingy or a temple and… a weird man with skin as dark as coal, red lips and big white eyes. He was a little taller than Goku and wore a white turban, white pants, a red vest and red curly shoes. She walked towards him slowly and smiled.

"Hello," she said with a wave. "I'm Son Goku!"

"Greetings," he said back. "This one is called Popo." He looked Goku up and down suspiciously. "You cannot be the one who defeated Piccolo Daimaou! Korin is playing a joke on my master." Goku frowned. What a jerk!

"Well, I did," Goku said defensively. "So can I talk to God now? I need him to bring back Shenron so I can bring back my friends!" Popo brought a hand up to his mouth and chuckled.

"This one does not think so, little monkey girl! If you want to speak with God, you must get past _this one."_ Popo brought his hands from behind his back and crossed his arms over his chest. "And this one does not believe that will happen anytime soon." Goku frowned and balled up her fists as she got into her stance.

"So you wanna fight?! Fine!" She charged at Popo with blinding speed and threw out a barrage of punches. Popo blocked every one easily before folding his arms again. "Wh-what?!" Popo's genial expression never faltered though it clashed with his mocking tone.

"You are a monument to wasted movements, little monkey," Popo told her as she attacked him again. He dodged her attacks without even seeming to move! She kicked right through him and sprang back… to see that he was gone. "You have strength but it is useless without speed." Goku charged at him before disappearing into an afterimage. Popo smiled and stuck out his fist which Goku ran right into. This guy hit as hard as Piccolo Daimaou! "You must learn to calm your heart and then you could move like lightning!" Goku growled as she rubbed at her face.

"Calm my heart, huh? Okay!" she said firmly as she walked right up to Popo and stared at him, focusing on him and copying his blank expression. He stared at her for a moment before he flicked her across the nose.

"This is not calmness," he told her, "It is just not thinking. It is stupidity." He smiled and ruffled her hair. "This one understands, though, for I can tell it is your natural state." Goku slapped his hand away and roared before she continued her attack… at nothing. He was behind her again! She threw out a kick and Popo wasn't there, either! "Look above, little monkey!" Popo called and Goku looked up to see Popo doing a handstand on a palm frond. "You see, little monkey? You cannot get past this one and God is far more powerful than I! Run along home, little monkey! It would take you years and years to defeat this one!" Goku growled and brought her hands down to her side.

"I don't have years!" she declared as she charged her energy into her hands. If she didn't defeat Popo before the year was up she wouldn't be able to bring everyone back! "Kaaaa meeeee haaaa meee…"

"That's quite enough," called an elderly voice from the temple in a somewhat stern tone. It reminded Goku a little bit of Master Roshi in a way. Goku let her hands drop as Popo hopped down from the tree and bowed low at the waist as Goku heard the clacking of a walking stick across the tile floor.

"This one apologizes most profusely, Oh God," Popo said humbly. The voice chuckled as it drew nearer and a figure stepped out from the temple.

"I've told you before, Popo, I prefer to be called–"

"Piccolo!" Goku screamed with rage as she bolted past Popo, leaving the strange man shocked as she charged towards the Demon King. He was old again and his robe was white instead of black and he had a blue cape and a walking stick but it was still…

Piccolo reached out with one finger and stopped Goku's fist.

"Please," Piccolo said, "There's no need for that. I understand that we may _look_ quite similar but I can assure you small one that I am not Piccolo Daimaou nor is he me. Not anymore, at least." He turned to Popo as he lowered his hand. "Popo, could you fetch Shenron for me?" Popo bowed again and walked into the temple. He sighed and shook his head. "I should have known Korin wouldn't have told you the whole story, heh heh heh. The old scoundrel."

"So," Goku said awkwardly as she let her hands drop to her side, "Are you God?" This guy sure didn't _seem_ like Piccolo. Not-Piccolo chuckled and shook his head.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," he said, "Although I prefer to be called 'Kami'. I'm not a God in the sense that people down there usually think of. I didn't create the world or the universe and neither did my predecessor. In fact, aside from the Dragon Balls, I can't _create_ much of anything. I see myself as… more of a guardian." Popo returned with a tray with a shining silver lid and lifted the lid with a flourish as he presented the tray to Kami. There was a little statue of Shenron lying on the tray… and it had been smashed to bits. Kami sighed and shook his head with clear disappointment. "My, my," he said like a disappointed schoolmaster. "My other half certainly created quite the mess, didn't he?" He held his hand out towards the shattered statue and his palm and fingertips glowed as he slowly swirled his hand around with little trails of light dragging behind his hand. The pieces of Shenron glowed and began to draw themselves together as Goku watched with starry-eyed awe. When the little Shenron was all put together again, it glowed bright white and shot off the tray before it streaked down towards the world below like a shooting star. "He'll be returning to the Dragon Balls now. Normally, they'd have to wait a year for them to work again but I'm feeling generous. They're ready to be wished upon right now!"

OoOoOoO

Back at Kame House, there was a celebratory air between the seven now that the spectre of Piccolo's rule had vanished and Goku was working to bring back Shenron. Everyone was relieved and happy that the dark times were nearly over. Bulma and Yamcha clung to each other on the couch like they were magnetically charged. Launch had gotten a couple of beers from the fridge and had offered one to Ten. Judging by his reaction, it had been the first one he'd had in his entire life, which had made Launch laugh.

Suno was sitting on Roshi's beach chair and enjoying the sound of waves crashing and the sweet smell of salt air. When she got older, Suno thought, she might like to live somewhere like this. Maybe not an island in the middle of _nowhere_ but maybe somewhere on the coast. It was as different from Jingle Village as West City had been.

There was a ping from the Dragon Radar on the coffee table and Bulma pulled her face away from Yamcha's long enough to look at it and quickly broke their embrace as she held the Radar up in the air.

"Guys," she said, "My Radar just detected the Dragon Balls! They just activated and they're all still together!" Yamcha grinned and hopped off the couch.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked before motioning for the others to follow him and they ran for the door. "Let's go!" They all took off into the sky with Bulma leading the way. Bulma was on her sonic discs while Suno flew on the Nimbus, Yamcha, Launch, and Puar took Suno's car, and Ten flew under his own power.

OoOoOoO

"So," Goku said as she looked up at Kami, "I'm confused. You said you weren't Piccolo 'anymore'. When did you stop being Piccolo?"

"A long time ago," Kami said before beckoning her. "Walk with me and I shall explain everything." Goku walked beside Kami and the pair walked around the Lookout with Popo trailing behind and Goku occasionally peering over the edge. It was a _long_ way down! "Hundreds of years ago, Piccolo Daimaou and I were a singular being and a warrior of incredible power. I served as an apprentice under the 'God' before me and had wanted to take up his mantle when he died. However, there was evil in me and God must be pure of heart. So I trained and meditated intensely until I was able to expel that evil which became Piccolo Daimaou." Kami sighed and stopped for a moment to lean on his walking staff. "It is a decision," he said, "That haunts me to this day." As he continued walking, he said, "Oh and there was some business with a strange little blue man. I can't recall his name… you'll have to forgive me, it has been a few hundred years."

"Was his name Pilaf?" Goku asked curiously. That would be pretty funny! Kami laughed and shook his head.

"No," he told her, "I'm fairly certain that wasn't it."

OoOoOoO

"Shenron," Puar called out in what was becoming something of a tradition, "I summon you!" The sky turned black and Shenron appeared with a roar.

"You who have–" it began to say before it stopped suddenly. If an impossibly large magical dragon could look perplexed, this was no doubt what it would look like. Whether it was due to the fact that it was being summoned by the strange rainbow cat _yet again,_ that it knew that it had been _hours_ since its last summoning, or the possibility that it was aware of its own death was uncertain. "You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," it began again, "State your wish and I shall grant it." Bulma took out the capsules containing the bodies of Krillin, Roshi, and Chaozu and opened them carefully to let the bodies lay neatly on the ground. She didn't know _what_ would happen to a living person inside a capsule but she was fairly certain it wasn't good. She'd have to run tests on that. There were homeless people in West City, right?

"Shenron!" Suno called out, "We wish for you to restore and revive all those who died because of Piccolo Daimaou and his children!"

"A simple matter," Shenron said with a nod of its head and a flash of its eyes. Roshi, Chaozu, and Krillin suddenly gasped and gulped in air as they sat up. Roshi put a hand at his chest as Chaozu rubbed a hand across his temple and Krillin rubbed his neck with one hand and his knee with the other.

"Were either of you in an impossibly long line?" Roshi asked.

"Yeah," Krillin nodded, "And I could hear some big guy at the end of the line screaming about his desk."

"I feel the crushing weight of my entire faith being a colossal lie," Chaozu said bluntly.

Everyone laughed.

OoOoOoO

From Namu to Giran and his fellow dragon-men to the citizens of Mabel Village to the royal guards; all over the world, those who had been laid low by Piccolo and his demonspawn suddenly found themselves returned to life… and terribly confused.

"Y'know," Mai muttered as she helped Pilaf and Shu to their feet, "I'm beginning to think that the whole 'world conquest' thing isn't entirely worth it at this point."

"Yeah," Shu agreed, "I wasn't getting a good vibe from the blood lake or the ogres." Pilaf swallowed and nodded. Maybe it was time to start doing _good_ things.

OoOoOoO

Goku looked down at the world when Shenron was summoned. They were so high up that she could see where the black sky stopped and the blue sky began again. It was _weird!_ Then the black sky faded away and Shenron shot off into the sky.

"I thought he was in that little statue," Goku said. "Where's he going?" Kami shrugged.

"I… do not know for certain," he admitted. "The statue isn't really _Shenron,_ it is a phylactery that connects Shenron to this world." Goku blinked in confusion. "A phylactery is a… never mind," Kami said with a chuckle. "I suppose it does not matter."

"So," Goku said as they went back to walking, "Korin said you wanted to train me?" Kami nodded.

"Indeed. You see, Goku, I need you to stay here and train with me for three years for the next Tenkaichi Budoukai."

"Why?" Goku asked. Why did Kami care about the Budoukai?

"Because," he said gravely, "I have no doubt that is when Piccolo shall return." Goku gasped in disbelief.

"Y-you've gotta be kidding!" she objected. "I killed him! I went right through his chest!" Kami nodded with a frown stuck on his weathered face.

"I am afraid," he explained, "That in the moments before he died, Piccolo was able to create one last child, putting his own essence into its creation. That son will return at the Tenkaichi Budoukai stronger than ever and he will want revenge. You must defeat him, Son Goku. You must make sure he dies this time"

"Then I'll train with you," Goku said emphatically. "I'll do whatever it takes!" Kami nodded and smiled slightly.

"I knew you would–"

"Just one question," Goku said suddenly. "Where's the bathroom?" Popo and Kami face-faulted and Kami struggled to prop himself up with his cane.

"Down the hall," he said as he pointed back to the temple. "First door on your left." Goku ran off and Popo helped Kami to his feet.

"Kami-sama," Popo said as he dusted Kami's cloak, "If Piccolo dies then you shall as well. Is this plan wise?" Kami nodded gravely and looked out over the horizon.

"It is my duty," Kami said as his gaze drifted down to the world he was guardian over. "A duty that I have perhaps put off for far too long."

OoOoOoO

"So," Roshi said after they had all returned to Kame House and Suno relayed her story, "You say Goku has gone to receive some sort of 'special training'?" Suno nodded as Roshi gave a knowing chuckle and stroked his beard. "If she was powerful enough to defeat Piccolo Daimaou then I fear that she's already left us far in the dust."

"Jeez," Krillin muttered, "I wonder how strong she's going to get." Ten ground his teeth and marched over to the door.

"Well I for one am not going to just sit around and wait to find out!" he declared boldly before throwing open the door. "Come along, Chaozu! We're going to this 'Korin Tower' to receive the same training as Son Goku and Suno. I will _not_ let myself be surpassed!" The pair flew out the door and Krillin, who had not been alive for even an hour, turned to Roshi.

"Could I borrow your magic carpet?" he asked. "I need to get stronger, too!" Roshi chuckled and took the carpet out from under the couch and then unfurled it and gave it a shake before handing it to Krillin who ran out the door and flew off after Tenshinhan and Chaozu.

"Hey, wait up!" Yamcha called out as he, Launch, and Puar raced out after them. Yamcha threw down a capsule that had his backup hoverboard and took off with Launch holding on tight.

"Oh no ya don't!" Bulma declared as she strapped on her sonic discs and flew out the door. "You keep those hands where I can see 'em, Launch!"

"Don't come back unless you're gonna replace my TV!" Roshi yelled after them as Suno flung open the window.

"Guys," she called out, "Guys, you have to _climb_ the tower!" She sighed and shook her head with a smile. Upa and Bora would tell them.

"So," Roshi asked once all the others were gone, leaving only himself, Suno, and Turtle, "What will you do now?" Suno thought about that and chewed on her lip for a moment before responding.

"Y'know what?" she said. "I think I'm going back to Jingle Village." Then she smiled and bowed to Roshi. "I'll see you at the Budoukai!" Then she ran out the door, too. Roshi smiled as he watched her go before he realized that his house was basically empty for the first time in nearly five years.

"No TV," he muttered, "And I don't really feel like readin'." Roshi shrugged and began to search around his house. "Where's that dang Gamera? Think I'll go visit my sister."

OoOoOoO

Goku sat between Kami and Popo with all three in the lotus position with their eyes closed. There was a tiny bell tied to Goku's tail that jingled and jangled with the slightest movement. Kami had told her that when she could move without the bell making a sound that they could move to the next part of her training.

"I don't really like meditating," Goku muttered as she opened one eye.

"Before we can strengthen your body," Kami told her, "You must first strengthen your soul and gain control over your fiery spirit. It's a powerful weapon but it could be even more powerful if you could temper it." Goku nodded and closed her eye.

Then she opened it again.

"How long will that take?"

"As long as you make it take."


	38. Road to the Final Confrontation!

Chapter Thirty-eight

Training for the Budoukai! Road to the Final Confrontation!

 _Three Years Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Korin hummed a little song to himself as he walked through his little senzu garden and watered the senzu sprouts and plants. He still had a giant jar of the things but he'd started growing some recently. Partly because he had a sneaking suspicion that Goku and her friends were going to need a _lot more_ of these someday and partly just to give himself something to do. He hadn't realized until after Suno had finished her training and gone back to her village that practically the only things he did were nap, walk around his tower, and occasionally stare into the distance before scrambling all around like a maniac for reasons he couldn't explain.

Something distracted Korin from his watering and made his ears jerk suddenly. It sounded like someone was climbing his tower. Like… _several_ someones. He walked away from his plants and walked closer to the center of the second floor of his tower just as five, _five_ people finished climbing the tower at once. A triclops, an albino, a young man with a scarred face, a shorter young man with six incense burns in his forehead, and a woman whose hair was an erratic clash between blonde and blue.

"Hello," the Triclops said with a bow, "You must be Korin." He did not seem surprised that Korin was a cat. "We're here for training." Korin suddenly found himself regretting his lonely feelings.

OoOoOoO

Suno walked past the limits of Jingle Village and into the forest and smiled when she saw Master Snow. She knew she'd find the old man here. She didn't know _what_ it was but old masters seemed to love standing in isolated places where they could look dramatic, like a tall hill for example. It wasn't _quite_ as effective in the spring when all the snow had melted but she supposed it was the principle of the thing.

"Master Frost," she said with a bow, "It's good to see you again." Frost bowed in return and smiled at her.

"And you as well, Suno. I heard about what you and that Goku girl did. You and her friends are very brave."

"Thank you, Master," Suno said. "It's funny that you mentioned Goku, though. I'm actually here because of her." Frost looked at her skeptically and arched an eyebrow.

"Is she interested in learning the Odori style?" He asked.

"No," Suno said with a shake of her head. "I mean, she _is_ but she's probably figured it out just from watching me fight. She's really good at that sort of thing." Suno chewed her lip for a moment before she continued. "Master," she said, "I'm going to enter the next Budoukai. I know Goku will be there and I expect to fight her. If it comes to that, I'll need all the help I can get." Her face screwed up with determination as she brought her hands onto her hips. "I'm ready for you to teach me the Fubuki Odori." Frost nodded slowly and squeezed his one hand into a fist until his knuckle cracked.

"Let's begin."

OoOoOoO

 _Two Years and Six Months Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

"I've paid you an exorbitant amount of money," Shen said as he looked down at his baby brother's barely-alive body on the operating table with an oxygen mask strapped to his mouth and much of the mangled flesh from the grenade and his crash hacked away. There were wires hanging from his limbs and eye sockets and even from the top of his cracked skull. "Everything my brother ever made from killing people and much of my own personal savings. This was quite some time ago. When can I expect _results?"_

"Patience," the other man said as he stroked at his mustache. "The technology has not been easy to build with my lack of resources in these hard times and half the struggle has been in keeping him alive. I assure you, however, he will live. He will be stronger than ever before."

"Yes," Shen nodded as he clenched his fist, "And then he shall kill them! My traitorous students and that worthless old cretin. _And_ Son Goku!"

"Yes," the other man said drolly although Shen _did_ notice his eye twitch at the name "Son Goku", "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work." Shen sneered but nodded curtly.

"Very well," he said, "I expect to hear from you soon, mister–"

" _Doctor,"_ the other man corrected sternly. " _Doctor_ Archimedes Gero."

OoOoOoO

He'd been weak when he was born. Weak and small and confused. With every day, though, he had been growing stronger. With every day, he grew larger and discovered more of his powers, his strength, flight, energy sensing and manipulation. With every day, he discovered the pleasure of doing evil. A wild animal here, a hiker there, a family of campers. As he looked down into a swift-moving stream at his green reflection and ran his claws across the water's surface, he growled and spoke his first words.

"K-k-k-kiiiiiill," he whispered, " _Kill_ ," he said again, more clearly and confidently, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" Again and again, until it became a chant when he added "Son Goku! Kill Son Goku! Kill Son Goku! Kill Son Goku!" He threw his head back and laughed as he beat his chest.

Piccolo Daimaou lived again.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan sat alone on his mountain perch, legs folded under him as he flipped through his magazine and read it intently. A smile crept across his lips as he chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh Josuke," he muttered to himself, "You are such a scamp."

"Hey up there!" A voice called and Ten quickly tucked the manga under his seat and brought his hands up onto his legs. He heard someone approaching and was surprised to see that it was… Yamcha. He was carrying a square cardboard box with one hand as he pulled himself up onto Ten's perch with the other. Whatever was in that box certainly smelled good. "Hope I didn't disturb your meditation or anything."

"Yes," Tenshinhan said, "Meditation." After an awkward pause he said "And no, you did not. What are you doing here, Yamcha?" He had not seen the other man since they had trained with Korin. Yamcha grinned and held up the box.

"Brought pizza." Ten blinked at that.

"What," he asked, "Is 'pizza'?" Yamcha sighed and shook his head sadly.

"You poor, poor man," he said. "It's food. Friends hang out sometimes and have lunch." Tenshinhan blinked at that. Friends? "I mean, we _did_ fight a demon and try to save the world."

"I broke your friend Krillin's leg," Tenshinhan objected.

"Isn't broken anymore."

"I struck Bulma."

"She's tough."

"I tried to kill Son Goku!"

"Yeah but ya didn't." Ten groaned and ran a hand across his bald head.

"How did you even get past Chaozu? He was supposed to make sure no one disturbed my meditation." Yamcha grinned and opened the box to reveal the pizza. There was a slice missing.

"So," Yamcha said as he sat down next to Ten, "You hungry?" Ten stared at the pizza for a moment in awkward silence before he reached into the box and took a piece. He bit into it… and all three eyes opened wide.

"Ohm mm Gd." He muttered in shock with a full mouth. Yamcha laughed.

OoOoOoO

 _Two Years Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

It was like a madman's version of the Tenkaichi Budoukai. It was in a dirty, dingy, underground arena instead of the open air with a crammed-in audience of a few hundred screaming lunatics that surrounded and pressed up against a cage filled with one hundred screaming lunatics.

"Kumite," the audience chanted as one as they pumped their fists, "Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! Kumite!" They worked themselves into a frenzy, frothing at the mouth, baying for blood. The chant grew louder and louder until someone sounded a gong and the chant devolved into a wordless scream as the fighters tore into each other like wild animals.

There were no referees to stop the fight if someone was injured and with so many bodies it was impossible to hear anyone yield and cry submission. The cage ensured there would be no ring-outs. There was only one way to win this mad tournament: be the last man standing. It was madness and bedlam as men and women who had never met before fought as if the person in front of them was someone they had hated all their lives. Limbs were broken. Teeth and eyes were knocked out. Some lives were ended. In the end there was only one. When the chaos finally ended the crowd fell into a hushed silence. Standing amidst the carnage was a most unlikely champion. He was short. He was bald. He did not appear to have a nose.

Krillin roared in triumph and raised his fists to the sky. He would do whatever it took to become strong enough. He would travel the world and face _any_ foe. He would become strong enough for _her,_ to face her as an equal at the Tenkaichi Budoukai and, win or lose, he would _finally_ tell Son Goku how he felt about her!

OoOoOoO

Bulma carefully moved out from behind the secret hallway to her secret lab and quickly covered it with her bookshelf before she walked out of her regular lab and made her way down the hall. Yeah, sure, it was a cliche but she was _pretty_ sure that if anyone actually saw what she was doing, they'd be pretty mad. Because they were all stupid, of course. None of them were as smart as her, not even daddy. They wouldn't understand the _why_ of what she was doing. All the questions that could be answered and all the knowledge that could be gained, they were just…

Bulma tried to push those thoughts out of her mind as she stopped by the fifth floor kitchen to grab a couple bottles of water. She didn't need to be thinking like that, not with her friends around. Yamcha had brought Launch over to use the gravity room with him. Apparently he'd even offered _Tenshinhan_ to come use the facility but the Triclops had politely declined. Yes, she thought, Launch was definitely a friend. Even if she had been acting more… erratic lately. Her hair kept shifting in the proportions of blonde to blue. Bulma had offered to run some tests to see what the problem was but, for whatever reason, Launch had gotten really upset with her. Then upset with herself. It was worrying. As Bulma neared the gravity room, she noticed that the display outside showed that they were only using twice the Earth's gravity. That was weird. Then she reminded herself that Launch had never used the room before and that Yamcha was probably taking it easy on her. Yeah, that made sense. Bulma pushed the button to turn off the gravity and the door slid open…

The water bottles slipped out of Bulma's numb hands and clattered to the floor.

They were…

They were…

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bulma screamed with tears in her eyes before she ran off.

Yamcha returned a week later. He would have come back the very next day but the guards had explained that they'd had orders to shoot on sight and told him to leave. Yamcha had been thankful at that moment for the friendship he'd built with the guards over the last several years. So he'd had to sneak into Capsule Corp. _Sneak_ into a building where he had, or probably _used_ to have at this point, his own bedroom. A place where he'd felt like part of a family. Yamcha supposed he deserved as much, though. It had been awful what he'd done to Bulma; in her own home, no less. He'd spent the week beating himself up, asking _why_ he had done it. Why had he hurt Bulma? Sure he _liked_ Launch but he _loved_ Bulma. Launch had also disappeared from the face of the Earth shortly after what had happened so it looked like Yamcha had gone and screwed _everything_ up.

"Bulma?" he called out in a hushed tone as he crept through the hallway. He had a basket of chocolate-infused strawberries in one hand and a bouquet of purple roses, Bulma's favorite kind, in the other. Neither had been easy or cheap to find but Yamcha didn't care. He was here to apologize, to make amends, to do whatever it would take to get Bulma back. He had even dressed up in his one good suit and tie. "Buuuulmaaaa?" he called, "I'm sorry! I wanna talk to you!" He noticed that the door to Bulma's lab was ajar and stepped inside, figuring that she might be in there. He frowned as he looked around the typically-chaotic, if abandoned, scene. No Bulma. He was all set to leave when he saw a strange green glow emanating from behind Bulma's bookcase. Against his better judgement, Yamcha put his shoulder to one side of the bookcase and gave it a small shove. There was a hallway behind the bookcase. "Secret lab behind the bookcase?" Yamcha muttered suspiciously. _That_ was never good. Yamcha walked down the hallway with ever-growing discomfort before he came to the secret lab itself source of the light. The strawberries and flowers slipped from his numb hands as he stared up in disbelief.

It was…

It was…

"What the _fuck?!"_ he whispered in shock. Floating in an enormous tank filled with glowing green fluids was the corpse of Piccolo Daimaou. There were tubes connected to his body that flowed out of the tank and into computers and machines that made strange and disheartening beeps and chimes.

"What are you doing here?" Bulma asked coldly from behind him. Yamcha spun around to face her, all thoughts of apology and compromise forgotten.

"What am _I_ doing here?!" Yamcha asked incredulously. "What is _that_ doing here?!" He asked as he gestured up to Piccolo's body. "Why is it in your house?! What are you _doing_ with it?!" Bulma scowled and folded her arms over her chest.

"Not that it's any of your business," she said sourly, "But I'm _studying_ him. I took Piccolo's corpse from the battlefield when no one was looking and I brought it back here so I could preserve him before his flesh started to decompose."

"WHYYYYY?!" Yamcha practically screamed. Bulma just rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes," she said sarcastically, "An ancient, possibly extraterrestrial creature with a completely alien physiology living on Earth. Who would _ever_ want to study _that?"_ She ran a hand along the glass tank and smiled. "It sucks that Goku destroyed most of his internal organs but I've been able to learn so much from studying his brain and blood and the structure of his muscles and tissues–"

"Who cares!" Yamcha snapped. "Did you forget the part where he tried to wipe out the human race? Or when he _took over the world?!"_ He gestured to Piccolo's floating corpse again and tapped on the glass, pointing at his chest. "Look at this hole! Remember how it used to be GOKU SIZED?! It doesn't look that way anymore!" The hole had noticeably shrunk in the last year. "So tell me what that means, science lady," Yamcha demanded scornfully. "I think it means he's _regenerating!_ What if this… _thing_ you've got him hooked up in is keeping him alive?! What if he comes back?!" Bulma scoffed.

"Please," she said, "I've been monitoring him for the last year and we haven't seen the slightest brainwave fluctuation. He's as dead as a block of wood. Besides," she added, "I'm a _scientist._ It would be against my moral compass _not_ to research when I see the potential for scientific discovery. Just think what I could do for amputees or crippled people if I could unlock the secrets of his tissue regeneration!"

"Your… moral compass," Yamcha said quietly as he narrowed his eyes, "Your. Moral. _Compass?!_ You manipulated a small child into being your bodyguard by using the memory of her dead grandfather so you could get a boyfriend! You talk about studying corpses when the corpse in question is kicking my ass! For God's sake, Bulma, you kidnapped Puar in his sleep and tried to force him to shapeshift and study the changes in his biology!"

"And what's so terrible about that?!" Bulma demanded.

"You didn't ask me! Worse, you didn't ask _him!"_

"He's a cat!"

"He's a thinking, feeling person, Bulma!" Yamcha screamed. "He's my _best friend!_ Your 'moral compass' _**IS A GODDAMN ROULETTE WHEEL!"**_

"Oh," Bulma scoffed, "Is this what's going on now? I'm getting lectures in morality _from the criminal?"_ That hurt worse than anything else. More than the deception, more than the attempted unwilling experimentation, more than the lies or the disregard. She would never see him as anything more than a criminal, Yamcha realized. In that moment, Yamcha realized why he'd done what he'd done. Even if Launch had initiated that moment, Yamcha hadn't resisted. Now he knew. In that moment, he hadn't felt compartmentalized or scrutinized or analyzed and, for all of Launch's problems, he realized that she was still _less_ messed up than the girl he'd been in a relationship with. Yamcha growled and let out a wordless roar of rage as he flung a Sokidan out of his palm and swept it around the lab in a wide arc and destroyed all of Bulma's equipment in a shower of sparks and shrapnel as Bulma dove for the floor. He detonated the ball against Piccolo's glass and the corpse tumbled to the floor where it quickly began to decompose in the open air. Then he blasted a hole in the ceiling with another ki ball and flew up into the sky, a trick he was now grateful to have learned from Ten. Bulma got to her feet and screamed up at him. "I don't ever want to see you again! _Ever!"_

Yamcha didn't stop and he didn't look and he didn't turn around but his eyes were burning with unshed tears.

OoOoOoO

Climbing a mountain, Launch thought, was hard. It wasn't any easier when you spent the entire climb arguing with yourself. Not that her angrier self was trying to stop her from climbing. They were arguing about how they were going to fix this problem.

"One of us has to go," Blonde Launch said gruffly, "And the other one gets to stay. That's the only way this is gonna work. Do you think you have the guts to kill me?" Blue Launch shook her head furiously. "No," she insisted, "There _has_ to be a better way! We can be one person! We don't have to fight anymore!" "But if we're one person then we're both gone!" Launch climbed in silence for a while. "... Maybe that wouldn't be so bad."

Launch had become a wreck ever since the battle with Piccolo Daimaou. She thought confronting and overcoming her other self would make things better but it had only made them worse. She was constantly arguing with herself and fighting for control. Sometimes she'd be perfectly fine and then it would be hours later and her other self had done something terrible. She wasn't even sneezing anymore! When she'd seen Chaozu earlier, she'd threatened to kill him and then immediately had to apologize. The last year had been hell. After what had happened with Yamcha, she realized that she _needed_ to do _something._ One minute they'd been sparring and then the next time she'd been in control everything had gone wrong. She couldn't live like this anymore.

Ten was back on his mountaintop perch. He'd gotten into a routine of travelling the world every few months and fighting any skilled opponents he could find and in the end he would always come back to his mountain. He had been focusing on changing the way he meditated. He could no longer make himself the focal point of the universe and yet he did not feel entirely right opening himself up to the energy of all things as Muten had told him to do. So he had been endeavoring to find a balance between the two; to make himself into a single point and then find where that point fit in with everything else. He was taken out of his mental focus by the sound of approaching footsteps and opened his eyes, expecting to see Yamcha yet again.

"Launch?" he asked in surprise. He had not seen her in nearly a year. "Are you… well?" She did not look it. She looked nervous and erratic as she rubbed at her arms and her hair was a more disheveled mishmash of colors than ever. "What's wrong?"

"I… I'm not _fucking well, you idiot_!" Launch snapped in a harsh voice before she immediately covered her mouth and looked to be on the brink of tears. "I-I'm sorry! I just… I need your help, Ten!" Her voice changed as she spoke, shifting from soft to harsh and back again. "S-something's _really goddamn_ wrong with me! I c-c-can't control what's _happening and I hate it!_ I can't live like this! There's two people _screaming in my head!"_ Launch fell to her knees in front of Tenshinhan and gripped his arms as she buried her face into his shoulder. " _Fucking help me!_...Please." Ten uncomfortably put an arm around Launch's shoulder and patted it a few times before gently pushing her away.

"What you are searching for," Tenshinhan said as he looked at Launch's tear-streaked face, "Is inner peace. It is something I, myself, am searching for. I do not know how to achieve it yet." Launch looked absolutely heartbroken and Ten immediately regretted his choice of words. "Perhaps," he said gently, "We can find it together." He scooted slightly to the left and patted a place beside him. Launch dried her eyes and smiled before she sat down beside him and folded her legs. "Close your eyes," he instructed as he did the same, "Focus on your ki. Focus on your ki and on yourself as if it were a single grain of sand on the beach. Once you understand that grain completely, you will be able to understand all the universe and your place within it." Launch nodded and closed her eyes.

"... How long does that take?"

"As long as you make it."

OoOoOoO

It had taken Goku about a week to master Kami's meditative lessons. Once she'd figured out how to control her movements, she had surpassed Popo in another week and now she sparred almost solely with Kami or with these weird little dolls he'd create that looked a lot like her. They were kinda funny-looking. Goku had learned _so_ much from Kami in this year alone and there were still two years to go before the Budoukai! That was so exciting to think about! He wasn't just making Goku stronger, either. Kami had been teaching her about the fighting styles he'd learned hundreds of years ago when he and Piccolo were one person and he'd even started teaching her this funny language she'd seen him talking to Popo in when she'd asked him to.

Today she was watching the sunrise and drinking orange juice while she sat on the edge of the Lookout. She couldn't believe she used to be so scared of being so high up. It was _beautiful_ up here. Part of her wanted to live way up here but she knew she might get lonely and it wouldn't be easy for her friends to visit her. Kami had told her something about how he had a spell over the Lookout that kept planes and things from getting up here. She wasn't _super_ sure what that meant but she knew that anyone who wanted to come up would have to climb. And Bulma wasn't that strong…

"Goku," Kami called from behind and Goku stood up to turn around and meet him as he came closer, "Good morning!" Goku smiled and bowed to the kindly old not-a-demon.

"Good morning, Kami!"

"Goku," Kami said, "There's something I need to talk to you about." Goku scratched the back of her head curiously.

"Is this like last year where you told me why I bl–"

"No!" Kami blurted out suddenly and shook his head, "Merciful Kaiou, no!" Kami had never told her who "Kaiou" was but she supposed he'd get around to it or he'd tell her if she asked. "It's… about your tail." Goku looked down at her tail as it swished behind her.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Goku asked. Kami shook his head.

"Not exactly, no, but…" Kami paused for a moment and tugged at one of his antennae, "I'm afraid I shall have to remove it." Goku took a step back when he said that.

"No way!" she protested. "I've already grown it back twice!" If there was nothing wrong with it then why did it have to come off?

"You will have to trust me, Goku," Kami insisted. "You know that I would never do you harm. Your tail is simply… dangerous!"

"Dangerous how? It's not a weakness anymore! You taught me how to make my tail stronger!"

"I know," Kami said in an aggravated tone, "But it still represents a danger to you and to…" Kami sighed. "Goku, please trust me on this." Goku thought about it for a moment and sighed before turning around.

"This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" she asked.

"Of course not," Kami said as he gripped her tail. "All right. One… two… three!"

Hundreds of miles below and on the other side of the world, a farmer with a shotgun heard a noise like someone had run over his cat.

OoOoOoO

 _One Year Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

She smashed stones with giant hammers and cut down forests with giant axes. She swam upriver and up waterfalls and against the ocean in typhoons. She'd wrestled giant bears and giant boars and fought every warrior her father could send against her. She'd even surpassed father himself by now and was far stronger than the little girl she had been six years before. She _had_ to get stronger, though. She had to be strong enough to be a part of her life. She would prove her love to Goku and she would be welcomed into her world with open arms. She would have to.

She would not give Goku a choice.

OoOoOoO

"How are you feeling, brother?" Shen asked with the smallest hint of genuine concern as he watched Tao Pai Pai move with his new cybernetic limbs. Tao Pai Pai closed and opened his fists and listened to the way the servos whirred and clicked and what little face he had left to emote with seemed to scream with contempt and scorn at what he had become.

"It will be worth it," Tao said curtly. "It will _all_ be worth it. Once I kill Son Goku and the others, I'll be able to triple my price." Tao wasn't really concerned with the money, though. Not to say that wealth and power weren't important to him but the thing Tao most desperately needed from the Budoukai was peace of mind. He needed to be Tao the Terrifying again, Tao the Invincible. _Mercenary_ Tao! He unscrewed one of his hands and watched as a sword popped out of his wrist. He glared at his red-tinted reflection in the blade. Power, wealth, triumph, vengeance. "It will be mine. It will _all_ be mine!"

OoOoOoO

"So me, Ox King, and Son Gohan are surrounded by this Ice Dragon," Roshi said, "I mean _surrounded,_ this fella was big! I'm thinking I might have to bust out the Kamehameha and what does Ox do? Crazy kid jumps up and bites the Dragon right on the nose!" Roshi and Baba laugh uproariously and Roshi bangs on the table which nearly spills the tea that the Pink Ghost had just delivered. "I've never seen somethin' fly away so fast. Of course, then we had to chase after him because his tongue was stuck to the dragon!" Baba laughed again and wiped a tear from her eye. Since Roshi's return from the dead, he'd been visiting Baba a few times a month for almost two years now. It had been the most Baba had seen her brother in a century. It was nice to talk to Muten and to hear his stories. What Baba thought was interesting was that Roshi almost never talked about how great _he_ was in his stories. It was always about Gohan or Ox King or even the handful of students he'd had before them. He spoke with a father's pride.

"So," Baba said, "You're not planning on entering the Budoukai this year, are you?" Roshi leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

"Nah," he said, "I learned my lesson after the mess with Daimaou. My fighting days are over." Baba nodded and sipped her tea.

"Good," she said, "I don't want you fighting anymore." Roshi chuckled and Baba scowled. "I'm serious! I've seen things of the future, Muten. Horrible things that make Piccolo Daimaou look like that goofball in the mustache with the big hair you told me about." Muten frowned at that and slowly wrapped his hands around the tea mug.

"These terrible things," he asked somberly, "How soon are they coming?" Baba shook her head in disappointment.

"It's unclear," she admitted, "But… too soon. I don't know _how_ they'll be prepared in time." They both sat silently for a moment until the ghost floated up to the table with a little platter in its tiny flippers.

"Cookies for tea!"

OoOoOoO

 _One Week Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Piccolo Jr looked down at the clothes he had magicked for himself. He had originally wanted to fight in the same blue gi he had worn before but that would perhaps be too on-the-nose. It would raise too much suspicion. He had opted for a purple gi with no symbol or characters and a turban to cover his antennae. That would be enough to fool these simple creatures. As he looked at his reflection in a lake, however, he thought that it was missing something. A certain bit of dramatic flair. He was suddenly struck by inspiration and waved a hand over himself. A swirl of darkness passed over his chest and spilled down his back before it transformed into a billowing white cape with enormous shoulder pads. He looked down at his reflection again and smiled.

"Perfect."

OoOoOoO

 _One Day Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

"I have taught you all I can teach you, Son Goku," Kami said as he looked proudly at his pupil. "You are ready to face Piccolo Daimaou once again. If you are able to defeat him then the Earth will finally know peace."

"I know, Master Kami," Goku said, "But is all of this… really necessary?" On top of her gi, Goku was also wearing a long blue and white coat with an umbrella, her power pole, and a travel sack tied to her back. She also had a turban wrapped around her hair that Popo was constantly fidgeting with.

"This one has seen the weather," he told her. "It will be raining and this one does not want you to catch a cold. It will affect your chances of defeating Daimaou." Goku smiled and bent down to give the Djinn a hug.

"Thank you, Popo," she said before moving to hug Kami as well. "And thank you, Master Kami. I won't let you down." Then she turned around and… walked right off the edge of the Lookout. "HiKorin!" She shouted when she flew past the cat, "ByeKorin!" The ground rushed up to meet Goku but she laughed even as she reached terminal velocity. "Nimbuuuuus!" The cloud zoomed under her within inches of the ground below and she laughed again as she zoomed back up into the sky. "Hey there! Didja miss me!" she asked as she patted the cloud on its side. "Okay, Nimbus! Papaya Island!" The cloud rocketed off towards the sunrise dutifully. "Hey, you weren't carrying Suno, right?"

OoOoOoO

 _Two Hours Until the Tenkaichi Budoukai_

Kami stared at a reflection that was not his in a mirror and rubbed a hand that was not his across a face that was not his.

"Hmm," he muttered in a voice that was not his, "So _this_ is a mustache?" He supposed it would have to do. As he climbed onto the boat that would ferry him to the Tenkaichi Budoukai, he couldn't stop scratching himself. How did humans _stand_ having so much hair?!


	39. Reunions and Changes!

Chapter Thirty-nine

Reunions and Changes! A Budoukai of Surprises!

Bulma strummed her fingers rhythmically on the armrest of her chair as she looked out the plane window to the ocean below. _God,_ she was bored. No Krillin, Launch, Puar, or Yamcha. Okay, so the last three weren't so bad but that wasn't the point. With everyone learning to fly, there was no one for her to talk to.

"Y'know," Suno said across the aisle from her seat next to Bulma, "I've always wonder, Roshi. You can do all these flips and kicks and incredibly athletic things for someone who's over three hundred years old. How come you need a cane?" Roshi shrugged and patted the gnarled piece of wood across his lap.

"I need to channel my ki to do those kinds of things. If I'm not fighting, I'm just your average old man." Then he peered down his sunglasses and gave Suno a smirk. "And," he added, "It gives me more reach to whack punks over the head with." They both chuckled and Bulma gave a weary sigh. _So bored!_ Taking her cue, Suno turned to Bulma.

"So Bulma," Suno said, "It's been a few years since we've seen everyone. Excited to see them again? We haven't seen Goku in three years!" Bulma shrugged and gave a noncommittal grunt. "Is there… anyone you hope wins?"

"Not Yamcha," Bulma said bluntly.

They flew the next several hundred miles in silence.

OoOoOoO

The plane landed about an hour or so later to relief from all three parties. Suno left to go register herself which left Roshi, for the first time since he'd first put on the Jackie Chun wig, with no excuse to disappear into the crowd and left him standing alone with Bulma. He thought of what he might say to her to try and dilute the tension and anger that was still present. Part of him was, of course, angry at her for keeping the corpse of Piccolo around like Yamcha had told them but he figured now wasn't the time for that. What would he tell her, he wondered. That first love is fleeting? That these moments pass? Or perhaps even that holding onto hate like this would only ruin herself for the future?

Before Roshi could say anything, however, Bulma's attention was suddenly caught by something in the sky above. Roshi's gaze followed hers and was surprised to see Krillin floating down towards them.

"Hey, guys!" He said with a grin as he touched down and Suno returned from the sign-in table.

"Good to see you again, Krillin," Roshi said with a nod.

"Hey, Krillin!" Suno replied with a smile and a wave.

"Wow, Krillin," Bulma teased, "You actually got taller!" Krillin gave her a sardonic smirk but it was true. Krillin _had_ grown a few more inches in the last three years and, while it was hard to tell under his bright red raincoat, had actually put on some muscle.

"Good to see you all too," he said with an appreciative nod. "Long time no see, huh?" he smiled to himself and began to walk to the registration desk. "Guess I'll go sign up. You guys haven't seen Goku yet, have ya?"

"Nope," Suno said, "Just got here. No sign of her yet." Krillin just chuckled as he walked towards the table. He shouldn't have been surprised. No sooner had Krillin returned from signing himself up than another group began to fly down. They were all wearing green longcoats and rice do'un hats. It was Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and some woman with bright green hair…

"Hi there, strangers!" The woman said in a playful tone with a voice that was strangely familiar…

"... Launch?!" Suno blurted out when it dawned on her with her eyes wide in shock. The green-haired woman laughed and took a bow with a dramatic sweep of her hat.

"That's me!" The others suddenly flooded her with questions once they realized who she was. What happened? Where had she gone? What was with her hair, her voice? What did it all mean? She grinned wider with each question and held up her hands for silence. "Guys, guys," she said, "It's not really all that complicated." She smirked and leaned against Tenshinhan who reddened visibly, "I just had a little help." Ten cleared his throat and tugged at his collar for a moment.

"What Launch means to say, I believe," he said, "Is that she came to me to find inner peace between the dualities of her nature. We were able to find our peace together. As you can see the effects are more… visual than they are for most." Roshi nodded and pulled down his sunglasses.

"I see," he said, "That explains the…" he trailed off for a moment as the group watched an enormous woman, taller than _Tenshinhan,_ in a horned helmet and a red cloth headwrap that obscured her face, stride past them brusquely on her way to the registration desk. She wore a blue sleeveless longcoat with dark red pants and bright red bands around her forearms and had a figure that was somewhere between burly and buxom. "That explains the change in characters on your coats." As the others looked at the new arrivals' longcoats they noticed that Roshi was right. Where the character for "Crane" would normally be on their chests there was now the character for "Focus."

"Ten wanted to go with plain ol' 'peace'," Launch explained, "But I convinced him that was too wussy." The others chuckled and Ten, Chaozu, and Launch left to go register. Krillin noticed someone else walking past them and elbowed Roshi.

"Master Roshi," he said, "Isn't that that Hercule guy you mentioned before?" Roshi watched the mustachioed, afro'd man walk past with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes," he muttered as he stroked his beard, "But there's something different about him." For one thing, Hercule was absolutely silent. You normally couldn't get him to _stop_ talking. Maybe he'd finally decided to take the Budoukai seriously.

There was a low rumbling as dark clouds began to gather overhead. Launch brought Chaozu and Ten back to the group although it was clear Ten looked like he would rather be off meditating and preparing for the tournament.

"Tell me," he said, "Have any of you seen Son Goku yet?" The others shook their heads and Ten nodded.

"That's a shame," called a familiar voice from the crowd. The others turned and for a moment only saw a crane's head and shining metal half-circle wading their way through the crowd before the pair finally broke through. It was Shen and…

"Tao Pai Pai?!" Suno asked with a gasp. Not that she was scared of him anymore, she knew she was stronger. It was just… How? When? What?!

" _Mercenary_ Tao," he corrected sternly. "Do not forget that, girl." There was something strange in his voice when he spoke. Something artificial, something mechanical. Although she supposed that, given the metalwork around his skull and face, the red balls he had for eyes and his clearly robotic hands, that shouldn't have been at all surprising.

" _Tao,"_ Ten said softly, barely above a whisper, with a face like he had seen a ghost. Tao sneered at Ten as much as his limited amount of face would allow and scoffed.

"Do not speak to me, traitor," he snapped. "I am here for one purpose: Revenge!" Shen gave his brother an elbow and Tao sighed. "And yes, to redeem the Crane school," he added wearily. "Today I shall kill all three of you! Son Goku, you, and… erm…" he looked down at Chaozu and frowned. "I'm terribly sorry but I don't think I ever learned your name when you were my brother's student."

"Chaozu!" Chaozu said indignantly with his arms folded over his chest, "I'm Chaozu!"

"Ah," Tao said, "Very well then, Chaozu. You're going to die, too." He gave a dismissive wave and began to walk towards the registration table. "Do pass on to Son Goku when you see her that I intend to kill her." Then he and Shen disappeared into the crowd again.

"What a weirdo," Krillin muttered. Suno shook her head and put her hands on her hips.

"Thaaaat's not the word I would use for him." She muttered. It was crazy how much of a difference three years made. The idea of seeing Tao Pai Pai back from the dead like that would have scared her senseless. Now? Not so much.

"Hey down there, party people!" called a familiar voice from high above. The group looked up as a gray-blue streak dropped out of the sky and landed in front of them in a pool of gray fabric and black hair before it stood up. "The fuuuun has arriiiived!" he declared in a lyrical tone with his arms outstretched.

"Yamcha!" the others cried happily, except for Bulma who shuffled away with a huff. Yamcha was dressed in a rather confusing getup; a long, blue cape-like coat with grey shoulder pads. He'd also started growing his hair back out. Puar flew out of the bottom of Yamcha's coat with a grin.

"Don't forget me!" Puar said eagerly before he and Yamcha made their hellos. Yamcha high-fived Krillin and Suno, bumped fists with Ten and Chaozu, and bowed to Master Roshi. Then it was just him and Launch and the others shuffled away in the way that people do when they know a private conversation needs to happen.

"So," Yamcha said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head, "You look… um… you look better." Launch smiled with one arm holding the other behind her back.

"Thanks," she said. "I… I feel better. A lot better."

"Hey," Yamcha said with an encouraging smile, "That's great." There was a slightly uncomfortable sentence as they both seemed to be reluctant to say what they were thinking. "So," Yamcha said finally, "What are we? I mean… should we? Y'know?" Launch thought for a moment and chewed her lip before she shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said while trying to be delicate about it. "Don't get me wrong, Yamcha. You're a great guy and I'm glad to call you one of my closest friends. It's just that… whatever I had for you before I just… I don't have it now. I'm different." She winced at Yamcha's hurt expression. "Look, I don't m–" He held up a hand and shook his head.

"Nah," Yamcha said, "I get it. You're right. It's probably better this way." They were silent for a few moments. "So, no sign of Goku yet?"

"Nah," Launch said with a chuckle and a shake of the head. Yamcha sighed with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah," he muttered, "She'll probably show up at the last minute again." Yamcha turned his head to the side as he heard a familiar voice in the crowd.

"Hot dogs," called a _very_ familiar voice. "Hot dogs! Cold drinks! Roasted nuts!"

"You've gotta be shittin' me," Yamcha muttered as he started walking through the crowd. Sure enough, he found Pilaf pushing a hot dog cart with Shu and Mai trailing behind him carrying a case of cold drinks and a basket of roasted nuts respectively.

"Hot dogs," Pilaf called out as he walked through the crowd, having not yet noticed Yamcha. "Cold drinks! Fresh roasted…" he turned his head to see Yamcha and came to a stop. "...Nnnnuts." he muttered. Yamcha sighed and cracked his knuckles.

"So," he asked, "What's the scheme this time? Are you going to poison everyone at the Budoukai so no one can stop you from gathering the Dragon Balls?" Pilaf threw up his hands defensively and shook his head.

"No, no," he insisted, "We're just regular, honest businesspeople!"

"We decided that the World Domination business isn't for us," Mai added. "Now we're just trying to be good people." _She_ had wanted to open a detective agency but Shu had won at Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"Everyone's gotta eat!" Shu threw in with a smile. Yamcha rolled his eyes and smirked, crossing his arms.

"So lemme guess," he said, "You idiots brought back Piccolo to kill Goku, Piccolo killed you, then you got wished back and now you've decided you wanna be good people because you saw Hell when you were dead." The three former schemers shook their heads furiously before they slowly stopped and began reluctantly nodding. Yamcha sighed and shrugged. Who was he to give people a hard time for turning over a new leaf? "All right," he said, "Gimme one with everything on it." Then he turned his head back to call over a shoulder. "Hey, Krillin, you want anything? Hot dog? Soda? Nuts?"

"Yeah," Krillin called, "I'll take some nuts!" Yamcha fought an inclination to snicker.

"What about you, Ten?"

"Do they have pizza?"

"No, Ten."

"Then they don't have food!" Yamcha rolled his eyes before turning back to Pilaf.

"Get a couple of drinks with those, I guess." Pilaf smiled and held out his hand.

"Excellent! That will be two thousand zeni." Yamcha squinted suspiciously at Pilaf before he grumbled and reached for his wallet.

"Better be a damn good hot dog," he muttered as he handed Pilaf the bills. Pilaf grinned and tucked the bills into a cash box while Mai took two drinks out of her cooler and handed them to Yamcha and Shu scooped nuts into a little cardboard cup. Pilaf then took a hot dog out of the cart and slathered mustard, ketchup, relish, and onions on it. Yamcha took all of the foodstuffs in a precarious balancing act as he walked back over to the group. He handed Krillin his nuts and drink before taking a bite of his hot dog. "Damn it," he mumbled with a full mouth, "That _is_ good."

More time passed with no sign of Goku. An incredibly tall man walked past them with most of his features obscured by his turban and a long white cape with enormous shoulder pads. All they could tell was that he had green skin. There was also something _eerily_ familiar about his ki. Soon after the mysterious man disappeared into the crowd there was another, louder rumble and it began to rain. Launch put her hat back on even as she, Krillin, Yamcha, Ten, Chaozu and Roshi raised their ki enough to create invisible barriers around themselves that kept the rain from touching them. Bulma touched something on her watch that made it glow purple before waving her arm around over her head in a circle. A glowing, translucent purple dome flashed into life over Bulma's head to shield her from the rain.

"Well aren't you all fancy?" Suno asked sarcastically as she reached into her red knapsack and pulled out an umbrella. Puar swiftly joined her under the umbrella. Even more time passed with no Goku.

"This is just getting ridiculous," Ten muttered irritably with his hands on his hips. "It's not as though she could get lost! The Budoukai's been on this island for a hundred years!"

"Yeah," Bulma added, "I hope nothing happened to her." Launch rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Bloomers," she said teasingly, "I think if something bad could happen to _Goku,_ we'd all be fu–"

"Hey, guys!" called a voice from behind them. There was something familiar about it, yet… different at the same time. The group slowly turned as one to to look behind them before looking _up_ from where they had expected to look. The woman was wearing a blue coat, red pants, and a turban but she _did_ have a staff strapped to her back. The rain died down almost instantly and the sun came out while the woman put away her umbrella and undid the turban. Black hair spiked out in familiar directions as she broke out into a grin. "It's me!"

"Goku!" everyone cried out in surprise. She grinned wider as they all crowded around her.

"Jeez, Goku," Suno muttered as she looked up at her, "When'd you finally get taller?"

"Good to see you, kiddo," Launch said as she gave Goku a playful punch on the arm. "Y'like the new hair?"

"Oh my Gosh," Bulma said excitedly as she gave Goku a quick hug, "It's been _forever!"_ Goku suddenly pushed the others out of the way when she noticed Krillin.

"Krillin?" she asked softly. He grinned bashfully up at her.

"H-hey Go–" then she reached down and lifted him up off the ground in a hug, "KYYYUU!" Goku laughed and hugged Krillin close with tears in the corners of her eyes as she spun him in the air. Krillin hugged Goku back just as tightly until she stopped spinning.

"I really missed you," she whispered. Krillin sniffled and nodded.

"I missed you, too, Goku." he said in a voice hoarse with emotion. Roshi cleared his throat as Goku set Krillin down.

"I don't mean to interrupt the reunions," he said, "But shouldn't you get signed up?" Goku grinned and gave a dismissive wave.

"Nah," she assured him, "I already did that!"

"When?" Tenshinhan asked in confusion.

"I got here five minutes ago," Goku said matter-of-factly. "I was looking for all of you!" The others promptly face-faulted.

"Wait," Suno asked once they were all back on their feet, "I'm confused. Don't you have Nimbus? I mean, I wasn't using it." Goku nodded. "So… how were you almost late?" Goku blinked and brought her hands up under her chin while tapping two fingers together and gave a chuckle as she looked off to the side. For the first time since any of them had known her, Goku looked _embarrassed._

"Weeelll," she said reluctantly…

OoOoOoO

Goku was making great time. She was going to get to the Budoukai before anyone else! Wouldn't that be a great surprise after last time? However, as Goku was flying over a mountain range, she made Nimbus stop when she felt a familiar ki. She looked down over the edge of the cloud to the mountain road below and, sure enough, there was that guy again! He sure liked walking, huh? Come to think of it, Goku decided, she had plenty of time!

"Hey down there," she called, "I'm way stronger now! You wanna rematch?" He dropped his bag and got into a fighting stance. Goku grinned and jumped off Nimbus, hands coming to her side as she fell down towards him. "Kaaameeehaaameee…" he dropped his hands to his side too and formed a ball of light in his hands.

"Shinku!"

OoOoOoO

"I… _kinda_ got a little sidetracked," she finally said with a nervous chuckle. Everyone laughed before Ken's voice came onto the intercom. It was surprisingly clear so the Budoukai had clearly upgraded its technology since the previous edition.

"Lllllladies aaaaaand gentlemeeeeeen," he said, "The 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai is about to begin! All fighters, please enter the elimination hall!" Goku waved to Bulma, Roshi, and Puar as she and the others followed the other fighters.

"Bye, guys!" she called cheerily. "See you in a little while!" Once the seven were inside the elimination hall; Ten, Launch, and Chaozu all took off their coats and hats with their gi on underneath. Krillin did the same and Suno just rolled her eyes.

"Well," she said dryly, "Now I feel silly. I thought _not_ wearing my fighting pajamas under my clothes would be normal. Be right back." She went to find the women's restroom to change into her gi as Yamcha took off his cloak dramatically, throwing his arms out wide. Rather than the Turtle School uniform that Launch and Krillin were still wearing, Yamcha's gi was stark white with shimmering bands of gold at the ankles, sleeves, and waist as well as a gold embroidered wolf across the back of his open-chested vest (to show off his scars, of course) and a pair of golden wristbands. Krillin let out a low whistle as his eyes widened.

"Fancy," he muttered in an impressed tone and walked around Yamcha to inspect his spiffy new gear. Yamcha grinned and shrugged.

"Eh, y'know," he said with a cocky flick of the thumb across his nose, "Feel like a winner, dress like a winner. This is gonna be my year!"

"You sure about that, fancypants?" Suno teased as she walked back to the group in her gi; she had dark blue boots, white pants, and an ice blue tunic. "No one here but Goku's ever seen me fight. You don't know what kind of tricks I might have!" She turned her attention to Goku with a smirk. "Isn't that right Goooo…" her voice trailed off as she and the others found themselves staring like idiots as Goku changed.

She undid the white cloth belt of her coat and let it slide off onto the ground with the smallest shake of her shoulders. Under the coat, she was also wearing a different gi. Although it was almost identical in design to the Turtle uniform, it was a golden yellow where the other had been orange and she had on a blue undershirt beneath that. It also, bizarrely enough, had the character for "God" on the back. The fabric shone and sparkled as Goku extended her strong, slender arms over her head before interlocking her fingers and stretching, arching her back until it popped, letting out a pleasured little noise. Then she bent forward at the waist until her fingertips were parallel to her toess and shimmied her hips to get out of the red pants, underneath which was a pair of golden yellow pants to match the shirt of her gi. Goku stepped out of the pants and stood up straight before she raised one leg over her head to do a standing split against the wall, extending both legs as far as she could and leaning back, accentuating her neckline. She rolled off the wall and came up slowly to her feet with a demure smile…

That immediately turned into her usual big grin.

"So what do you guys think of my new gi?" she asked before she noticed that all of her friends had that funny red look on their faces. "...Guys?" All six of them were too preoccupied to answer as all six simultaneously had some version of this thought.

' _Holy crap! She's hot!'_

OoOoOoO

Piccolo, or as he had registered himself, "Majunior," sneered across the ring at the dog-woman who had apparently been given the unlucky task of becoming his opponent. She charged at him and he rolled his eyes. He stretched out one hand and flicked a finger against the brim of her snout to send her hurtling out of the ring and sailing over the heads of the other fighters before a nasty landing. He scoffed and walked out of the ring. It was tedious to restrain himself so but to strike now would cause too much suspicion and panic. Not yet. The time was not yet… dramatic enough. Yamcha watched him suspiciously as he left the ring.

"Suno," he muttered, motioning to her and the others in turn, "Ten, Launch, Chaozu. Get over here." The others gathered around him and he gestured to the green man with his chin. "That guy look familiar to you?"

"A little bit," Chaozu admitted as he lifted his hat to scratch his singular hair, "Why?"

"Thousand zeni says that's Piccolo," Yamcha wagered bluntly. Suno rubbed her chin and squinted.

"I dunno," she said in a joking manner. "He's missing the great big hole in his chest." Yamcha rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on," he insisted. "He's seven feet tall, green, and he has pointy ears and has pink patches on his arms."

"I'm not so sure, Yamcha," Ten said skeptically with his arms folded over his chest. Yamcha squinted at him.

"Do you even have a thousand zeni, ya friggin' mountain goat?" he asked.

"I do!" Ten said defensively. Launch elbowed him playfully.

"He means I have two thousand zeni."

"What the hell," Suno shrugged, "I'm in."

"Yup."

"Very well."

"Me too. ...Am I the only one scared by this?"

OoOoOoO

She roared as she grabbed her opponent by the shoulders and bashed him in the face with a headbutt. The red cloth wrapped around her head to obscure her identity did little to soften the impact with the blow rendering him practically unconscious. She grabbed his ankles and tucked them under her arms and began spinning round and round before launching him into the air, smashing through the ceiling and flying away. She watched him sail with a confident smile hidden under her headdress before thumping a fist against her chest. She could do this!

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan stared incredulously at his opponent. It was some kind of… Octopus-man? He'd never seen one of those before. He made a ridiculous gurgling noise before charging him with his eight arms flailing wildly. As Ten easily dodged each strike, he supposed he had to give the strange creature credit for his temerity, being unfazed at the prospect of facing the winner of the last Budoukai. Temerity, however, was all that his foe had. Ten grabbed his arms and tied them into a knot over the Octopus's head. Summarily flummoxed, the Octopus gave out a pained gurgle of submission.

"What a strange day this is turning out to be," Ten muttered to himself as he hopped out of the ring while a team of medics attempted to untangle the Octo-man's arms safely.

OoOoOoO

Chaozu swallowed as he stood across the ring from the cyborg, Mercenary Tao. There was an unpleasant whirring sound as Tao attempted to crack his knuckles before frowning when he realized that he could no longer do this. Chaozu took advantage of Tao's moment of introspection and charged, needing to get as close as possible to strike with his tiny limbs.

Tao was frustrated with himself when the strange little man… Charlie? Chauncy? Cartwright? Something like that, managed to get in a few hits while he was maligning the loss of his threatening joint-cracking abilities. The little clown… _was_ he an actual clown? Either way, he had actually managed to make Tao take a few steps back before Tao swatted him away. The dwarf… pygmy… munchkin… what _was_ the correct thing to call them, anyway? Well, whatever he was he stopped himself in midair and flew back at Tao. Why hadn't _he_ ever figured out flight? How hard could that be? He came at Tao with a few more strikes before Tao was _intensely_ bored. He still had a _long_ tournament to get through at this point. He drove the edge of his hand into the little man's face and stood on his chest, foot slowly pushing onto his neck, pressing down.

"I… I give up!" he gasped. Tao pushed his foot down for a few seconds longer, savoring that look of primal fear that people always got when they realized they were about to die… and took his foot off of his throat before kicking him into the crowd where he landed conveniently in Ten's arms. Tenshinhan glared at Tao and, lacking the facial features to glare back, Tao dragged a thumb across his throat. That worked well enough.

OoOoOoO

Launch stared across the ring at Suno and huffed, crossing her arms.

"Of all my friggin' luck," she muttered. "I mean, really, what are the odds?" Suno shrugged nonchalantly with a playful grin.

"I dunno, this is my third fight today which means the numbers are going down so I guess–" she just jumped back to avoid Launch's elbow going up her nose.

"I was being sarcastic," Launch explained as she followed up with a knee. Suno blocked it with her own shin before driving a palm into Launch's sternum. Launch staggered back and rubbed at her chest before she sprinted into another attack, flipping through the air to drive her heel into the crown of Suno's head. In the blink of an eye, Suno grabbed Launch by the leg and slammed her onto the ground, twisting her ankle around painfully. Launch cried in pain and tried to kick at Suno with her free leg but the girl grabbed that and twisted it as well, spinning Launch over onto her stomach and bending her legs and back at an unnatural angle. Launch screamed louder and tried to escape until she couldn't take it anymore. "All right, already," she cried, "I give, I give!" Suno let go immediately and helped her up to her feet. "Jeez, when'd you get so fast?" Suno giggled and tapped a finger against her nose.

"Trade secret," she explained. Launch rolled her eyes and punched Suno on the arm.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "You better not make me look bad and lose in your first finals match or I'll fly a plane into your house." Suno stared at her in horrified disbelief. "Kidding, kidding!"

OoOoOoO

Goku stared at the young man in a black singlet who was doing crazy lunges across the ring from her. He had an extremely short haircut and it _looked_ like he was trying to grow a mustache. He stopped and flexed in front of her, baring his teeth.

"Martial Arts ledy," he tried to bellow in a voice that lacked the timbre to be so described, "Wrestling ees bist Martial Art!" Goku grinned. She hadn't wrestled in forever! "Thees ees yoor unly chence to leave beefore I heff to hoort you!" He got into a wide stance and so did she. He lunged and wrapped his arms around Goku before tossing her high overhead. Goku landed on her feet and grabbed him from behind in a waist lock before she tossed him overhead and out of the ring. She grinned and sauntered over to his dazed body, poking him a few times to wake him up.

"Hey," she said cheerily, "I think I wrestled your dad!"

OoOoOoO

Krillin got into his guard as the other fighter charged towards him. He was an obscenely large animal-man, seven feet tall and just as wide. A frothing, crazy-eyed hippo-man, barreling towards him with his freakishly large maw opened freakishly wide. When he got close to Krillin, however, he came to a screeching halt and counted the incense burns on Krillin's head. The hippo-man's face paled as he raised a trembling hand to point at Krillin.

"Y-y-y-you're…" Krillin smirked and got out of his guard to fold his arms over his chest.

"Yup," he said confidently. The hippo-man broke out into a sweat before he shrieked and ran out of the ring like the devil was behind him.

"It's the Bald Tiger! Run for your lives!" the hippo-man wailed in despair. Krillin chuckled to himself and hopped out of the ring, dusting his hands.

"Bald Tiger?" Yamcha asked incredulously. "What kinda training you been up to, Krillin?" The shorter man looked up at him with a serious face.

"You don't wanna know," he growled in an overly-dramatic, overly-growly voice. Yamcha laughed… before he realized Krillin was trying to be serious.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha hopped from foot to foot as he looked across the ring at Hercule. He was wondering when it'd be his turn to fight this clown. Though, from what Roshi and Launch had said, he'd been expecting someone a little more… animated. The guy looking at him was standing as still as a statue. Yamcha grinned, shuffling his feet and practically dancing across the ring.

"Come on, tough guy," he encouraged, "Let's see whatcha got! Gimme a speech! Gimme a goofy attack name! Gimme _anything!_ " No dice. Yamcha shrugged and came to a stop. "Well, I gave you a chance! Wolf Fang–"

The next thing Yamcha, knew he was on his back.

"-ine! Ten!" the referee counted. "Hercule is the winner!" Yamcha staggered slowly up to his feet as Hercule walked emotionlessly out of the ring.

What?

 _WHAT?!_


	40. Revenge and Understanding!

A/N: There's apparently some confusion about the name of the series and what it entails. Dragon Ball is heavily inspired by Journey to the West, the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. In fact, the Japanese name of Sun Wukong is, you guessed it, Son Gokuu. So, if the Monkey King was a girl, they'd be the Monkey Queen. That's all. Nothing to do with the Saiyans or royalty or Vegeta. Chapter Forty

Revenge and Understanding! Who are These Mystery Fighters?

As the eight finalists lined up to take their numbers for the finals, Krillin couldn't help but notice the lack of one scar-faced reformed bandit.

' _Ouch,'_ he thought as he took his number, ' _Eliminated in the preliminaries. Poor guy.'_ After all that bluster and his shiny new gi, too. So that meant that one of the new guys was stronger than Yamcha. No one had said anything about fighting Yamcha liked Suno had said she'd fought Launch. As the green guy walked past Krillin to take his number, Krillin couldn't fight the cold feeling he got in his stomach. Like someone had just stepped on his grave.

"Hey, Ken!" Goku said excitedly as she reached into the box to take her number. "It's great to see you again!"

"Good to see you again, too, Goku," Ken said with a smile. Then Goku got entirely _too_ close to his face and Ken's face started to flush. "Uhhh… G-Goku?"

"You grew a mustache!" she exclaimed with that starry-eyed look. "It's neat!" Then she walked back into line and Ken flusteredly adjusted his tie to regain his composure. Hercule stepped up to take his number and Ken couldn't stop from smirking.

"Wow, Hercule," he teased, "I didn't think I'd _ever_ see you make it this far!" Hercule took his number wordlessly and Ken cleared his throat uncomfortably. Once everyone drew their numbers, they were ushered out to the ring to the roar of a cheering crowd.

"Hey, Goku," Krillin said as he walked besides Goku, "Where'd you get that gi from, anyway? It's pretty snazzy."

"Thanks!" Goku said with a grin. "It was a present from God." Krillin blinked.

"God?" he asked in confusion. He'd never figured Goku for the religious type. Before he could ask any more questions, they were in front of the crowd. It was even bigger than the tournament before!

"Llllladies aaaaand gentlemen!" Ken crowed as he waved his arms around animatedly, having slipped right into his role as a showman. "We welcome you to the historic 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai! Let's hear it first for our new arrivals! Majunior!" The green man turns up his nose at the crowd's cheering with a scoff. "Suno!" Suno waved politely as the audience roared and cheered and, in a few cases, whistled. "Mercenary Tao Pai Pai!" The crowd grew deathly quiet and Tao chuckled. "Hercule!" The crowd cheers again but the virally-popular Hercule ignored his usual theatrics to stand stock-still with his arms at his side and look completely focused. "Aaaand the Warrior Woman!" The crowd cheered for the giant of a woman as she flexed her arms, although there were no whistles, perhaps out of fear. "Now for our returning finalists! Ladies and gentlemen, Krillin!" Krillin raised his fists as the crowd roared far louder than the tournament before. There were audible chants of "Bald Tiger" as well. "The returning and defending champion, Tenshinhan!" Tenshinhan raised a fist as the audience cheered even louder. "And finally, the two-time runner-up, Son Goku!" The crowd cheered louder than ever, dwarfing all the reactions as she smiled and waved excitedly. There were also more people whistling than there had been for Suno.

"Wait," Bulma muttered as she looked at the lineup, "I don't see Yamcha." It clicked and she burst out laughing. "Ha! He got eliminated already! Hahahahahaaaaaa–" her laughter was interrupted as Puar turned into a large fish and slapped her across the face. Yamcha was, however, in the fighters' area, as was Launch.

"Excuse me," one of the staff said, "I'm afraid that the fighters' area is for finalists only." Yamcha and Launch each held out their hands with light glowing in their palms. "N-never mind." The staff member muttered, sweating nervously as he shuffled away.

"For the Quarter-finals," Ken continued, "It will be Tenshinhan versus Mercenary Tao," there was a noticeable tension in the air as the two fighters turned their heads slightly to glower at one another; "Majunior versus Hercule," Piccolo sneered and, if possible, Hercule looked even more serious; "Goku will take on the Warrior Woman," There was an ever-so-slight change in the Warrior Woman's posture, as though she was fighting to keep from bouncing with excitement; "Aaaand lastly, Suno versus Krillin!" Suno smiled and Krillin did, too, although his was slightly forced. "So, let the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai begin!" Everyone left the ring except for Tenshinhan and Tao and the two got into their stances.

"You will die," Tao growled as he drew back his fist. Ten allowed himself a small smirk.

"I very much doubt that," he retorted calmly as Tao dashed towards him. Tao released a flurry of spear strikes and knees that all missed their mark. Ten finally stopped Tao's assault by gripping Tao's fist in his hand with the metal audibly creaking and crunching in his fist. "As long as I have you as a captive audience," Ten said as Tao struggled in vain to escape the triclops' grip, "I demand an answer. You once said that you were my father 'in a sense'. What do you mean? _Are you my father?"_ Tao growled and pulled back. There was an audible click as he jumped away with his hand staying in Ten's hand and a blade sprung from the wrist.

"Your _father?!"_ Tao spat as he swiped at Ten, startling him with a thin diagonal cut across the abdomen. "I killed your father, you fool!" Ten's eyes widened in shock as the cut slowly began to trickle blood. "I killed your father and your mother when you were an infant! Then I took you to Shen to train you! You would not _exist_ if not for me!" He raised the blade high overhead before he thrust the blade down to stab into Ten's heart. "So it is only fitting that I take your life!" Ten's head snapped forward to grab the blade between his teeth and shatter it. Tao's face paled and, if he still had eyelids and eyebrows, no doubt they would express his shock. Ten spat the shards out onto the floor and Tao hopped away while he thrust out the stump of his wrist which began to glow. "Y-you don't scare me, boy! I am still your better! I am Mercenary Tao! Take this! Chou Dodonpa!" A massive beam of yellow light fired out of the hidden cannon in Tao's arm and Ten glared at it, vaporizing it with a kiai. He was on Tao in a flash and had a hand around his throat.

"I will never know," he growled as he raised Tao off the ground, "my father. I will never know my mother. I will never know the man I might have been if it had not been for you. You _stole_ a life from me." His grip tightened and there was another audible crunch and creak of metal, "It seems only fair that I would take yours. You can't stop me. I'm stronger than you and as you taught me long ago, strength is all that matters." Suno and Krillin made a move to stop Tenshinhan but Goku held out her arms to stop them and shook her head. Tao whimpered pathetically and kicked his legs as Ten glowered up at him… before throwing Tao out of bounds into the grass. "I won't," he spat, "Because I am not like you. I'm better than you." He found Shen in the crowd and pointed down at Tao, "Take him away and disappear. If I ever see either of you again, I will make you regret it." Shen ran through the crowd and grabbed Ten before flying away. Ten walked to the fighters' area as the crowd cheered. He bumped fists with Yamcha and blushed when Launch hugged him. He felt much better, as though a great weight had been lifted off his soul and a chapter could finally be closed on this part of his life.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo glowered across the ring at Hercule with both men practically immobile and the only movement being the wind blowing through his cape. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who he was _really_ facing. Damn the old man. In the quarter-finals? No sense of dramatic timing. Hercule disappeared from sight and reappeared in front of Piccolo to strike with a spinning kick that Piccolo raised his forearm to block. Hercule landed on his feet in front of Piccolo and followed up with a series of palm strikes. Piccolo blocked them all but it was only a feint as Hercule swept Piccolo's feet out from under him and smashed an elbow into his sternum to send him careening back.

"Hmmm," Roshi muttered as he stroked his beard, "Hercule wasn't anywhere near this good when I faced him. Either he's been training seriously or something's not quite right here." Piccolo growled and charged at Hercule to rake his claws across Hercule's chest except that Hercule jumped back at the last second so his claws went through nothing but air. Hercule landed and launched himself forward again with both fists out and spinning like a spiral. Piccolo threw out his hands and grabbed Hercule's fists to bring his spinning to a stop and slam him down to the ground back-first several times before Hercule threw up his feet to catch Piccolo under the chin and break his grip. Hercule rolled back to his feet, right into Piccolo's headbutt and a knee to the stomach. Hercule doubled forward and Piccolo jabbed an elbow down into the small of his back. Hercule groaned and rolled out of the way to avoid a spear strike. Hercule hopped to his feet again and they exchanged a violent but precise flurry of punches and kicks.

"Jeez," Suno muttered as she watched, "Do these guys know each other? It's like they hate each other." Goku watched silently with her arms folded over her chest. She knew the green guy was Piccolo and the guy with the mustache had a pretty familiar fighting style. She was pretty sure she knew what was going on. Hercule threw a powerful hook to the body but Piccolo sidestepped it and gripped Hercule's neck suddenly.

"I tire of these games," he growled, "Reveal yourself before I break this human's neck!" Hercule then did something _no one_ was expecting: he threw a ki ball into Piccolo's face to break his grip. Piccolo growled in pain and let Hercule go as he clutched at his face with both hands. Hercule followed this with something equally preposterous when he _flew._

"Okay," Launch muttered as she watched him go up, "That tears it. _Something_ is up." Piccolo flew up to meet Hercule and the two foes battled in the air with a ferocious intensity. Hercule suddenly slapped both hands on Piccolo's ears and he cried out in agony, disoriented as Hercule drove him to the ground with a hammerblow. Hercule met him on the ground and threw a small vial down at his feet.

"I am finishing this!" Hercule declared suddenly, speaking for the first time all day as he thrust out his hands. "Mafuuba!" Everyone, with the exception of Goku, stared in open-mouthed, bug-eyed shock as a green cyclone flew out of his palms and enveloped Piccolo. Surprisingly, Piccolo only growled in response. Then he raised his arms and threw them out in a mirror of Hercule's stance.

"Mafuuba Gaeshi!" he bellowed and the direction of the cyclone changed and turned on Hercule. The man screamed in agony and something seemed to fly out of his mouth before Hercule collapsed in a heap as the cyclone funneled down into the tiny bottle, the stopper securing onto it like magic. Piccolo grinned to himself as he scooped up the bottle.

"Wh-what just happened?" Launch asked. "That Majunior guy reversed the Mafuuba onto Hercule and then… something went into that bottle."

"It looked like Piccolo Daimaou," Ten muttered with a hand under his chin. Goku shook her head as she stared at Piccolo intensely.

"That wasn't Piccolo," Goku explained, "That was Kami. _That_ is Piccolo." The others stared at Piccolo and swallowed nervously.

"Told ya," Yamcha said suddenly. "Pay up!"

"Ten!" Ken shouted as he finished the count. "Majunior is the winner!" Piccolo sneered at Hercule's unconscious body and turned away from the ring with a flourish of his cape. He stopped when Goku blocked his path.

"The bottle," she said forcefully, "hand it over." Piccolo smirked and held the bottle in front of her face.

"This what you want?" he asked. In a flash, the bottle was in Piccolo's mouth and he swallowed it. Goku stared in horror and he grinned. "The only way to get the old man back is to kill me. But that would kill him, too, wouldn't it? What a dilemma." Then he shoved his way past Goku and the others.

OoOoOoO

As Hercule struggled to his feet with a groan, the crowd suddenly began to chant his name, inspired by his performance.

"Hercule! Hercule! Hercule!" Hercule staggered as he regained his balance and wore the look of a man who had no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he could remember was running a pick through his afro and waxing his mustache. Now he'd made it all the way to the finals! Even though he'd lost. As Hercule walked towards the crowd a woman suddenly pushed her way to the front. She was wearing a yellow sundress and had long black hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was Miguel and she was Hercule's girlfriend.

"You did great, hon!" Miguel shouted proudly as Hercule climbed over the barricade. "I didn't know you could fly!" She threw her arms around Hercule and covered his face in kisses. _Fly?!_ If Hercule had been confused before he was hopelessly lost now.

' _What the heck,'_ he thought to himself, ' _Just go with it.'_ he hoisted Miguel up onto his shoulders and threw his arms triumphantly into the air. "Yeah," he crowed as he waved his hands to fan the flames of the crowd's cheers, "Lemme hear it! WHO'S THE MAN? WHO'S THE MAN?"

"HERCULE!" the crowd answered, "HERCULE! HERCULE! HERCULE!" Hercule grinned to himself. He could get used to this.

OoOoOoO

"So, uh, Goku," Krillin asked with a tone of nervous confusion, "Who's Kami?" So Goku told them everything about Piccolo Daimaou's egg and how she'd met Kami and the training she'd undergone with him and the connection between Kami and Piccolo.

"So," Yamcha muttered, "The guy who kicked my butt was possessed by kinda-sorta-God." He shrugged, "I can live with that."

"And I," Ten added, "Have to fight the reincarnation of the Demon King. An even stronger reincarnation of the monster who nearly killed me." Launch put a hand on his arm.

"You don't _have_ to fight," she told him, "You can pull out of–"

"Pull out?" Tenshinhan asked incredulously before cracking his knuckles. "This is the kind of challenge I need. Besides, he owes me a rematch."

OoOoOoO

Goku stared across the ring at the giantess who was looming over her. There was an intense look in her eyes. It wasn't hatred, Goku could see that much. Before Goku could ask why she was looking at her so funny, the woman darted across the ring at a speed surprising for her size and brought her fist down on Goku's head.

Or rather, where Goku had been a moment before. She was slightly off to the left now and waving pleasantly. The woman growled and swung around her fist to try to uppercut Goku with enough force to knock her out of her boots. This time, Goku was balancing on her fist.

"Did I do something wrong?" Goku asked before flipping and landing behind the Warrior Woman. "How come you're mad at me?" The woman turned to face Goku again and seemed to be fighting to keep her composure.

"I'm not mad," the woman insisted, "But I _will_ defeat you, Son Goku!" She leaped and tried to drive a knee into Goku's face but Goku bent almost completely in half backwards to watch the woman sail overhead.

"Have we met?" Goku asked as she straightened up. the Warrior Woman unleashed a flurry of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks that Goku blocked and deflected with one hand.

"If you want to know who I am," she told her as she doggedly continued her fruitless assault, "You'll have to defeat me! But that won't happen! I _will_ defeat you, Son Goku! I _have_ to!" She lunged forward with a headbutt and Goku appeared to be meeting her head-to-head… then the woman was in the grass before they ever made contact.

"Ring out," Ken declared, "Son Goku is the winner!"

"Impressive," Roshi muttered, "Goku took her out with just the wind generated by her attack!" Goku walked to the edge of the ring and held out a hand to help the Warrior Woman to her feet.

"So," Goku asked, "Who the heck are you?" The woman reached up to the red wrapping around her head and began to undo it. She finished unwrapping the cover and held the cloth in one hand. She had a beautiful face, with high cheekbones and eyes like chips of onyx. Her jet black hair was in a tight bun that she undid with her other hand before shaking her head side to side to let her hair fan down around her shoulders and to her back.

"It's me," the woman said, "Chi-Chi. The Ox King's daughter?" Roshi, Bulma, Puar, and Yamcha gawked in bug-eyed, slack-jawed disbelief.

"But she was… and now she's… _what?!"_ Yamcha babbled in confusion.

"There _was_ something familiar to her fighting style," Roshi muttered as his sunglasses slid off his face.

"The heck's she been eating?" Bulma murmured.

"Hi, Chi-Chi," Goku said pleasantly as she looked up at her, "You got taller!" Chi-Chi blushed slightly and bowed her head with her eyes turned down.

"I'm glad you remembered me, Son Goku," she said softly. "Now I can tell you why I entered the Tenkaichi Budoukai and why I was being so secretive. You see…" she paused and sucked in a deep breath as if preparing to move some great weight, then turned her eyes back up to Goku, "From the minute I met you, I felt… something spark inside of me. I was drawn to you and to this whole big world you seemed to be a part of that was so much grander than the little world I knew in my father's kingdom." Ken took a step towards Chi-Chi to tell her that they still had another match to get to but she shot him a glare so sharp it could have shaved his mustache. He quickly moved backwards away from her and she returned her attention to Goku and her expression instantly softened again. "I've spent so many years trying to find you, to meet with you, to join you, but things kept getting in my way. And with every attempt, despite every setback, that spark I had felt inside me four years before had fanned into a wildfire. I have been training for the past three years for this day, Son Goku, so that I could say…" Chi-Chi suddenly went down to a knee, now having to look up at Goku for the first time and took Goku's hand in hers, "I want to be in your world, Son Goku. With all your friends and your grand adventures. I… I want to be with you. Will you marry me, Goku?" There followed a long and tense silence. Suno looked uncomfortable and Krillin looked like he wanted to scream his head off.

"I don't know what that means," Goku said bluntly. An entire arena face-faulted as one. "Hey, Krillin!" Goku called as she turned her attention to the fighters' area. "What's marry mean?" For half a second. Krillin hesitated and pondered his answer, wondering what he might say. In the end, his nerves failed and he decided to give Goku the truth.

"When you marry someone," he explained, "It's when you live in the same house with someone that you really care about and you spend a lot of time together and you… um…" Krillin swallowed and his face reddened, "N-never mind." Goku looked back at Chi-Chi, still on a knee and looking up at Goku with expectant eyes. Goku chewed on her lip for a moment with conflict written all over her face.

"Chi-Chi," Goku said softly and squeezed the other girl's hand, "I… I'm sorry. I can't marry you. I don't know you." If there was an expression beyond hopelessness, a depth beneath despair, a pain beyond heartbreak, they were all written on Chi-Chi's face as she slowly stood up and walked back to the fighters' area. She moved as far away from Goku's friends as possible and slumped down onto a bench with her head in her hands. Goku frowned and went back to join her friends. Ken said that she was the winner but she didn't feel like one at the moment. She sort of just felt like a jerk.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Krillin stood across from each other and moved into their guards. The crowd cheered wildly as they clapped and stomped their feet. As before there was an audible "Bald Tiger" chant.

"Bald Tiger?" Bulma muttered in confusion as she looked around at the chanting audience. "Do they mean _Krillin?!"_ Suno couldn't stifle a giggle when she heard the moniker that Krillin had apparently earned in the past three years which made Krillin ball his fists even tighter in anger. He shot towards Suno like a rocket and threw out a straight jab that would have taken a normal person's head clean off. As it was, Suno felt a sharp pain jolt through her forearms when she brought up a cross-armed guard to block the strike before she shoved Krillin back and struck with a lightning-fast crescent kick. Krillin forcefully redirected it to the side with the Orin temple style with enough force to make Suno spin and jumped up to smash a knee into the back of Suno's head. She staggered forward and glowered.

"Okay," she muttered as she spun around to her side, "What the heck is your problem?!" She exploded with an onslaught of kicks at Krillin who threw up his forearm to block them with his feet planted firmly as he weathered the assault. "You've been holding onto this for, like, six years! Every time you see me hanging out with Goku, you get mad! What, is no one else allowed to be her friend, you little psycho?!" Krillin growled and dove down to slide between Suno's legs and came up behind her with another punch aimed at the back but this time Suno twisted around and blocked it with her elbow.

"Shut up!" Krillin snapped as he hopped away from Suno's palm strike counterattack and jumped up to flip forward with a scissor kick. It caught Suno on the shoulder as she rolled out of the way and Krillin pressed forward with a series of body punches. "I didn't _have_ any friends before I met Goku! I knew her for a year and then you just swoop in and it's like you've been buddies your whole lives! Who the heck are you, Suno? Where did you come from? Why? Why?!" Suno brought her arms down to block Krillin and headbutted him right between the eyes.

"That's just it!" Suno told him even as they both winced. "You don't know anything about me! You don't know that stuff because you've been too busy being mad all the time!" She and Krillin charged each other and met in an explosion of fists. "Goku and I fought together against the Red Ribbon Army! She saved my village!" Krillin threw a right hook and Suno threw a left, each fist smashing into the other's cheek as they stood and glared at one another. Slowly, however, Krillin let his fist drop.

"You're right," he said and Suno let hers drop as well in surprise, "I've been stewing on this for years like a real jerk. I thought I'd had it spelled out to me years ago that Goku was just friends with everybody. I guess I've just got… issues." he shrugged and got back into his guard with a smile. "Come on, let's do this fair." Suno smiled back and nodded.

The two charged again and while their strikes were still furiously delivered, there was no more malice behind them. With the graceful qualities of the Odori Style and the redirective strategy of the Orin Temple it was almost half a dance. The end came swiftly when Suno wrapped her legs around Krillin's neck in a headscissors and twisted in the air to send him head-over-heels out of the ring and into the grass.

"Ring out!" Ken declared. "Suno is your winner!" The crowd cheered and picked up a small "Suno" chant as Suno walked out of the ring and offered Krillin a hand. He picked himself up but shook her hand anyway.

"Hey," Krillin said with a slightly reddening face, "You and Goku… uh… just," he swallowed and shook his head. "Never mind." He walked back to the fighter's area and left Suno terribly confused. Goku grinned widely as her friends came back to join the rest of them. She was glad that everyone was getting along. She felt Piccolo's ki pressing on the back of her mind and frowned, her good mood gone. There was still a tournament to win.

A/N: Yep, that's right, Goku won't be marrying Chi-Chi. Don't worry, though, since we'll definitely be seeing more of her in the future. We'll talk a bit more about this next chapter.


	41. Battles Against Impossible Odds!

Chapter Forty-one

Battles Against Impossible Odds!

There was a small interlude between the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals to allow the fighters a moment of rest before continuing their battles. As the others gave Tenshinhan words of encouragement, Yamcha's gaze kept drifting over to Chi-Chi. The young woman just looked so miserable and alone although he could hardly blame her. His heart went out to the girl. While the others talked, Yamcha slunk away to find Pilaf and, three hundred zeni later, returned with two drinks. He sat down beside Chi-Chi and held one out to her. She gave him only the briefest of glances before looking back down at her feet. She did, however, take the drink from his hand.

"So," Yamcha said, "You wanna talk?" Chi-Chi shook her head sullenly and Yamcha just shrugged. He didn't leave. Meanwhile, Krillin looked away from the conversations the others were having when something glinted and caught his eye. Krillin looked up to the sky and saw a handful of shining spheres no bigger than his fist zipping around the ring and occasionally stopping to fidget in the air before moving again.

"The heck are those?" he murmured.

"Funny you should ask," Ken said, appearing at Krillin's side out of nowhere like a genie and giving Krillin a start. "Those are the newest high-speed remote cameras from Capsule Corp. After the last two tournaments, I was able to convince the Budoukai committee to spend the money to increase our coverage. People have to see this stuff, ya know? Each camera is even equipped with a self-contained generator and antennae to keep connection with the satellite. So if, for whatever reason, we lost connection with the power, like if the arena was destroyed, we wouldn't lost the broadcast. But what're the odds of that?" He chuckled but it died when he realized that Krillin _wasn't_ laughing at the notion. He tugged nervously at his collar and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "A-anyway," he said, "I'm glad you guys showed up to justify the money spent on these things. If this tournament had been boring, I'd probably have lost my job."

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan steeled himself for a moment as Piccolo walked past him to the ring. Krillin and Suno gave him encouraging words and Launch gave him another hug. Their words were genuinely meant but he could feel the doubt behind them. He looked to Goku before he walked to the ring and she gave him a wordless, slow nod. Tenshinhan nodded back to her and marched towards the ring. Goku, Ten had realized in the short time he'd known her, did not have the capacity for deception. She knew his chances were slim as well as he did. As Ten climbed the steps into the ring and stood across from Piccolo, he reflected that he was in a similar position to Muten Roshi three years ago. Piccolo was certainly more powerful than him and all Ten had was his bag of tricks.

"Dodonpa!" Ten cried as he threw his arm out as swiftly and as seamlessly as a serpent's strike and the yellow beam shot from his finger as true as an arrow. Piccolo's hand went out even faster and _grabbed the Dodonpa out of the air._ He pivoted on his feet and tossed the beam back at Ten like a javelin and Ten leaped to the side to avoid being struck. ' _Well,'_ Ten thought as he and Piccolo circled each other tensely, ' _At least I know where I stand.'_ Ten burst forward and leaped into the air to attack Piccolo with a flying kick, knowing that his only advantage was to press the attack and keep the reincarnated demon on the defensive. Piccolo vanished and reappeared behind Ten as soon as he touched down and went for a blow aimed for the triclops' neck. He ducked to avoid the blow and threw his elbow back into Piccolo's stomach with the impact making him double over and cough up spit. Ten spun around and on his feet and held his hands up in front of Piccolo's face. "Taiyoken!" he roared and the blinding light blasted Piccolo in the face. Ten went for a crushing uppercut but was shocked when Piccolo grabbed his wrist. The demon smirked and chuckled derisively as he opened his eyes.

"Did you think I would not remember that technique?" Piccolo asked before he spun around and slammed Ten down hard into the ring before he tossed him high into the air. Ten caught himself in the air and hovered high above the ring, neither caring about or noticing the cameras that flew up to follow him.

"Well," Ten muttered to himself as he caught his breath, "You definitely won't have seen this one yet." He held his hands out with his fingers splayed as a point of yellow light formed on each individual finger. Piccolo watched curiously from above and waited for Ten's move. "Dodon Danmaku!" Each finger fired burst after burst of ki down at the ring and Piccolo's eyes widened in a moment of surprise before he began to dart across the ring to avoid the attacks. He snarled as a few shots pierced his cape and crouched low before flying off in an aggressive burst of speed that sent spiderweb cracks through the ring and kicked up a mighty gust. Ten stopped firing and met Piccolo head-to-head and fist-to-fist. Piccolo struck with hate and venom to take his vengeance on one of the creatures that had been foolish enough to rise against him and had played a hand in his death. Ten fought back with every ounce of his strength and speed, boiling down all his skill and training into this moment. They flew apart and collided again and again with shockwaves visible in the air, bursting the clouds apart with a sound like cannonfire. Chi-Chi's curiosity got the better of her and she looked up to see what was going on, her mouth and eyes slowly widening as she tried to take stock of action moving too fast to see.

"Goodness," she muttered.

Tenshinhan took an opening when he ducked under Piccolo's attack and grabbed the other fighter's cape in both fists. He spun as fast as he could, round and round before letting go to send Piccolo hurtling to the ground so fast that the air sizzled around him before he smashed violently down into the ring. Ten landed in the ring across from him as Piccolo got to his feet. They both took a moment to collect themselves; Ten gasping for breath and Piccolo dizzy and disoriented. Ten took stock of the fight during his moment's respite and found about what he'd expected. While he was panting and bruised, Piccolo's breathing was even and while Ten knew his blows hand landed, the most damage seemed to have been done to Piccolo' clothes, which were dirtied and scratched.

"Come on," Piccolo taunted as he adjusted his turban, "You're not done already, are you?" Ten took a deep breath and brought his arms up as he bent into a low crouch.

" _Hardly,"_ he growled as he crossed his arms. Ten glared at Piccolo as he focused his energy. Piccolo waited and watched curiously as tendrils of energy rolled off of Tenshinhan's body. Goku watched as well, wondering what the heck Ten was doing. It kind of reminded her of the time Ten grew those arms out of his back but it was… different. More. Then, without warning, there was a Tenshinhan standing next to Tenshinhan. Then another standing next to him. And yet one more standing next to him! Four Tenshinhans, each crouched with their arms bent before they stood and uncrossed their arms in unison.

" _WHAT?!"_ Suno, Krillin, Roshi, Bulma, and Yamcha cried out in shock.

"Neat!" Launch and Goku said with grins although for very different reasons and with very different grins. Piccolo gave a dismissive snort.

"Afterimages," he said as he walked towards the quartet. "That's all?" he drew back a fist and went to punch one of the Tens at an almost lethargic pace as if to make a point. Then, all at once, they punched him in the face and knocked Piccolo on his ass. Piccolo stared in gobsmacked disbelief as the Tenshinhans grinned and cracked their knuckles.

"You were saying?" they asked as one before swarming Piccolo to batter him with punches and kicks and stomps to try and keep him from getting to his feet. Piccolo snarled and roared as he threw his arms out to knock them away with a kiai. The four Tens flew high into the air and each took a corner of the ring to surround Piccolo. The demon chewed his lip in frustration. They were too far apart to attack all at once but as soon as he turned his attention to one, he knew that the others were all going to swarm on him.

"Really," Piccolo remarked, "Four on one is hardly fair." Each Ten responded by giving him the finger. Piccolo rolled his eyes as Launch snickered. Piccolo flew up and stretched out his arms to attack two of the Tenshinhans, his hands striking as swiftly as snakes, snapping and lashing out in the air, keeping the clones on the defensive. This still left the other two Tens unaccounted for and each flew to grab one of Piccolo's legs and yank him down to the ground. The other two grabbed Piccolo's arms before they could retract and yanked him back up to punch him in the face to send him down again.

"Go, Ten!" Launch cheered.

"You've got him!" Krillin encouraged.

"Don't let up!" Suno added. Goku only watched silently and waited. It looked like Ten had the advantage but something was definitely up. Piccolo groaned and stood slowly before cracking his neck as the four Tens surrounded him again.

"I have to say," Piccolo said, "That is quite an interesting technique. Except that I've figured out your weakness." He smirked and folded his arms confidently. "To split your body like this, you have to split your power as well. It's hard to notice the difference when you attack me at once but, the moment you split up, I notice that you're even weaker than usual." One of the Tens gave a shrug.

"Then I guess we'll just have to keep attacking you all at once," he said as they drew back their fists and Piccolo braced himself. Then the four Tens fired ki beams from their third eyes and blasted Piccolo, the fists having only been feints. The blasts caught Piccolo squarely in chest, sides, and the base of his neck. He grunted in pain and fell to a knee as the Tens walked towards him and kept pouring on their beams, bearing down on him and taking him down to both knees. Piccolo fell forward under the force of the blasts and had to throw out his hands to stop himself from falling onto his face.

' _This is insane!'_ Piccolo thought indignantly. ' _I will not be brought low by one of these rodents! I have a destiny to fulfill! A vengeance to claim!'_ Piccolo roared and sent the Tenshinhans flying with another kiai. He stood slowly and his eyes flashed red. Two thin beams of light pierced one of the Tenshinhans where his heart would be and he faded away like smoke, revealing that he was one of the body doubles. Piccolo launched himself to the side at one of the Tenshinhans and drove his elbow under his chin with enough force to snap his neck, that one fading away as well. Then he turned his attention on the other Tenshinhan in the ring and was on him in the blink of an eye with a hand on his throat and hoisted him off the ground. "Now," he said, "This looks familiar." Despite his predicament, Ten chuckled.

"Don't you know how to count?" Tenshinhan asked with a strained smirk. Piccolo blinked in confusion and the remark didn't register until he felt an arm from behind wrapping around his throat. _He'd forgotten the other one!_ The Ten with the arm around his throat yanked him away from the other before rocketing into the sky and pivoting and launching Piccolo even higher into the sky by his neck. The Tenshinhan in the sky flew past Piccolo as fast as he could, bringing his hands into a triangle in front of him and straining as the Tenshinhan on the ground threw out a fist. "Chou Dodonpa!" "Shin Kikouhou!" The blasts sandwiched Piccolo in a burst of yellow light that outshone the sun itself. The Ten in the sky faded away as the light dimmed. There was no sign of Piccolo. Instead, there was just his cape, falling out of the sky faster than a cape ought to. Ten bent forward and gripped his knees with desperate breaths, his body drenched in sweat. He couldn't remember being so exhausted in his life. That was his best–

Piccolo landed in front Tenshinhan as if appearing from nowhere. Ten stared with his mouth agape as Piccolo smirked and began stalking toward him. Tenshinhan scowled as Piccolo stalked towards him and, despite every fiber of his fighter's spirit telling him not to, Ten knew that there were no other options.

"I concede," Tenshinhan declared, glaring at Piccolo, defiant even in defeat. Piccolo came to a stop inches from Tenshinhan and his body seemed to burn with frustration. That gave Ten some measure of satisfaction as he staggered back to the fighters' area.

"Tenshinhan submits!" Ken declared. "Majunior is the winner!" Piccolo ground his teeth and wanted to scream. That… that wasn't fair! He wanted his triumph! He wanted to destroy Earth's champions, one-by-one, before the entire world to cement his throne again. How could he just… give up?! How could he do that to him? It was so… so _selfish!_

' _I suppose it doesn't matter,'_ Piccolo admitted to himself, ' _They will all die one way or the other.'_ Piccolo frowned in thought as he leaped from the ring to the fighters' area, landing past Goku and her sycophants. ' _However, if I hadn't dropped my cape to increase my speed, I wouldn't have been able to avoid that attack. It wouldn't have killed me, of course, but it would have hurt. Beings such as him will could be a problem when I am king again.'_

Krillin caught Tenshinhan as he started to fall and sat him down down on a bench before Launch sat down beside him. He groaned and Goku already had a cup of water for him. He took it weakly and nodded appreciatively. Goku smiled and patted Ten on the shoulder.

"Just don't lose," Ten muttered before he sipped his water. Goku nodded resolutely.

"You got it."

OoOoOoO

Suno and Goku stood apart from each other on opposite sides of the ring. Despite knowing that her chances of winning were basically zero, Suno could help but feel excited as her pulse started to rise. Standing in front of a large crowd on national television and showing the whole world just what she could do was so far away from where she had started six years ago that it was like she was in a dream.

"Contestants Son Goku and Suno, are you ready? Begin!" Ken called out.

Goku and Suno charged and immediately launched into a complex series of interlocking punches and kicks. It was pretty clear to Suno that Goku had, at some point, memorized most of the finer points of her _Odori_ style and was now using it and supplementing it with all the other styles she had learned over the years. Not like it terribly mattered to her. Something also obvious to other fighters and even Ken was that, despite the speed and precision of their blows, neither of them were really trying.

"Hey, Goku?" Suno spoke up after a few seconds.

"Yu-huh?" Goku replied, her attention clearly on Suno's words rather than the "fight".

"I was wondering what you were planning on doing after the Budoukai."

"Hmm… I dunno. I never really thought about it. Kami says I've learned all I can from him so I doubt I'll go back to the Lookout. I still need to get my Grandpa's Dragon Ball back but, after that, I dunno. Why?"

"Well, if you don't have anything better to do, I thought I'd offer to let you stay at my place."

"You mean live with you in Jingle Village?"

"No, actually. I live by myself in a small town a few hours away from East City now. After seeing so much of the world with you, I decided I wanted to live someplace a bit more central."

"Hmm… Okay! On one condition."

"Oh? What's that?" Suno could barely contain her excitement.

"I want you to go all out during this fight!"

Suno chuckled, "Okay, I think I can do that."

The fighters sprang away from each other and slid into their guard stances. They locked their gazes on each other and the air stilled as it was filled with tension. Even those watching on their televisions or listening to Ken's announcements over the radio could tell that this was an explosive situation of the highest caliber. The slightest twitch, the shallowest breath, the smallest opening would set them off. Every member of the audience waited with baited breath for the fight to start in earnest.

After an eternity, it finally happened. Suno's back foot shifted ever so slightly and she and Goku disappeared into a blur of movement. What followed was a clash at speeds even greater than the previous fight; only Tenshinhan and Piccolo could fully see what they were doing. Again, their blows clashed and flowed around each other like before but the difference was like that of night and day. Each blow was launched with enough force to at least stun, if not injure, and their focus was fully on each other and nothing else.

The situation changed when Goku blocked one of Suno's high kicks instead of dodging. She then quickly threw out a sharp jab that came just short of hitting Suno's chest but the wind was enough to launch the off balance Suno backwards. Suno was outside of the ring before she could fully react and was forced to use a full body kiai to launch herself back to the ring in order to prevent a ring out. Of course, Goku saw this coming and was preparing a pointblank kiai that would undoubtedly ring her out. With no time for subtlety, Suno pushed her ki into her legs and used a full power kiai from her feet to launch herself high into the air and flip over Goku. Goku quickly gave chase and was forced to block a twirling kick aimed at her head that left Suno parallel to the ground. Suno immediately followed up with a double kiai that not only pushed her away but also forced Goku to release the grip she had on her leg. To her astonishment, Goku managed to not only react in time but also managed to _redirect_ Suno's kiai towards the ground with her own.

When both fighters touched down, they immediately went back at it. Suno weaved around one of Goku's jabs only to find her palm strike sailing through Goku's afterimage. Goku appeared behind and launched a roundhouse kick aimed at her floating rib only for _her_ attack to pass through _Suno's_ afterimage. Suno appeared off to Goku's side and was completely unsurprised when her kidney punch only broke through another afterimage. Back and forth this went, with each fighter's strikes only succeeding in dispelling yet another afterimage, until, after the fifteenth reversal, Suno turned the momentum from her left hook that phased through the afterimage into a spinning kick aimed at where she knew Goku would be appearing behind her only to be surprised when _that_ Goku turned out to be an afterimage too.

Suno's instincts screamed at her and she dove forward into a roll just as Goku came down onto the stop she had been standing not an instant before. Suno rose to her feet and charged forward with a kiai-enhanced palm strike only to be surprised again as Goku evidently had the same idea. Their palms stopped just a fraction of an inch away from each other as the kiai negated each other and the recoil blasted their arms backward. Both of them saw this as the perfect opening and simultaneously launched another kiai-enhanced palm strike only for the result to be the same. Neither of them let up as they unleashed a barrage of kiai at each other, each strike being met head on by its twin. The air behind them was whipped up in a veritable maelstrom that tugged at their hair and tore at their clothes but it spoke highly of their skill that the wind reaching the spectators was a mere breeze.

The situation changed when Suno put a little less power into her strike and made the angle slightly off. Instead of countering Goku's strike, she decreased is force and angled it so that the kiai would shift her back just enough for her next move. The instant the blow came and she was pushed back, she launched a kiai from the back of her legs to sweep them out from under her and launched another from her shoulders to put herself into a baseball slide between Goku's legs. As she passed, she hooked her arms around Goku's ankles and used another kiai to give herself the speed needed to pull Goku's feet out from under her. As Goku fell, Suno used another series of kiai to bring herself to a stop and launch herself into the air and back down towards Goku. Goku caught herself with her hands before her face hit the ground and immediately rolled out of the way as Suno's kiai-enhanced palm strike slammed into the ground where her back had been, the force of the blow creating a sizable crater in the ring. Goku rose up with a spinning kick that forced Suno to drop to the ground then roll out of the way of the follow up stomp. Both fighters jumped backwards and once again found themselves facing each other down at the edge of the area.

"Wow, Suno! You're amazing! You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met!"

Suno chuckled, a light blush dusting her cheeks, "Thank you. I'd say the same but, given who you were training with, I think it'd have been even _more_ amazing if you _didn't_ get a lot stronger."

"Hey, do you mind if we take a break for a minute? I wanna go all out against you and I need a bit to get ready."

"So you've been holding back? I guess that's only fair. I haven't been going all out, either. I spent most of the last three years learning the secret technique of the _Odori_ style and I've yet to use it."

Goku got all starry-eyed at this, "Oh, really? Is it a new attack?"

Suno smirked, "Maybe. Only one way to find out."

Goku laughed, "Okay! Just one sec." Just like that, Goku pulled down the top of her gi and started to take off her blue undershirt with much effort. "Aw jeez. I hate taking this thing off."

The entire audience was shocked silent with Suno even dropping her guard as they stared at Goku with bewilderment.

"C-Contestant Son Goku appears to be remover her shirt!" Ken announced. "While she's- _it's_ certainly hot enough, I can't help but wonder if Goku is using the tactics of Ranfan who she fought back at the 21st Budoukai!"

"Uh… G-Goku, uh…" Suno chuckled nervously, "Wha-what are you doing?" Goku grunted as she finally got the undershirt over her head and it crashed to the ground with a rather resounding "thud." Suno- along with quite a few others- were grateful that she was wearing a cloth wrapping that completely covered her breasts.

"I'm taking off my weighted clothing. I can't go all out if I'm still wearing it. You trained pretty hard to master that technique, right?" Goku put her shirt back on and removed her wristbands which also crash to the ground before sitting down to remover her boots.

"Yeah," Suno said muttered, "I trained pretty girl. Hard! Hard. I trained… pretty hard."

"Here, let me get these out of the way for you," Launch said as she walked into the ring. She went to pick up Goku's undershirt only to find herself struggling to do so. "Good lord, Goku! How much does this thing weigh?!"

"Um… The boots are forty pounds each, the wristbands are twenty each, and the shirt is one hundred pounds."

" _Two hundred twenty pounds?! Are you crazy, Goku?!"_ Launch shouted. "Hey, Yamcha! Come give me a hand with this!"

After Launch and Yamcha managed to get Goku's weighted clothing out of the ring, Goku turned her attention back to Suno while stretching, "So, are you going to show me this secret technique?"

Suno nodded as she calmed her breathing and began focusing her ki. An aura of pale translucence surrounded her, creating a weak updraft that moved her hair. This technique required very precise ki manipulation and it took her the better part of two years before she mastered it. Now it was time to see if the effort had been worth it.

" _Fubuki Odori!"_ There was a small pulse of energy as the updraft stopped and the aura vanished. Suno's appearance was completely unchanged and this seemingly complete lack of change caused Goku to cock her head in confusion.

"You don't look any different but your ki certainly feels different. What did you do?"

Suno slid into her guard stance, "Only one way to find out."

Goku nodded and did the same, "Right!"

Goku and Suno's forms blurred and wavered with motion before coming to a stop. The only way everyone other than Piccolo knew that they even fought was the slight change in their positions.

"Did- Did you guys see that?" Krillin asked weakly.

"Nope. How about you, Ten?" Yamcha asked.

At that moment, Tenshinhan's skin color could have given Chaozu's a run for his money.

"Oh, wow!" Goku was all starry eyed yet again. "So that's your secret technique? You actually managed to keep up with me and I wasn't holding anything back!" Suno smiled. This was actually going far better than expected. "It's got a major flaw though. You have all that speed but you've sacrificed most of your power to get it."

Suno grimaced but wasn't really surprised. Indeed, the Fubuki Odori granted her immense speed but, in order to get it, she had to channel the ki that normally bolstered her strength into her speed. As a result, the speed gain was directly proportional to her strength loss. Regardless, she had to remain confident. "So you figured it out. Do you think knowing the technique's weakness will be enough to let you defeat it?"

"Maybe. Only one way to find out."

Suno chuckled to herself, "Right!"

The clashed in a blur of motion once more. With her weakness revealed, Suno was forced to dodge all of Goku's attacks rather than trying to block them. She was positive that Goku had the strength to blow through her guard and even a single hit would spell the end of this fight. The two found themselves constantly switching between giving and taking ground; the line between being on the offensive and defensive so blurred that they may as well have been one in the same. Their attacks flowed and linked together like never before and the result was that it looked more like they were literally dancing around the arena rather than fighting. As it was, their speed was so great that it appeared as if eight Sunos and Gokus were fighting each other and only Piccolo could tell where the real ones were.

An opening was made when Suno changed the paradigm. Instead of dodging Goku's crane strike, she took a page from Krillin's book and redirected it. Goku's surprise only lasted for an instant but that was all Suno needed. She lashed out with a backhand that caught Goku right in the solar plexus. Goku's guard broke further and Suno launched an all out offensive. She poured on the attacks, striking Goku from every conceivable angle, and pushed her speed to her utmost limits. With each strike, Goku was getting pushed towards the edge little by little. It was taking everything out of her but, if she could keep up her barrage, victory was within her reach.

At last, the time was right and Suno put everything in one last strike. With a mighty yell, she slammed her palm into Goku's chest and sent her flying with a kiai. She went sailing over the edge and Suno and the others watched seemingly in slow motion as Goku fell towards the ground outside the ring. Closer and closer she got, just one more instant and it'd be over.

Then Goku stopped. She floated in mid air a mere few inches above the ground- Ken actually having to get on the ground to make sure that she, indeed, wasn't touching it- before floating upwards and landing back inside the ring. Suno quickly retreated to the other side of the ring as she tried to not let her disappointment show.

"Man, that was a close one! You almost had me there!" Suno didn't say anything in response. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to say anything but more like she _couldn't_ say anything. She had put everything into that last push and, as a result, her breath was labored and sweat was pouring down her body. Goku, on the other hand, was still breathing normally and hadn't even broken a sweat. "Oh, one more thing. You said you wanted me to live with you, right? Does that mean you want me to marry you?"

Suno's arms fell to her side as her face turned blood red, "M-m-married?" Before she could so much as begin to get her mind back in order; there was a rush of movement, a sharp pain in her chest, and she found herself laying on her back outside the ring.

"Ring out! Son Goku is the winner!" Ken announced as the audience cheered. Suno barely even registered the fact that she had lost. Instead, she was too consumed by what just happened. ' _Did Goku just- No, she isn't capable of that. ...Is she?'_ Just then, the object of her concern appeared upside down in her face.

"Hey, you okay?" Goku asked. "Sorry about that. You dropped your guard and I just took the chance without really thinking." Suno smiled and shook her head as she got up. No. No she wasn't.

"I'm fine. It's okay."

"Good! So, are you going to answer me?"

"Huh?" Suno turned beet red again. "Y-you mean about us getting m-married?"

"Yu-huh."

Suno chewed on her lip. On one hand, she really did want to marry Goku but, on the other hand, Goku clearly didn't fully understand what marriage was and Krillin's explanation was rather lacking. Given Goku's personality, it was clear that she'd say "Yes" if she asked but she's probably also agree if Krillin, Yamcha, or even Bulma asked. Would it be right for her to take advantage of her like that? No. No it wouldn't.

"M-maybe later. It takes a while to get married and you'd be too busy getting settled in. We'll talk about it after that, okay?"

"Hmm. Okay!" Goku grinned and watched Suno head back to the fighters' area. She noticed, though, that Krillin looked… really sad. Before she could go over and ask him, Piccolo walked brusquely past them and clapped slowly as he came closer to the ring.

"What a nice moment," Piccolo told her with a voice positively drenched in sarcasm, "But I'm afraid there won't _be_ a later." He stepped into the ring and walked to the side opposite from Goku and got into his guard. "Prepare for a pain worse than hell itself, Son Goku. I am going to give you a lesson in humility. A _painful, fatal_ lesson." Goku smirked and cracked her neck before she got into her guard.

"We'll see," Goku shot back, "But I'll warn you, I can be a pretty slow learner!" Piccolo tossed off his turban and they charged.

A/N: Time to let you guys in on a little behind-the-scenes stuff. Like we said last time, we're going to be talking a bit about Chi-Chi and what led to our decision as to who Goku would end up with. We aren't trying to justify our decision- if you hate it and want to stop reading then that's cool- we're just explaining our thought process to you. For starters, some of you are probably wondering why our Chi-Chi seems to be really different from canon Chi-Chi. Well, appearance aside, we'll be explaining that in the story in a few chapters so you'l have to wait on that one. The only thing we'll say is that our Chi-Chi may not be as different as you think. Now for the big question: Why Suno? Well, that actually wasn't the plan from the start. The original plan was that Goku would still end up with Chi-Chi and that we'd have Chi-Chi decide to tag along with Goku to make their relationship better but that really didn't work out. For starters, there's absolutely nothing Chi-Chi could do during the Pilaf Saga even if we had her join at the earliest possible moment (after meeting Roshi) and she would have no reason to join Goku in training with Roshi (besides, that'd take away from developing Krillin). We also couldn't find a good moment to reintroduce her during the RRA Saga where she'd still be rather useless (perhaps even more so than Suno). Likewise, there was even less of a place to reintroduce her during the Piccolo Daimaou Saga. Then we had other issues with even getting her to the Budoukai but those are irrelevant. In the end, we decided we just couldn't really make it work. Goku didn't agree to marry Chi-Chi because she never promised to do so. 


	42. Goku vs Piccolo! The Final Encounter!

Chapter Forty-two

Goku vs. Piccolo! The Final Encounter!

It was a bizarre moment that happened next. Goku and Piccolo met forearm-to-forearm in the blink of an eye in the center of the ring with the force of two runaway trains smashing into one another and generating a wind that knocked everyone in the stadium off their feet. The sounds came a second later. The whip-like crack of their charge and the cacophony of their collision, a sound only slightly softer than an atomic explosion. Then, Piccolo's turban hit the ground.

"W-wait," Bulma muttered as she pulled herself back up to her feet and her brain caught up with what just happened. "Th-they just…" Goku and Majunior had moved faster than _the speed of sound._ As their _opening._

Goku and Piccolo pushed away from each other and glared for a moment before dashing towards each other again. They appeared to most of the audience sporadically, only in fits and burst, all across the ring and even sometimes in the middle of the air, each collision followed by a wave of concussive force that nearly knocked them off their feet and a tremendous crash. Even the state-of-the-art supercameras were struggling to give the viewing audience at home anything more than blurs of orange, green, and purple.

Suno was able to keep up with things better than most. She watched Goku and Piccolo dash around and could even follow their strikes. She was also able to see, with a slowly-rising unease, that Piccolo was either dodging or blocking all of Goku's attacks. They landed across the ring from each other and Goku lunged with her dropkick. To everyone else, it would seem that, at one second, Goku was on one side of the ring, the next second on the other. Piccolo had rolled calmly out of the way and it was only a well-placed kiai that kicked up chunks of grass that kept Goku in the ring. Then they stood across from each other again, still breathing evenly.

"Jeez," Goku said as she got back into her guard, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you could read my mind." Then she smirked, "But Kami taught me how to make sure that couldn't happen. So what'd you do?" Piccolo chuckled and rolled his shoulders as he spoke.

"It's simple," he said smugly. "I have all of the original Piccolo Daimaou's memories. I remember exactly how your last battle went down. I remember your techniques, tactics, and strikes. No matter what you've learned, I know _how_ you fight and I know every move you will make. I have been preparing for this battle, and only this battle, for the last three years." Where a normal person might feel trepidation, even terror, Goku grinned.

"Cool!" she said eagerly. A person who was just as strong as her and knew how she fought and had been training for three years just to fight her? What a challenge! It was _awesome!_ Piccolo chuckled again and slowly ascended into the sky.

"Excuse me for a moment," he told her with a strangely polite tone, "I have some business to take care of." Goku shrugged and looked up at him and waited. It would be rude to take a cheap shot, after all. "People of Earth!" Piccolo bellowed as he threw out his arms dramatically while using ki to project his voice. "What you see is no mere illusion, no costumed freak trying to take advantage of your fears. I am the great Piccolo Daimaou _reborn!_ This time, nothing will stand in the way of my glorious reign! I shall bring you a hell that never ends!" He threw back his head and laughed maniacally as the audience screamed in terror and ran out of their seats as if they were on fire, running for their lives. No one ran as fast as Pilaf and his gang, of course. Soon, the arena was empty save for the fighters, Ken, Bulma, Puar, and Roshi. Piccolo slowly descended again and nodded his head in appreciation. "Thank you," he said cordially, "I've been waiting to do that for–"

Goku socked him right in the nose.

Piccolo cried out in pain and groaned when he hit the ring hard with one hand clutching his face. Goku grinned and shrugged.

"You were done with your business," she told him, "And you kinda did me a favor. Without all those people, I don't have to worry about holding back because someone might get hurt!" Suno's face paled and she broke out in a cold sweat.

"They… they've been holding _back?"_ Piccolo nodded and hopped to his feet before getting into his guard again.

"Let's continue," he growled as he tried to hide his frustration at being so easily hit. Goku nodded and got into her guard. "I'm curious, though," Piccolo admitted, "Just how strong you think you are." Goku grinned and gave a shrug.

"Stronger than you," she told him cockily. Piccolo smirked.

"Are you so sure?" he taunted. "Why don't we compare the speed and power of our attack rushes?" Goku nodded and they walked towards each other calmly until they were no more than an arm's-length apart. They each took a moment to stretch, cracking their knuckles, popping their elbows, rolling their shoulders and twisting at the hips. Then they stood with their arms at their sides… and it began. Goku let out a battle cry as her fists flew forward at such a tremendous speed that they disappeared from sight completely. "Die!" Piccolo roared as his fists met with hers, "Die, die, die, die, diediediediediediedie!" They collided fist-to-fist a hundred times in the space of a breath, two hundred, five hundred, _more,_ every blow delivered with lethal power _._ The ground shook under their feet and each blow released the force of a small explosion and carried a tremendous enough wind behind it to cut through earth and stone, opening tiny cuts in both fighters' gi. They seemed to be completely matched.

Then Piccolo kicked Goku in the shin and headbutted her viciously to send her across the ring. Piccolo pursued her but Goku tucked backwards and pushed off against the ring with her feet and a burst of kiai to sail over Piccolo's head and landed behind him to throw a kick at the small of his back.

"That was a cheap shot!" Goku accused as Piccolo pivoted to avoid the strike. If there was one thing Goku hated, it was dirty fighting.

"We'll call it even," Piccolo shot back as he swiped at her with his claws. "Cheap shot for cheap shot!" Goku twirled through the air to avoid the swipe and slammed the point of her elbow down towards Piccolo's head and he jerked back to avoid it, feeling the breeze brush past his face. Piccolo jumped up into the air and hovered high overhead before thrusting one palm out. "Tsuibidan!" he cried, firing a large blast from his hand down towards Goku. She brought her hands down to her side and thrust her palms forward.

"Kamehameha!" The blue beam flew out to meet the yellow bolt and they seemed ready to make a head-on collision when Piccolo leaped to one side and the Tsuibidan suddenly… swerved to avoid the Kamehameha.

"He can control the blast!" Krillin exclaimed in surprise. Yamcha fought an inclination to grumble.

"Look out, Goku!" Launch called. "Move it!" Goku stood rooted to her spot, though, even as Piccolo's attack came rushing towards her. She smirked and, with the slightest movement of her wrist, the Kamehameha arched and intercepted the Tsuibidan, the blasts cancelling each other out in a huge explosion. Piccolo flew in and burst through the smoke with both hands outstretched and mouth open wide in a roar. He flew right into Goku's palm and it smashed him under the chin with enough force to snap his mouth shut. Piccolo groaned in pain and staggered back. Goku wiped blood from under her nose and Piccolo spat out a mouthful of blood and a pointed tooth.

"Guess you didn't know as much as you thought," Goku quipped as Piccolo growled. Roshi nodded to himself and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

' _I never figured out how to manipulate the Kamehameha's direction,'_ he thought to himself. ' _I may have invented it but I'm not its master anymore.'_ Piccolo threw his arms out with a bend at the elbow and spread his legs wide in almost a power lifter's stance and his face twisted up in a sneer.

"Let's see how you like this!" he boastfully declared. Goku watched Piccolo suspiciously as he growled and his entire body tensed and crackled with energy. Veins branched out all across his head and chips of the broken ring were pulled into the air by his aura. Then Piccolo… began to _grow._ Goku's eyes widened in shock and her mouth went agape.

"That's not good," Suno muttered fearfully as she stared up and _up_ at Piccolo as the Demon Prince continued to grow.

"Not good at all," Yamcha agreed. Puar had taken to hiding behind Bulma who was hiding behind Roshi.

' _This'll teach me to drag my feet on building that giant robot suit,'_ Bulma thought to herself as she gulped nervously. When Piccolo stopped growing, he was four times his originally size. He gave a sinister chuckle and cracked his knuckles. The sound was like glaciers breaking.

"So," he asked in a booming voice, "What do you think?" Goku couldn't help but grin, full of nervous energy. She hadn't fought someone huge since she was a kid!

"It's cool!" she told him and the others fought an inclination to face-fault. Then Piccolo lunged forward with one of his massive hands pointed towards Goku in a spear strike. "Not cool!" she corrected herself as she leaped up to avoid it. Piccolo continued to swipe at Goku and stomp at her. He undoubtedly had the reach advantage now. He was almost as big as the ring! Goku kept just out of his reach, though. It was like trying to catch a small fish out of the water with your bare hands, only this fish hit back. Goku landed behind Piccolo and jumped up to drive her shoulder into the back of his knee. He cried out in pain and she quickly scrambled up his back to land on his head. He shook his head to and fro and tried to grab at her but Goku continued to evade him. She lunged forward to grab his antenna in both hands and jumped forward, yanking Piccolo face-first down into the ring. Piccolo groaned in pain and, before he could even wonder if he'd lost another tooth, Goku ran forward and grabbed one of his fingers. With a grunt of exertion and a twist of her hips, she somehow managed to lift Piccolo _off of the ground_ and toss him high overhead. Piccolo let out a cry of shock as he sailed through the air and landed hard on his back.

"I… I don't believe it," Krillin murmured. Suno shrugged.

"I don't think Goku could do anything to surprise me at this rate," she said as Piccolo picked himself back up. He sneered and popped the dislocated finger back into place before he tried attacking again. He grabbed and slashed and punched and stomped but he just. Couldn't. _Get her._

"Hold still!" Piccolo cried out in frustration as Goku continued to evade him while leaping and twisting and hitting him in the stomach, knees, shins, and ribs. He almost sounded like a child having a tantrum more than he did the Demon King come again. Roshi chuckled and adjusted his glasses.

"His body grew," Roshi said, "But his ki didn't. So he has to exert that much more energy to move around all that mass. He can't move as fast as he was before. He can't keep up!" Or, as Goku put it…

"The bigger they are," she taunted as she jumped high into the air and drove an axehandle blow into Piccolo's collarbone, "The harder I hit!" She pushed off of Piccolo's chest and dropkicked him in the eye, causing him to howl in pain.

"That's…" Bulma started to say before she shrugged, "Eh, it works." Piccolo growled as Goku landed in front of him and his fists curled and uncurled in petulant fury.

"So," she called up, "Do you have another secret technique? It's not like you can get taller." Piccolo fumed and the air whistled between his nostrils before he stopped and chuckled again. "...You're about to get even taller, aren't you?" Goku asked in what was perhaps the first dry moment of her life. Piccolo growled again and veins began to spread across his head again and Goku stared tensely while the others looked up in terror.

"This," Yamcha muttered, "Is _ridiculous."_ Chi-Chi nodded wordlessly from behind him. She supposed that she _had_ been hoping for excitement from this journey…

"L-look at it this way," Puar stammered, "A-all Goku has to do is trip Piccolo and _some_ part of him will land out of bounds!"

"Not to be rude, Puar," Krillin retorted, "But somehow I don't see this fight ending on a ring-out."

Piccolo finished growing again and once again _quadrupled_ in size. He was now as tall as a skyscraper and as he loomed over Goku the ring cracked under his weight. He sneered down at her before he spat out a tooth almost as big as Goku was. She jumped high into the air to avoid it but couldn't avoid Piccolo's enormous hand swatting her back down to the ground like a fly. Goku hit the ring painfully and bounced once off the impact. She got to her feet as quickly as she could and rolled to avoid getting stomped on. She evaded Piccolo's stomps for a few moments before Piccolo shot a blast of ki from his eyes to make Goku leap backwards into another downwards slap. Before Goku could move, Piccolo stomped down on her.

"Goku!" Krillin and Suno cried out in dismay. Piccolo threw back his head and laughed, his deep voice booming like thunder.

"Perfect!" he declared boastfully. "How poetic! You may have been my father's equal, Son Goku, but to me you were as much an insect as the human race so you have _died_ like an insect!" He grinned evilly and turned his attention to the others. Tenshinhan, Suno, Launch, Krillin and Yamcha glared up at him despite their dread while Ken, Bulma, Roshi, Chi-Chi, Puar and Chaozu tried to look like they weren't there. "Now for the rest of– what?!" Piccolo looked down at his foot and stared in shock as it began to move. "Nooo… NO!" Piccolo tried to push his foot back down as it continued to rise. There was a roar from beneath Piccolo's feet and they were finally able to see Goku pushing up.

"Goku!" Suno and Krillin exclaimed ecstatically. Ten only smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"Come on!" Bulma cheered. "Push! Push the bastard!" Goku roared again as the veins stuck out in her arms and neck while Piccolo pushed back down with a growl. With a final roar and an extra kiai push, Goku pushed Piccolo's foot away and caused him to stumble away. Goku rolled out and got up to her feet. Goku sprinted over to Piccolo's tooth and kicked it as hard as she could to send it hurtling up at him to strike Piccolo in the right shoulder like a bullet. Piccolo cried out in pain… and then Goku leaped up into his open mouth.

"WHAT?!" the spectators screamed in confusion as Piccolo swallowed her.

"Why?!" Launch screamed while she pulled at her hair. "WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?!" Suno was as confused as anyone but she could swear that, just before Goku leaped in, she saw her smile. Did Goku have a plan?

"You!" Piccolo bellowed as he jabbed an enormous finger down at Ken. "Start cou–" he wretched suddenly and clutched as his stomach while his eyes widened with dread.

Goku found herself wondering if this was a great idea once she hit the bottom. It was a good thing that Piccolo didn't have any stomach acid but it _stank._ It was easy enough for Goku to find the bottle that Kami was in once she'd used her ki aura to light up Piccolo's stomach and tucked the bottle into the band of her pants. Then she decided it was time to give Piccolo a hurting. She grinned and started hopping around, smashing her shoulders into his insides and punching and kicking anything that looked important. After a minute of this she jumped as high up as she could and grabbed that dangly thing at the back of his throat. Piccolo's mouth opened wide and Goku swung off the dangly thing before leaping out of his mouth.

While Goku had been doing all of this, Piccolo had been clutching at his stomach in agony, groaning and gurgling and turning _several_ unpleasant shades of green and even _blue._ He gagged before Goku flew out of his mouth and she threw the bottle down towards the others.

"Someone catch it!" she called down. The bottle landed in Puar's forepaws so perfectly that it seemed like Goku had thrown it specifically to him. He yanked the stopper off the bottle with his teeth and Kami came flying out of the bottle and took a grateful gulp of air while Goku landed in front of Piccolo again.

"Well," he sighed, "That was… unpleasant." Roshi, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Ken and Puar stared at him in horror and Kami rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes," he muttered, "I look like Piccolo Daimaou. Or, if that isn't what bothers you, God is a green man. Does that cover it?" They nodded dumbly. Piccolo fumed again as he shrunk back down to his normal size. It wasn't fair! They kept taking away his victories! He snarled at Goku as he pulled the tooth out of his shoulder and flicked it away.

"So," Goku said with a smirk, "Guess you figured out size doesn't mean anything." Piccolo sneered and flew up into the sky.

"That's it!" he roared petulantly. "Everyone dies!" he threw out one hand and grabbed it by the wrist with his other hand. His aura flared and streaks of ki flicked and lashed out off of him like wild flames. "Take my rage, Son Goku! Take my hatred!" Goku scowled up at him and brought her hands down to her side.

"I'll take that," Goku called up, "But you can take my Chou Kamehameha!" An absolutely _enormous_ ball of blue-white light began to gather in and envelop Goku's hands.

"Everybody down!" Roshi cried out and everyone quickly hit the deck with Yamcha pulling Chi-Chi down when she was too stunned to move and Bulma tackling Kami. The air crackled with electricity as the two warriors gathered their energy.

"Chouuuu… Kaaaaameeee haaaa meeee…."

"Nikushimi Kou!" Piccolo roared malevolently as a massive blast of yellow light fired out of his palm and rocketed down towards Goku.

"Haaaaa!" Goku cried out as she thrust her hands forward. The two gigantic beams of light flew out towards each other and collided with a sound so loud as to be incomparable. Blue and yellow light bathed the world as the blasts struggled against each other. The Capsule Corp Cameras flew high and wide, both to get a better shot and to avoid the heat being generated by the blasts. Goku's Kamehameha slowly began to push forward and Piccolo let out a roar of frustration as he tried to push forward. The effort aggravated the wound in his shoulder, however, and Piccolo faltered for just a moment. That hairsbreadth of hesitation allowed Goku to push forward with a cry of effort and overwhelm the Nikushimi Kou, the blast hitting Piccolo head-on in a blinding blue-white flash.

When the light finally faded away, Piccolo fell to the ground in a smoking, charred heap and crashed into the ring like a bag of wet leaves. Goku wiped sweat off her forehead and took a second to catch her breath. That was pretty close!

"Hey!" Yamcha shouted at Ken suddenly. "Start counting already!"

"O-oh!" Ken replied with a start and nearly dropped his microphone, "R-right!" These things usually never went to count-out anymore… "One! Two! Three!"

"Four!" Bulma, Yamcha, and Puar counted along.

"Five!" Roshi, Krillin, and Launch joined in.

"Six!" Chimed in Suno, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu.

"Seven!" Even Kami and Chi-Chi were counting now. "Eight! Nine!"

Piccolo shot up to his feet and struck as quick as a snake.

"Got you!" he declared triumphantly as lightning arced out of his antennae and trapped Goku in a field of electricity that left her paralyzed and grunting in pain. Piccolo's skin was still smoking and covered in burns, his gi was torn to shreds and the wound in his shoulder was practically gushing purple blood but he was laughing his head off as he sprinted towards Goku with his good hand prepared for a deadly spear strike. He reared his hand back and thrust forward…

Into Kami's outstretched hands. Earth's guardian appeared in front of Goku in the blink of an eye and had caught Piccolo's hand by the wrist in both of his, grunting with the effort to restrain him. Then he and Piccolo began speaking what could only be described as a nonsense language.

"Ha!" Bulma laughed as she jabbed a finger at Yamcha. "Alien language! Fuck you, Yamcha!"

"Eat a thousand dicks, you unscrupulous harpy!" Yamcha shot back. He notice Chi-Chi's eyes widen in surprise and her cheeks redden slightly. "Bad breakup," he muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"Huh," Chi-Chi muttered and gave a nod. Suno frowned curiously and looked at Goku while Kami and Piccolo spoke. It looked like she was actually understanding them. Then Goku broke out of Piccolo's paralyzing field and started speaking it, too!

OoOoOoO

"Foolish old man," Piccolo growled in Namekian as he pushed against Kami, "Get out of my way!" Kami pushed back even as his feet slid against the stone floor.

"You won't kill me," Kami retorted, "Because doing so would end your own life and you're too selfish for that!"

"Selfish?!" Piccolo spat. "How many of these worthless humans could you have spared if you had killed my previous self hundreds of years ago, if not for your cowardice?" Kami's brow furrowed in thought.

"You may be right," Kami admitted, "Which is why I'm doing something now! Goku," he said as he looked over his shoulder, "Forget the Budoukai! Together, we can defeat Piccolo once and for all!" Goku scowled at Kami and yanked her arms up suddenly to shatter Piccolo's paralyzing barrier.

"Out of my way, Kami," she snapped. "I'm going to do this on my own! If you help me, I'll get disqualified!" Kami stared at Goku in disbelief. "Move!" she demanded. Reluctantly, Kami let go of Piccolo's wrist and walked out of the ring. "Sorry about that," Goku told Piccolo, "I'll give you a free shot."

"What did she say?" Krillin asked.

"She's giving him a free shot," Kami groaned.

"WHAT?!" the others cried in dismay. Piccolo nodded appreciatively… and shot a ki beam from his fingertip that punctured right through Goku's left knee. She screamed in pain and her leg fell out from under her. Piccolo chuckled and kicked her in the face as she knelt.

"Knee for shoulder," he said matter-of-factly. Goku groaned and got to her feet slowly, not able to put any weight on her left leg. Piccolo laughed and she punched him across the jaw.

"Your laugh is annoying," she told him brusquely as Piccolo staggered before he slugged her right back. Goku punched him in the ribs this time and the two glared and came to a silent agreement before they began trading punches, rooted to the spot, putting everything into their attacks, grunting or crying out with each collision. These were no longer supersonic warriors. Every blow was slow and deliberate, each strike taking a little more out of them. Goku brought her fists together and viciously smashed them in an axehandle blow against the side of Piccolo's neck. He snarled and kicked Goku hard in the side of the head and nearly took her off her feet before she whipped back and smashed her head into his with a sickening "THUNK". Piccolo groaned as blood trickled down his forehead from the place of impact and headbutted her right back. In a rather unsettling display, the two warriors headbutted each other viciously, blood slowly pouring down their faces. Piccolo jabbed forward quickly when Goku pulled her head back and heabutted her in the throat. He swept her good leg out from under her while she was stunned and leaped high into the air before pivoting and dive-bombing towards her.

"Time to die!" Goku groaned and brought her legs up against her chest.

"She's not gonna try and just shove him off, right?" Chaozu asked. "There's no way that'll work!"

"Kamehameha!" Goku cried out and the beam fired _out of her feet_ to catch Piccolo squarely in the chest. Piccolo arched back up into the sky before he landed in a crumpled heap with an awkward snapping sound.

"...I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" Krillin asked. The others shook their heads. "Okay, good." Piccolo got up slowly and cried out in pain as he tried to put weight on his right leg.

"Knee for knee," Goku taunted with a weak laugh as she tried to sit up. Piccolo snarled and his face twisted up in a sneer. His eyes flashed red and his eyebeams pierced Goku's right shoulder. She shrieked in agony and fell backwards again. Piccolo crossed his arms and began to gather his energy.

"Everyone," he growled with a strain of effort, "And I mean _everyone_ dies!" Ten quickly brought his hands up into a triangle and pointed to the ground.

"Kikouhou!" he cried out and blasted a square hole in the ground. "Everyone get in!" The others quickly ran down into the hole although Krillin was rooted to the spot. "Come on!"

"B-but we can't just–"

"Krillin!" Goku called despite her pain, "Go!" Krillin finally nodded and jumped into the hole with Tenshinhan following in without a second to spare.

"Chou Shougekiha!" Piccolo roared as he threw his arms out. The explosion was more than massive, more than gargantuan. The dome of white light swept across Papaya Island and reduced everything to atoms. Cars, buildings, people. _Everything._ Piccolo was left standing alone on a slightly-raised square of dirt. Alone. There was only the blowing of the breeze and the faint whirring from the engine of the last, incredibly resilient Capsule Corp Camera as it hovered around the area where an arena had been. Piccolo took a moment to take a few deep gulps of air, that blast having taken everything out of him. He waited for a few moments. For the trick. The surprise. The last-moment reveal. It didn't come. He'd… he'd won. _He'd won!_ Piccolo threw back his head and laughed boisterously as the others climbed out of their hole. He was burned and bleeding and in _unimaginable_ pain but he had done it. It was finally over! "I've done it! Son Goku is finally dead! Now nothing can stand in my way!" he gloated. "I, Piccolo Daimaou, shall be master of this world!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Launch shouted. He turned his head suddenly and saw the worms staring at him with tears in their eyes and their fists balled in rage. "Get him!" Launch, Krillin, Suno, Ten, Yamcha, Kami, Roshi, Chaozu, Chi-Chi, and even Bulma, Ken, and Puar prepared to charge him. Whether they might have been able to overwhelm Piccolo or not, they would never know as a whistling sound from high above caught their attention.

"Nnnnoooo…" Piccolo muttered as he turned his eyes skyward and squinted, "It… it can't be!" She was supposed to be dead!

Goku was streaking towards Piccolo like a rocket with her left hand outstretched, glaring at him with burning intensity. Piccolo slowly tried to reach out to strike her but he was completely drained. Goku gave a final kiai push out of her feet and her hand latched around Piccolo's throat. She slammed him down and burrowed into the ground with the back of his head. Piccolo's fingers twitched and fell limply at his sides with his head buried under the dirt.

"H-hey, Ken," Goku said wearily, "This is a ring-out, right?" Ken looked down and, sure enough, Piccolo's head was outside of the raised square of dirt.

"R-ring out!" Ken declared. "Son Goku is the World's Champion!" The others cheered and helped Goku up to her feet and hugged her tearfully before Tenshinhan hoisted her up onto his shoulders. "I'll go and find a doctor," Ken said after he finally, wearily, dropped his microphone, "Though I'll have to go off-island."

"I've got it covered," said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Korin standing with a pouch in one hand and his staff in the other.

"Master Korin!" Suno exclaimed in surprise. He gave a small wave with the pouch-holding hand.

"Is that…" Chi-Chi muttered,

"A talking cat?" Ken finished.

"What am _I?"_ Puar huffed indignantly. Korin flicked a senzu into Goku's open mouth and she chewed it up eagerly. Her knee, shoulder, and ribs popped as the senzu worked its healing magic.

"Oh," Korin added, "I should probably do something about…" he gestured awkwardly to Goku's clothes. Or rather… lack thereof. She had lost both her shirt _and_ the wrappings that had covered her breasts in the explosion. He waved his staff and covered Goku in fresh clothes before everyone else could blush for _too_ long. Goku grinned and leaped off of Ten's shoulders to touch the clouds.

"I did it!" Goku crowed. "I finally won the Tenkaichi Budoukai!" She grabbed Suno and spun her around in a hug before pulling everyone into a group hug. "I won!" she cried with a jubilant laugh.

"I'm sorry," Kami said in a somber tone that cut right through the cheer, "But this isn't over yet, Goku. Not as long as I'm alive." He jabbed a finger down at Piccolo's barely-conscious body, "That means Piccolo is as well! You _have_ to kill him to end this, Goku!"

"But Master Kami," Goku protested, "What about the Dragon Balls? Besides, Earth needs a guardian!" She couldn't just kill Kami! That would… that would just be wrong!

"You can take my place as Earth's guardian," Kami told her, "It's part of what I was training you for. You're more powerful than me, you can protect the Earth and live on the Lookout. Popo will help you adjust." Goku shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Kami," she said firmly, "But I can't. Besides, I'm moving in with Suno!" Kami sighed and slowly closed his eyes.

"Goku," he said in a weary voice, "If Piccolo lives, he will continue to do more evil, bring more suffering, and try to conquer the world. He cannot be allowed to live." Goku looked down at Piccolo with a thoughtful expression as he weakly pushed himself out of the rubble on his one good arm. She stalked towards him and stretched out a hand… with a senzu in it.

"Take it," she told him. Korin's eyes actually opened wide and he did a double-take before he stared down at the bag in his hand. How fast _was_ she?! Piccolo scowled down at the bean before taking it and shoving it into his mouth. The others cried out in horror as Piccolo stood up, fully healed.

"G-Goku!" Kami stammered in shock, "Why?!"

"Master Kami," she told him, "One of the things you taught me on the Lookout was that every life, every soul, is important. Even if Piccolo's isn't, _yours_ is. Besides," she added, "If Piccolo _is_ going to keep trying to take over the world…" she shrugged, "I'll just keep training so he can't." Piccolo scoffed and spat on the ground in front of her.

"This changes nothing, Son Goku," he told her curtly. "I _will_ become stronger, I _will_ kill you, and I _will_ rule this world." Goku smirked.

"You can _try,"_ she retorted. Piccolo growled and took off into the sky.

"So," Yamcha said after a poignant silence, "I guess this is goodbye for now."

"Are you sure?" Suno asked, "What about…" she awkwardly gestured at… everything. Which was to say, nothing. Ken groaned as he looked around at the devastation.

"This is gonna take _forever_ to clean up," he muttered. Not to mention it would probably come out of his paycheck. Bulma gave a dismissive wave.

"Don't sweat it," Bulma assured her, "We'll gather the Dragon Balls and clean up this mess. You two lovebirds go off and do what you're gonna do." Suno blushed furiously while Goku had _no_ idea what that meant. Hugs were exchanged and Goku looked skyward.

"Nimbus!" she called out. The cloud zoomed down from the heavens and Goku hopped on, patting a space behind her. "Come on, Suno!" Suno grinned and climbed up onto the cloud behind Goku and wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist. "Bye, everyone!" Goku called as Nimbus took off and they all waved back.

"So," Roshi said when they were out of sight, "How the heck are we gettin' off this rock?" Bulma blinked. She _had_ remembered to pack a vehicle capsule, right?

"You better not expect _us_ to carry you," Yamcha muttered, referring to himself and the other fliers.

"I'd sooner swim," Bulma shot back. There followed a tense silence.

"Would anyone else like to get pizza?" Ten asked.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo found a mountain out in the desert wasteland and threw the undisputed king of all tantrums for a good seven hours. Then he regenerated his clothes, sat on the mountain's peak, and closed his eyes. He _would_ kill her. No matter how long it took.

OoOoOoO

Suno held onto Goku tightly as Nimbus streaked across the sky with her head resting on Goku's back and let out a contented sigh. She was going to be living with Goku. In a part of the world totally removed from Jingle Village. It was a whole new chapter of her life.

"Hey, Goku?" Suno said softly as she summoned up her courage. Goku looked over her shoulder at Suno.

"Yeah, Su–" she was cut off as Suno kissed her suddenly. Her eyes went wide and it took her a few seconds to figure out what Suno was doing. Though, as Goku was wont to do, she figured out the "technique" quickly enough and kissed back. Suno broke the kiss only because she needed air and gasped with a blush. Goku was blushing too and smiled at her. Suno smiled back and Nimbus came to a stop as Suno moved around carefully to sit in front and turn around to face Goku. Then they kissed again and Nimbus flew off again towards the horizon and a bright new future. 

* * *

Z/N: And that brings an end to Dragon Ball. We can't believe that we've already come this far but this isn't even the halfway point. We still have a long ways to go. For the next few chapters, we're going to be taking a bit of a break as we set the stage before we move on to the Saiyan Saga but don't worry, it won't be that long.

SSV/N: Even though we still have a long way to go, we just wanna thank all our readers, followers, favoriters, and reviewers. You're all wonderful and your support means a lot. Prepare for things to get adorable.


	43. Enter the Monkey Prince!

Chapter Forty-three

A New Life Begins! Enter the Monkey Prince!

Goku stood in Suno's backyard and looked at the sunrise cresting over the horizon. It had been a few days since Goku had moved into Suno's house in a little town outside of East City. Goku had never really needed a lot so all she'd brought with her was her gi and her Four Star Ball. Her gi was made of a magic fabric Kami had created that never needed to be washed but Suno still took Goku clothes shopping. It was the first time Goku'd done that outside of the time she needed a new gi. The people in Suno's town seemed friendly enough even if they looked at her funny sometimes. It kind of reminded her of Mabel Village with less animal people. She had been disappointed that there wasn't a lake. Where was she going to get her giant fish? Then Suno explained what grocery stores were. Buildings _full of food!_ Besides that, it wasn't that far of a trip on Nimbus to get to the coast which was _way bigger_ than her lake at Mount Paozu. Even if the water tasted gross.

"So," Suno murmured as she staggered out of the house in her nightgown and put an arm around Goku's waist, "What do you think?" she asked as she leaned her head on Goku's shoulder. Goku smiled and put her arms around Suno.

"I like it," she assured the other woman with a smile. "The people are nice. I've never really lived around people before." Suno chuckled and gave her a lopsided grin.

"I noticed," she muttered before untangling herself from Goku and pushing her back towards the house. "Put some pants on before the neighbors get up. I told you, you can't just walk around naked outside."

"I did it all the time back on Mount Paozu!" Goku protested even as Suno led her back into the house. What was the big deal?

"I know, I know," Suno said as she closed the sliding door and drew the curtain, "But you lived _alone_ on Mount Paozu. There are other people here and not everyone wants to see your butt."

"What's wrong with my butt?" Goku asked. Suno laughed and got that funny look on her face.

"Nothing," she assured Goku and moved in close to kiss her, "Nothing at all."

OoOoOoO

Suno's house was on the edge of the little town and her closest neighbors were the Smiths, a pair of Stork-people that prided themselves on being absolutely, one hundred percent normal. They were only Suno's closest neighbors in terms of geography; they didn't actually know her terribly well. They knew her as "that redhead girl" and thought that she seemed nice enough. She said "Good morning" and didn't make a lot of noise and she kept her trash and recycling sorted and took proper care of her lawn. She didn't own any pets, either, which was always good. Then, about two months ago, she brought that bizarre woman with the crazy black hair home and everything changed. She was some sort of martial arts woman and, judging from the most unusual volume of letters they had seen the pair receive for the first few weeks after the woman had moved in, apparently of some renown. Not that they knew anything about that sort of thing. Why watch such violence when there were perfectly good programs about antiques to watch or operas to listen to?

It wasn't just the mail that made the girl strange, it was… _everything._ Petunia had once watched as the redhead was desperately looking for her missing wallet and the black-haired one had found it under her car. By lifting the car over her head _with one hand._ Not that the girl herself ever seemed to use the car. She ran much too fast or jumped far too high or summoned a ridiculous _flying cloud._ It was really just not right. They'd seen the black-haired girl till a large space for a garden with her bare hands in seconds and she was always doing those martial arts… dances whenever the redhead wasn't home. Why, once, when he was having stomach pains and couldn't sleep, Vernon had looked out the kitchen window and seen the girl walking around at the crack of dawn as naked as the day she was born. Needless to say, he'd nearly had a heart attack. Worst of all, they kept half the town awake all hours of the night with their… their… _shenanigans._

Then there was the ludicrous business with that _wedding._ Not that they were opposed to the couple getting married, of course not. It was the wedding _itself_ that was just too obscene to handle. They'd had such _strange_ guests. Talking cats, a three-eyed man, a witch, a man who didn't seem to have a nose, a one-armed man, a giant out of one of those monster movies, a white pygmy, and some sort of… genie? On top of that, the whole thing was presided over by some ancient green man in a strange white robe. To say nothing of the _cake._ Really, the height of indecency. Who would even _need_ a cake that large? Honestly, if the business with those two girls got any stranger, the Smiths were going to pull up stakes and get the hell out of there.

OoOoOoO

"So," Bulma asked as she rolled her wrist and watched the wine swish around in the glass, "How's life going for the World's Strongest, happiest couple?" Suno smiled and couldn't stop herself from blushing at the nickname. It was nice to come visit Bulma in West City. Not that she didn't love spending time with Goku or like her neighborhood, it was just good to keep in touch. Besides, when it came to Bulma, you never knew what to expect so at least the conversations would be interesting.

"Things are good," Suno said as she lifted her own wine to her lips. It was her second glass so far of the afternoon. She hadn't planned on drinking when she'd shown up but Bulma had been… insistent. Plus it was _really_ good. "I think Goku's finally adjusted to living in a neighborhood and what's appropriate and what isn't which is a relief." That drew a snicker out of Bulma and Suno grinned, too. "She started a little farm in our backyard a little while ago, mostly for us but she also takes some stuff to the farmer's market to give us a little extra cash besides my teacher's assistant job and the money from the Budoukai."

"A _little_ farm?" Bulma asked with one cocked eyebrow. Suno shrugged.

"Well," she admitted, "Little for Goku." Suno sipped from her glass again. "Okay, so she may have pulled a few trees out of the way. _A few."_ Bulma snickered again and shook her head.

"So you're a teacher's assistant?" she asked and leaned forward. "What's that like?"

"It's really nice," Suno said as she tapped her fingers on the table. "I like having a job and I like working with kids. The teachers are really impressed with my composure. I mean, most people would probably get frazzled dealing with kindergartners every day but, compared to what _I've_ seen…" she paused and took a big swallow, "Okay, so it's still a little frazzling. I'm just better at hiding it." They both laughed and Bulma refilled her own glass, now on her fourth. She looked back up and saw something in Suno's face, like a faraway look in her eyes. She was thinking about something.

"Hey," she said softly as she put a hand on Suno's, "Is everything alright?" Suno sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at Bulma.

"It's nothing," she assured her. Bulma gave Suno a look and she sighed again. "All right, all right," she muttered. "Jeez, you remind me of my mother when you look at me like that." Bulma had to fight an urge to throw her wine right in Suno's face. "It's just… spending so much time around these little kids makes me feel like… I dunno. I want kids, Bulma." Bulma smiled and shrugged as she gave Suno's hand a reassuring pat.

"Aw, come on," Bulma said, "Is that all? It's not the end of the world. You guys have options, right? You could adopt or you could get a donor or–" Suno shook her head and Bulma frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's stupid," Suno muttered. Then Bulma gave her another look. "Okay, _okay,"_ Suno muttered and turned her eyes to the ceiling again. "It's just… there's nothing _wrong_ with those, I know… but it's not what I _want._ I wouldn't love an adopted child or a surrogate any less, it's just… an adopted kid wouldn't look like either of us and a surrogate would just look like Goku and a stranger or me and a stranger. I want a child that's Goku's and mine, that looks like us and has a bit of both of us in them." She sighed and rubbed her hands against her face. "Like I said, it's stupid and I'm just wanting what I can't have." She started to get up and Bulma got up with her. "I should get going. Goku has a habit of challenging our neighbors to a spar if she gets bored." Bulma smiled a little at that and held up her bottle of wine.

"You want to top off before you go?" she asked. Suno gave a little bit of a grin and shook her head.

"Nah, I don't wanna worry about falling off Nimbus. Besides," she added, "If I get drunk, I'd probably gather the Dragon Balls and wish for something _really_ stupid for Goku." That normally would have made Bulma laugh her head off, but right now all it got out of her was another half-smile. She really did feel bad for her friend.

"Hey," she said as she pulled Suno into a hug before she left, "It'll work out. I dunno how, but trust me. I'm a scientist." Suno chuckled and hugged Bulma back.

"Good seeing you, Bulma." she said sincerely before she turned and opened the window. "Nimbus!" Bulma watched her fly away and chewed on her lip in thought.

"So…" she murmured to herself, "Suno wants a kid…"

The idea came to Bulma when she was suitably buzzed from her fifth glass of wine; a device that would allow the transfer of genetic material from one partner into the other by transforming an egg cell into billions of sperm, with a chromosomal scrambler to allow the equal likelihood of a male or female child. The sketch had come on glass six, although she probably hadn't needed it. She had plenty lying around for a design reference, after all. When it came down to the actual design and build phase, though, Bulma just… couldn't get anything to come out. After several frustrating and fruitless hours, Bulma was about ready to throw in the towel. She could _see_ the idea in her head and could feel it tingling on the outer reaches of her mind but she just couldn't understand the science of it.

Then Bulma got a crazy idea. Everything else about this project had come to her before because she'd had a few drinks. So maybe what she needed to push her mind over the edge to a whole new level of full-blown mad science was…

"Heidi," Bulma said into her desk microphone, "Send up the liquor."

"Which bottle, Ms. Bulma?" came the slightly-drawled voice from the speaker, "Your family has a pretty extensive cellar."

"The liquor, Heidi. Not some of it. Not a few bottles of it. The. Liquor."

"R… rum or scotch or-"

" _I'm not gonna say it again, Heidi!"_

Several hours and a dozen bottles later, Bulma's project was finished. As well as an injectible serum that undid alcohol-based liver and brain cell damage which she'd had to take. She had no idea what to call the device but that could come later. It was meant to be worn around the waist and had two somewhat-long protrusions of equal length; one going inward and the other going outward. It was a not-entirely smooth, not-entirely sleek yet one hundred percent functional and revolutionary piece of reproductive hardware. She couldn't _wait_ to see the look on Suno's face.

Of course, first she'd have to _call_ Suno, which involved getting into a fight with her phone. She couldn't dial Suno's number right and then when she tried to use voice command her speech was too slurred for the stupid computer to understand her. She needed to sober up.

"Haydee," Bulma slurred as she turned to her secretary, a full-figured tan woman with a high bouffant of maroon hair, "Shlap mmme." Heidi hesitated for a moment and looked at Bulma suspiciously. "I TOLJU TUSHLAP ME, DAMN ID!" Heidi hauled back and slapped Bulma hard across the face. Bulma's head whipped around and when she looked at Heidi again she blinked the shine out of her eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Heidi." she said in a crisp, clear alto. "You're fired," she added curtly. Heidi stared at her in confusion and barely ducked a wrench Bulma lobbed at her head. "GET OUT OF MY LAB!" Heidi ran off in tears as Bulma picked up her phone and dialed. "Hey, Suno," Bulma said cheerily when the other girl answered. "Can you come over? I made you a little something."

OoOoOoO

Suno was more than a little miffed when she arrived at the Capsule Corp building that morning. She was wondering just what the heck was so important that Bulma had to get her up early on a Saturday, one of her _two_ days off all week, when she'd been planning on sleeping in. Or at the very least cuddling in. She hopped off of Nimbus and made her way into Bulma's lab to find whiskey, rum, and brandy bottles littering the floor. That was… strange. Then she saw Bulma who looked even stranger. She was wearing dark sunglasses indoors with a huge cup of black coffee in one hand, her other arm behind her back, and what looked to be _every inch of her body_ with the exception of her face covered in caffeine patches.

"Bulma," Suno asked as she tiptoed around the bottles, "Have you… slept?" Bulma laughed like that was the funniest thing in the world.

"Sleep?!" Bulma asked incredulously. "Are you _kidding_ me? I am _terrified_ of the hangover I'm gonna get the next time I wake up so I'm putting that off as long a possible." She took a long sip of her coffee. "Seriously, it could literally kill me."

"Ooookay," Suno said as she decided to push through this conversation before Bulma passed out in front of her. "So what did you make me?" Bulma grinned from ear to ear as she set the coffee down and brought out the arm that was behind her to hold a box in front of Suno with both hands.

"Well," she said playfully, "You know how you said you wanted to have kids with Goku? I _may_ have figured out a way to make that happen." Suno's jaw dropped slightly as she stared at Bulma.

"Are… are you serious?" she asked as she took the box from Bulma's hands. Bulma's grin somehow grew even wider and Suno threw her arms around the other woman, hugging her gratefully. "Oh my gosh, Bulma! Thank you! Thank you so much!" she let go of Bulma and eagerly opened the box, wondering what was inside. Bulma snickered as Suno's face flushed bright red. "Th-this…" she swallowed, "This looks an _awful_ lot like a–"

"Yup," Bulma agreed with a waggish grin, "Why not go for the most logical design, right?" her smile turned sincere and she reached out to give Suno's arm a gentle squeeze. "This isn't a gag, though, Suno. I promise it will work. I tested it on a couple rabbits, don't ask how." Suno chuckled and they hugged before Bulma grinned again as she gave Suno a bump with her hip. "Well, don't waste time around here. Go back home and use it!" She laughed as Suno turned as bright red as a traffic light and flew off on Nimbus. Finally, her life's ambition! A scientific endeavour that laughed in the face of God!

Then she collapsed face-first onto the floor and snored. When she awoke, Bulma would find to her frustration that she had _no idea_ how to remake the device.

OoOoOoO

Goku had already been up for a few hours when Suno had said she was going to see Bulma. She had told Suno to say hi for her and went back to her morning workout which at that point had reached her one hundred handstand pushups. She was watering the garden when Suno got back. Goku had figured out a pretty good system for watering their garden pretty quickly: she would fly into the sky and grab a cloud, squeezing all the water out of it. Suno had seen her do it once and told her that it wasn't supposed to be possible.

Goku took pride in that.

"Goku!" Suno called up to her. "Get down here!" Goku dropped down from the clouds and landed in the backyard with a grin as she followed Suno inside. It looked like Suno had a package!

"Did Bulma give us a present?" Goku asked. For some reason that made Suno giggle.

"You could say that," Suno told Goku as she walked to the bedroom and looked over a shoulder at her. "You wanna know what it is?" Goku nodded eagerly and grinned. "Then get in here." Despite the fact that Suno was halfway in the bedroom doorway when she said that, Goku beat her inside. "Oh, very funny." She said sarcastically as she shut the door.

"I thought it was." Goku said with a smirk. She watched as Suno opened the box and cocked her head to the side. "...What is it?"

"Less questions," Suno told her, "And less pants. Then put this on." Goku shrugged and grinned.

"Okay!"

OoOoOoO

A few weeks had passed since Bulma had made the device for Suno and she and Goku had certainly… broken it in by that point. It didn't take long for the first signs to start to show that Bulma's creation had done what she'd promised. There were, of course, the not-so-pleasant symptoms; the cramps, the morning sickness, the weird cravings and mood swings. There was _one_ change that Goku was particularly fond of, of course.

For all the headaches that had come with her pregnancy- including _actual_ headaches, they were all worth it when Suno got up one morning and noticed the swell of her usually flat stomach. She beamed from ear to ear as she ran a hand delicately over the bump.

"A baby," she whispered with a smile. Somehow seeing that just made it… made it more real.

For some reason, the Smiths moved out about a week later. Didn't say a word to anyone, they just disappeared.

It had been… _interesting_ to explain what was happening to Goku.

"So," Goku asked while she stared at Suno's stomach one evening as they lay in bed, "You have a baby inside you?" Suno couldn't help but grin as she nodded. "But I thought that only happened with a man and a woman. So how'd it happen?" Suno had to laugh.

"Well, normally," she admitted, "It _shouldn't._ But, with Bulma's help…" Then she'd had to explain what exactly the device had done as best she could.

"Wait," Goku asked in confusion, "So am I… am I a dad?" Suno laughed again.

"We'll figure that out later," Suno leaned in to kiss Goku but Goku had bent forward to kiss her stomach, which made her blush bright red.

"If I am," Goku said softly as she ran a hand up and down Suno's stomach, "I'm gonna be the best dad ever. I promise." It seemed more like she was talking to the baby than to Suno. Suno grinned and put a hand under Goku's chin to guide her face back up to hers.

"I know you will be," she assured Goku before kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

OoOoOoO

" **I HATE YOU!** " Suno screamed in Goku's face as she thrashed around in the birthing bed and held Goku's hand as tight as she could. There were several "I hate you"s interspersed between screaming her head off and trying to remember her breathing. For her part, Goku didn't mind.

"You're doing great, Suno," she assured her calmly as she held Suno's hand in both of hers. "Come on, just keep breathing!" Suno had told her ahead of time about what was going to happen during the delivery and had assured her that whatever she might say, she wouldn't mean it. The second Suno had noticed her first contractions, Goku, who had become incredibly attentive to the point of doting once Suno's pregnancy became more and more pronounced, had picked her up and gently loaded her onto Nimbus to fly to West City. Why West City when East City was closer? Well...

"Goku's right, Suno!" Bulma called over the screaming, her voice muffled by the surgical mask over her face. "Just keep pushing, you'll be out of the woods soon enough!" As if Bulma would let someone _else_ deliver the first female-female baby. This was an unprecedented medical event. She practically had the patent on this kid! If she could remember the friggin' design to _get_ a patent, that was. She'd had Daddy throw some money around to get Suno and Goku the nicest medical suite that West City Hospital could provide and reserved it _well_ in advance. Then she'd spent a couple hours every day for the last few months studying up in the field of obstetrics when she wasn't focusing on one of her other projects. She even got a doctorate in it.

" **GO TO HELL!** " Suno screamed down at Bulma as she continued to push. " _ **BOTH OF YOU GO TO HAAAAAAAGH!**_ "

Another hour or three of this passed before Suno gave the final push and Bulma brought a crying baby into the world. She cleaned it gently with a warm cloth and swaddled it up before handing it carefully over to Suno.

"It's a boy," Bulma whispered as she blinked back tears. She never thought she'd be involved in the miracle of childbirth like this. It really was beautiful.

"A boy," Suno said with a tired smile while cradling him in her arms. "Oh, he's beautiful, Goku." Goku smiled down at the baby and gave Suno a kiss on the cheek.

"He is," Goku agreed with a proud smile before she bent down and gave him a kiss on his little tuft of red hair. The baby blinked and looked up at her. She grinned down at him and reached down to stroke his face. "Hi, Gohan."

A/N: And you guys were worried we wouldn't have Gohan 


	44. The Wolf and the Ox!

Chapter Forty-four

The Wolf and the Ox!

Yamcha's morning started like every other since he'd moved to North City. He got up bright and early, took his shower, and then flicked through his albums before filling his apartment with the sounds of electro jazz. Yamcha lived in a fairly nice apartment and, as he danced around the kitchen in his blue bathrobe while he made himself bacon and eggs, Yamcha reflected on how fortunate he had been that none of his other friends had gotten into the "Hero for Hire" business. Not long after his and Bulma's breakup, when he was well and truly broke, Yamcha had realized that there might be a demand for people with super strength, the ability to sense energy, super speed, and flight. Sort of like a mercenary but… y'know. For the good guys.

He'd had to get his name out there first, of course. No one was going to come looking for him. After going out and looking for trouble, monsters to fight, or crises to avert; eventually people started contacting him. Drive out this gang, fight that giant snake, stop this avalanche. With his ki-sensing abilities, Yamcha could also find anyone who might be trapped or go missing during a natural disaster. It was good, steady work and it paid well. It paid his rent, it paid for his tastes in music and, although it had turned out to be a _complete_ waste of money, it paid for his fancy gi.

Yamcha set down his breakfast and a cup of coffee and walked to the door to get the paper, just like every morning. He opened the door and nearly walked right into–

"Chi-Chi?!" Yamcha blurted in surprise as he stared up at the woman standing in his doorway. _Not_ like every morning.

"Hello," Chi-Chi said with awkward politeness as she bowed slightly. She was still wearing her gi from the Budoukai which, if Yamcha remembered correctly, had been about _a week ago._ "I don't meant to impose," she continued, "But may I come in?" Yamcha nodded and moved to the side so Chi-Chi could enter his apartment. He closed the door and walked over to his record player while Chi-Chi looked around, taking the needle off the record to be polite. "You have a very nice home," Chi-Chi added as she stood in the center of the living room, clearly not wanting to sit anywhere without being told it was allowed.

"Thank you," Yamcha replied, feeling as awkward as Chi-Chi looked. "You can sit down. Make yourself comfortable." Chi-Chi smiled and nodded before sitting on the couch. "Do you want some coffee or anything? I think I have orange juice."

"I guess some coffee," Chi-Chi said, "But I really don't want to impo–" the mug was already in Chi-Chi's hands. "Oh," she said before she wrapped her hands around the warm mug and sipped it, "Thank you."

"So," Yamcha said as he sat down beside Chi-Chi, "Why did you come here?" He had the sneaking suspicion that his eggs and bacon would go cold today. "Not that I want you to leave," he quickly clarified, "I guess I'm just surprised you're here. I figured you'd have gone home." Yamcha winced when he saw the hurt expression on Chi-Chi's face, realizing he'd struck a nerve. "Is… is everything okay?"

"No," Chi-Chi told him as she let out a shaky breath. "No, everything is _not_ okay." She took another sip as Yamcha looked at her and waited. He wasn't gonna drag whatever she wanted to say out of her. "My father… wasn't happy about my plans to marry Goku." The air hissed angrily out of her nostrils as she squeezed the mug tighter. "Something about 'The Ox line' and how it 'wasn't right' for a woman to want to fight. Even though he _met_ my mother in–" Chi-Chi swallowed and shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I shouldn't be telling you all this. Maybe I should–" Yamcha put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"You clearly need to get this off your chest," he told her, "So you're not going anywhere until you say whatever it is you feel like you need to say." Chi-Chi gave a little half-smile and nodded.

"Thank you."

"Okay," Yamcha said, "So you can't go home. Fair enough, I get that. Why come here, though? How did you even find me?" Chi-Chi's smile grew a little more and she shrugged.

"I didn't know where else to go," she admitted. "You were… nice to me."

"All I did was give you a soda and sit next to you."

"It was more than anyone else did," Chi-Chi muttered with a huff. "So," she added, "I looked you up and, well," she smiled again, "You _do_ list your address as ways for people to contact you when they need help."

"Oh yeah," he muttered while his face reddened slightly. He'd expected people to use that to mail him letters. "Hey," he said, "You said something about your mother but we never saw her at Fry-Pan Mountain. Was she… I dunno, out of town, or did something… happen?" Chi-Chi sighed sadly and looked down.

"Her name was Shishijoou," she began, "And she was as great a warrior as any man who ever lived. My father encountered her when he came to take over Fry-Pan Mountain. She was the only one who could match his strength. In the end, they reached a truce and he came to rule by her side." Then with a slight giggle she added, "Nine months later, there I was." Yamcha snickered and she smiled a little more. "I can remember when I was very small, my mother would tell me stories of warrior women on adventures and princesses who fought for themselves, who saved their kidnapped fathers and won wars. My father would laugh and smile and encourage her. He had even started to make me a suit of armor like my mother's." Chi-Chi smiled fondly at the memories before she frowned, "That was before Madaija the Serpent attacked Fry-Pan Mountain. My mother and father fought it together and managed to kill it but… but my mother died from its venom. I was… six. Maybe seven." Chi-Chi bit her lip and Yamcha put a hand on top of hers.

"I'm really sorry, Chi-Chi," he said softly. Chi-Chi nodded and squeezed his hand for a second before pulling away awkwardly as if remembering herself.

"M-my," she stopped and cleared her throat, "My father tried his best, I suppose it is fair to say. In his grief, however, he became… overprotective. Now all my stories were of princesses _being_ saved and damsels needing heroes. My armor was left unfinished. He had a tutor brought in from the village to teach me how to be a proper lady and was always looking for a suitor, someone 'strong enough to protect me'." She huffed again and rolled her eyes, "I imagine if Son Goku had been a boy that my father would have tried to throw me at her." She took a long sip of coffee and paused before continuing, "Do you have somewhere to be today? I'd hate to hold you up or anything." Yamcha shook his head.

"Nah," he told her, "Not unless someone calls me." Chi-Chi smiled and nodded.

"Okay," she said before pausing again to remember her place. "Oh, right! _Son Goku_ ," she hissed as she squeezed the mug angrily and Yamcha winced as he saw vein-like cracks spreading across the surface. He loved that mug. Chi-Chi noticed and set it down on the table. "For as much grief as she's caused me," she admitted, "She's also responsible in a large part for how I've turned out. After all, that was when my father let me wear my armor. Unfinished as it was, my father still wanted me to to be able to protect myself on my 'quest'. When I met Goku, there was something… different about her. Something special. She was a girl like me but she could fight. More than that, she _wanted_ to fight and there was no one to tell her 'no'. She was a girl going on a grand adventure, just like in my mother's stories. Something about that stirred something inside me, although I never could have dreamed what it was at the time."

"So what happened after Goku left?" Yamcha asked. "I mean, Roshi kinda, y'know, blew up your house." Chi-Chi grinned and they both chuckled.

"Well," she said, "We had to build our house again first. Or rather, my father paid people to build it. During that time, we stayed at an inn in the village." Something about that made Yamcha throw back his head and laugh. "What?" Chi-Chi asked. "I'm serious!" Yamcha just kept laughing and she eventually joined in, caught up by the infectious nature of his laugh.

"I-I'm sorry," Yamcha breathed out. "It's just… your dad's a big guy. How did he get in the building?"

"Not easily," Chi-Chi admitted and they laughed again. "While we were staying at the village inn, we happened to watch the 21st Budoukai on the television in the common room. That was the first time I'd seen Goku since she had left with the Dragon Ball. Watching her fighting fanned that little spark inside me and I started to think about things I normally didn't." She paused as it dawned on her how that last part might sound. When Yamcha snickered her face reddened and she nearly lobbed a couch cushion at him. "Not _those_ kinds of thoughts!" she insisted. "I just started thinking about fighting. That I might _want_ to fight. We heard about the Red Ribbon Army on the radio and there was a part of me that wanted to go join Goku but I had no means of reaching her. Besides that, my father was ill at the time and I had to care for him. Once he was well, I _did_ begin my training, though."

"So how come you didn't enter the 22nd Budoukai?" Yamcha asked. Chi-Chi frowned and chewed her cheek for a moment.

"I did," she admitted, "But my performance was… embarrassing. I ran into your three-eyed friend in my first match."

"Tenshinhan."

"Right, Tenz… Tinshan… Ten." Chi-Chi sighed and shook her head, "I lasted maybe a second. I was so humiliated by my defeat that I went straight home without even trying to find Goku. Then we watched you all fight Piccolo Daimaou on the news and I saw Son Goku and…" she bit her lip and shrugged. "That was when I had my stupid little revelation. Since he didn't know the whole truth yet, my father was more than happy to support my training which made me happy as well. Especially once my growth spurt hit. I used to be such a tiny little thing."

' _That's putting it mildly,'_ Yamcha thought, though he wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud where it might be misconstrued. He'd rather not get put through his own roof. Then he'd have to pay for it.

"Well," Chi-Chi said wearily, "You know the rest. So now–" Yamcha's cell phone chimed suddenly.

"Crap," he muttered, "I'm sorry. Hang on." He twisted around on the couch and called down the hallway. "Puar!" he shouted. "Can you get that?" Puar came puttering down the hallway out of Yamcha's room while still wearing his sleeping cap.

"Good morning, Yamcha," he grumbled groggily as he grabbed the phone. "Good morning, giant Chi-Chi." He handed Yamcha the phone and puttered back down the hall.

"Giant Chi-Chi?" she asked. Yamcha shrugged as he looked at his phone.

"Like you said, growth spurt." Chi-Chi couldn't help but snicker as Yamcha scrolled through his phone.

"Did you get a text?" she asked.

"Nah," Yamcha said as she held his phone up to her, "I got a notification on my app." Chi-Chi blinked as she stared at the screen. It had a picture of Yamcha grinning while giving two thumbs up and said "Yamcha's Hero Service: When You're in Trouble, Send for the Wolf!" in a poppy, vibrant font. There were fields beneath the font for location, nature of disaster, and how quickly Yamcha would be needed.

"You have an app?"

"Well sure," Yamcha said as he got up from the couch. "What small business doesn't?" It was Puar's idea. In fact, he'd _made_ it! He walked into his room and came back out wearing his orange and green bandit gear. No sense dirtying up one of his gis for this job. "I've gotta go, there's a town in a valley south of North City that's having some pretty nasty weather. The mayor's worried about a mudslide and wants me to evacuate the populace. You're welcome to stay here if you–"

"Can I come?" Chi-Chi blurted out. Yamcha stared at her for a moment and her face flushed slightly to resemble a peach in color. What was she saying? Yamcha wasn't going on a field trip, people's lives could be at stake! Still, she wanted to go. She wanted to help if she could and _do_ something.

"Sure," Yamcha said with a shrug. Why not? She was pretty strong so it wasn't like he'd be taking someone who'd just get in the way. "Can you fly?" he asked. Chi-Chi shook her head. "Do you have a car?" Still no. "...How did you get here?"

"I… jump really well," she said with more than a touch of awkwardness. Yamcha stared at her for a moment before he shrugged and made his way for the door.

"Then let's get a move on, Jump Girl."

OoOoOoO

To say that the weather was bad would be the understatement of the decade, right behind "Piccolo Daimaou was not very nice." Rain was coming down in sheets as the winds howled and the crash of thunder was nearly deafening. Yamcha and Chi-Chi frowned up at the hill above the town and Yamcha was already able to see the mud rushing down towards them.

"I'll try to hold it back!" Yamcha shouted above the wind and thunder. "You get the civilians to higher ground!" Chi-Chi nodded as Yamcha flew off. She turned to look back at the town and, not knowing how else to do it, started knocking on doors. When people opened their doors, she would grab them by the collar and pull them out of their homes.

"Hold on tight!" she shouted to be heard and tucked them under her arms like luggage before jumping high into the air, maybe half a mile or so. Her eyes swept over the terrain and looked for a safe place to put the screaming civilians. She found a raised plateau that was just a bit taller than the roofs of the houses and was, hopefully, wide enough to fit the entire populace. She landed on it and gently set the people down before jumping back to the town. She sure hoped Yamcha could buy her plenty of time.

Yamcha was ripping any large trees or boulders out of the ground that he could find and stacking them up to try to create some kind of dam or fortification that would hold back the mudslide. He wasn't an engineer but he was _pretty_ sure this would work. No sooner had Yamcha finished laying down his fortifications, however, than the weather suddenly got even worse and the mudslide rushed forward like a raging rapid. It caused the dam to burst apart, now picking up rocks and trees in its wake. Yamcha swore under his breath and ripped the tallest tree he could find out of the ground and slammed it down horizontally to try and hold back the tide as it rushed down toward the village. What Yamcha had forgotten to take into account was that the ground under him was also mud. He lost his footing and let out a curse as he was suddenly swallowed up by the mud. It would have been easy enough to fly out of the mud… if it wasn't for one of the boulders he'd pulled out clocking him in the head and knocking him loopy.

Chi-Chi saw Yamcha, or more accurately a patch of orange and green, disappear under the mudslide and her eyes went wide with worry. She had to help him but there was still about half the town that hadn't gotten clear yet! She fretted, glancing back and forth between the town and the hill before she was struck by inspiration. She grabbed the flat roof of one of the houses and ripped it off the house with a grunt.

"Sorry!" she called as the laid the roof down. "Come on, everybody get on!" The townspeople quickly piled onto the roof and bunched together tightly to make enough room for everyone. Chi-Chi hoisted the roof overhead and jumped, depositing the people onto the plateau when she landed. Then she jumped back to the town and jumped again to land on the hill, pushing herself along and trudging through the mud. She'd swum through worse, after all. She found a hand sticking out of the mud and, hoping there was still a body attached to it, grabbed and pulled. Yamcha came out with the hand and was coughing and sputtering as Chi-Chi jumped back to the town.

"Did… did you get everyone?" Yamcha asked as he caught his breath.

"Yeah," Chi-Chi said as her gaze turned back the the onrush of mud and debris, "But now what do we do?" Yamcha looked up as stinging rain whipped at his face and shrugged.

"I have an idea," he replied, "I just didn't know if I was strong enough to make it work." Chi-Chi put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"You can do it," she assured him. Yamcha nodded and bent his legs as he brought his hands down to his side.

"Not like I have a lot of options at this point," he muttered under his breath as the energy began to build. "Kaaaameeeehaaaameeeee…" Yamcha let his energy build for a few seconds more as it rushed closer. "Haaaa!" he thrust out his hands and the red-white beam blasted forward to meet the mud and blasted it apart, sending a spray high into the air and cutting a trench into the hillside. Yamcha sighed and the crisis seemed to be averted… until the rain and the winds kicked up even worse than before.

"Oh, come on!" Chi-Chi cried out in exasperation. Yamcha squinted up at the clouds. Something wasn't right about this…

Then they heard it. Above the wind and the rain and the thunder, they heard a terrible roar. There was a rolling, coiling shape visible when the lightning flashed. It slowly poured out of the clouds, a sinewy red body with malevolent black-and-yellow eyes.

"Is that…" Yamcha muttered.

"A giant, flying snake?" Chi-Chi finished. The serpent opened its massive jaws wide and let out a terrible hiss. "Is it controlling the weather?" she asked. The serpent's mouth opened wider and, where certain snakes might shoot venom, lightning shot out of its mouth.

"I'm gonna guess that's a yes," Yamcha said. He looked at Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi looked at him. They nodded and leaped into the air with a battle cry, Chi-Chi leading with a kick and Yamcha flying with both fists out. The snake reared its head back and lunged.

OoOoOoO

"So," Chi-Chi said as she laid the massive fang on Yamcha's kitchen table with a "Thunk", "What should I do with this?" They were both showered and dressed in freshly-washed clothes, although their hair were still wrapped in towels.

"Hollow it out?" Yamcha suggested with a shrug. "Could make a pretty sweet horn." Chi-Chi grinned at the suggestion and looked the fang over as if inspecting it. "Y'know," Yamcha said, "Maybe I could teach you how to fly. Just so you don't have to jump everywhere."

"I'd like that," Chi-Chi said. They both smiled and Yamcha was about to say something when their stomachs began to growl.

"Guess I'll make somethin' for dinner," Yamcha muttered, realizing that he'd never eaten breakfast. Or lunch.

"No," Chi-Chi said as she moved towards the kitchen, "Let me. I'm the one who barged in and made your breakfast go cold." Yamcha moved into her path and folded his arms over his chest.

"No guest of mine is going to make _me_ dinner. I'm a big boy, I can cook for myself."

"Really," Chi-Chi said as she stepped forward again to loom over him, "I insist."

"So do I," Yamcha said, not intimidated by the fact that she was taller than him. His ki was still stronger than hers, after all. Not that he really wanted to fight about something like _food._

"Why don't you _both_ make dinner?!" Puar called from down the hall. "For crying out loud!" They stared at each other with the dawning realization that this was, in fact, a thing they could do and were reduced to helpless snickering as they made their way into the kitchen.

"That," Yamcha said one incredibly filling meal later, "May be the _best_ bowl of beef and rice I've eaten in my entire life." Chi-Chi blushed and waved a hand.

"Stop," she begged, "I should be the one complimenting you. I don't think I've _ever_ had crab dumplings like that." Now it was Yamcha's turn to blush.

Puar burped.

Yamcha and Chi-Chi laughed again before Chi-Chi stretched and stifled a yawn.

"It's getting late, isn't it?" she muttered to herself as she looked out the window at the night sky. "I should get going." She started to get up when Yamcha put a hand on her shoulder.

"No," he said, "You can crash here, it's fine." Chi-Chi stared at him for a moment and he held his hands up innocently. "Not like you have someplace else to go, right? I'll sleep on the couch." Chi-Chi shook her head.

"Oh, Yamcha, I couldn't–"

"It's fiiiine," Yamcha insisted. "I fall asleep on this thing as often as I do my bed, anyway. Besides, I'm not making _you_ sleep on the couch." Chi-Chi smiled and bowed her head appreciatively.

"Thank you," she said softly. Yamcha smiled back and gave Chi-Chi a pat on the arm.

"You stay here as long as you need."

OoOoOoO

Two weeks later, Yamcha (in undershirt and boxers) turned to Chi-Chi (in her underwear and a nightgown Yamcha had bought her after the first week) in bed and propped his chin on his hand as he looked at her.

"Hey," he said softly as he nudged her slightly with his other arm. Chi-Chi grumbled and stretched, just waking up.

"Hhhwhat is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"What do you think you'll do now?" he asked. He hadn't really thought about it before. They'd been working and talking about their pasts and cooking and just doing everything _but_ having the conversation that he suddenly realized was fairly important.

"Finish waking up and make a cup of coffee," Chi-Chi mumbled sarcastically as she arched her back. Yamcha rolled his eyes and nudged her again.

"You know what I meant," he said. "I mean what are you going to _do?_ Now that the whole Goku thing's…" Chi-Chi winced as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and Yamcha quickly tried to keep the conversation moving. Son Goku was still a touchy subject. "Are you gonna go out looking for an adventure? You could gather the Dragon Balls. Won't be much competition." He smirked and sat up as she did. "I'm pretty sure we're all Dragon Balled out." Chi-Chi chuckled and ran her hands through her long, black hair; fluffing it and giving herself a terrible case of bedhead that made Yamcha laugh.

"No," Chi-Chi said with a shake of her head while she ignored his laughter, "I don't think so. There's nothing I really _want_ from the Dragon Balls at this point." She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. "I don't really know," she muttered. "I _want_ to adventure and I _want_ to fight and I _want_ to be bold but…" she chewed her lip and shook her head. "Never mind."

"No," Yamcha said as he scooted around to sit in front of her, "But what? Tell me." Chi-Chi sighed again and looked at him.

"I guess the stories my father read me after my mother died and those people he hired to tutor me… I don't know. Some part of it really got to me. I _want_ to be a wife and a mother and take care of a home and everything, too." She shook her head and looked down again. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"No," Yamcha replied, "I mean, no it _does._ Er… yes. What I mean is yes." Chi-Chi giggled and Yamcha groaned as he ran a hand over his face. "I mean… you wanna know what I wanted the Dragon Balls for?" Chi-Chi nodded. "I wanted Shenron to wish away my being scared of girls." Chi-Chi let out a titter of laughter and Yamcha frowned. "I'm serious!" he insisted, which just made her laugh more. "I'm just saying, I wanted normal stuff, too. A girlfriend, who'd be a wife and stuff, and… and I wanna be a dad. I never had one." Chi-Chi stopped laughing and looked at Yamcha with soft eyes as she laid a hand on top of his.

"Yamcha…" she said softly. Yamcha took her hand and squeezed it.

"I don't remember… anything of my family," he told her. "I just remember the desert. The wolves. Sometimes I see faces but… I don't know their names. I don't know how I got _my_ name or where I'd even find them." Chi-Chi squeezed Yamcha's hand and moved her face closer to his. Yamcha froze, not sure what he should do. Should he move in? Would that be taking advantage of her? Or would it be worse to move away and reject her?

The decision was taken away from him when the "Wolf and Ox" rescue app dinged on his phone and Chi-Chi stopped.

"Better get that," she said with an expression that was both amused and annoyed. Yamcha nodded and twisted around in bed to reach for his phone.

"Shit!" he swore as he looked at the phone and scrambled out of bed. "We got a runaway train!" Chi-Chi ran after him as he hop-ran his way out of the building while trying to pull on his pants.

OoOoOoO

Another six months passed. By this time, Chi-Chi had an entire new wardrobe once they'd realized that she wasn't going anywhere. Also, by this time, the pair had settled into something of a daily routine. They'd get up every morning and go for a brisk fifty-mile run before making breakfast. Then they'd start getting work and they'd intersperse that through the day with talking, cooking, training, and watching TV.

Today, though, they spent one of their rare slow days lying in bed. Yamcha was sitting on Chi-Chi's back and rubbing her shoulders, which she was enjoying _very_ much.

"Yamcha," she muttered into her pillow in a blissful and eased tone.

"Yeah?"

"You know… whoever I get married to inherits my father's kingdom and fortune, right?"

"Huh," Yamcha said without ever breaking stride, "Neat." Chi-Chi suddenly twisted around and Yamcha gave a yelp of surprise as Chi-Chi was on top of him and trying to kiss him. Every suitor her father tried to set her up with was always interested in the title or the wealth or what she could… _do_ for them when she was older but Yamcha didn't care. To him, she was just… Chi-Chi and that was good enough. Between that and everything else he'd done for her in the last six months, that was _more_ than enough.

"Wait," Yamcha said as he put a hand to Chi-Chi's shoulder and easily held her back, "Chi-Chi… wait. Before we do anything else, I have to tell you something." He chewed on his lip and seemed to be clearly struggling with whatever it was that he just _had_ to tell her. "I… I wasn't entirely honest about my time as a bandit. I may have… no, I _definitely_ killed people." There was only a moment's hesitation.

"How long ago was this?"

"About… eight years ago, maybe?"

"And have you killed anyone since?" Yamcha shook his head. "Instead," Chi-Chi pointed out, "You fought the Red Ribbon Army and Piccolo Daimaou and tried to save the world. You can't change your past, Yamcha, but it doesn't mean you never change your present. It doesn't define what you are." Yamcha stared at her for a moment and suddenly slid out from under her. "Where are you going?" she asked with a hint of worry. Had she said the wrong thing?

"This needs to be perfect," he told her as he walked over to his record player and flitted through some albums. He put one on on the player and laid down the needle. The music kicked in and he started swaying his hips in time as he walked closer to her. Chi-Chi couldn't help but shake her head and laugh.

'What're you–" Yamcha put a finger to her lips as he pulled her out of bed and onto her feet.

"Shhh, shh, shh, shhhhh. Don't talk. Just… feel the music. Let it move you." Chi-Chi rolled her eyes yet still found her hips moving in time with his all the same. They moved closer and closer to each other as the voice on the recording sang.

" _Hail with it baby, 'cause you're fine and you're mine and you look so divine,"_ their lips finally met. " _Come and get your love!"_ It was slow and tender and passionate. Their first kiss. The first of _many_ things they'd share that day. " _Come and get your love!"_

OoOoOoO

Three years had passed since Chi-Chi showed up on Yamcha's front porch. It had been a whole three weeks since their wedding. As Yamcha shaved that morning, he reflected while looking into his reflection. Asking for Ox King's blessing had seemed an absurdly terrifying prospect but, to his surprise, the guy was just a big softy. He even let Yamcha call him "Dad" and "Pops". It had taken more than a little convincing on Yamcha's part to let Chi-Chi invite Suno and Goku. It had also surprised no one that Bulma wasn't in attendance. Woman could hold a grudge. What _had_ been a surprise was that Puar had been able to preside over the union. One of these days, he was going to have to ask Puar where he found the time to learn all these things. Yamcha finished shaving and ran a hand over his goatee. It had been Chi-Chi's idea and he had to agree with her; it looked good.

"Yamcha!" Chi-Chi called from the living room. "I have something for you!" Yamcha grinned and, dressed in an undershirt and slacks, walked into the living room to find Chi-Chi sitting on the couch. He was surprised to see a long, black, wooden box on the table with golden hinges and clasps and a polish so high it was practically reflective.

"Well, well, well," Yamcha muttered as he looked down at the box, "It's not my birthday for another week, so what is this?" Chi-Chi smiled and stood, picking up the box in both hands.

"Call it a late honeymoon gift," she told him as he undid the clasps on the box and slowly opened it. The sight of the box's content took Yamcha's breath away. Carefully wrapped in a plush velvet lining was a sword unlike anything he had ever seen. It was a Jian with a golden hilt and intricately-carved scabbard with a white tassel at the pommel. Yamcha carefully took the sword from the box and slowly unsheathed it. The steel shone so brightly it was like a beam of light in his hand. He twirled it in his wrist and was awestruck again.

"The balance is perfect," he said with wonder. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It belonged to my mother," Chi-Chi explained. "My father wanted me to have it but, once he saw how much of a natural I was with the axe…" she shrugged and gestured to Ox King's axe, now hers, leaning against the wall by the fireplace. "I remembered that you had a sword when we met and you lost it during your fight with Piccolo Daimaou so I thought…"

"Chi-Chi," Yamcha breathed as he sheathed the sword, "I… I don't know what to say." Not having the words, he kissed her. Then they broke the kiss and he smirked. "How much should I be reading into the fact that you gave me your mother's weapon and you have your father's weapon?" Chi-Chi smirked right back and tucked a finger under his chin.

"You should read into it that a little more appreciation is in order."

"I can do that," he said with a grin and laughed as she slung him over a shoulder and carried him away. This wasn't how, or with whom, either had imagined they'd end up at this stage in their lives. But it was working out pretty great.


	45. All's Well That Ends Well!

Chapter Forty-five

All's Well That Ends Well!

Launch was flying through the mountains with what could conservatively be called "too many groceries". Not that she really minded, of course. Compared to that ridiculous milk training with Roshi, this was cake. No dinosaurs, sharks, or bees after all. Still, Launch thought to herself as she touched down, it would be nice to live somewhere with a road. She opened the door to the log cabin that she, Ten, and Chaozu had made for themselves and headed to the kitchen where she found Chaozu doing the crossword.

"Hey," Launch greeted him as she set down the groceries. Chaozu looked up and smiled and gave Launch a wave. "Where's Ten?" she asked as she started unpacking the groceries.

"Outside," Chaozu told her with a jerk of his thumb, "Training again." Launch rolled her eyes as she pulled out a case of beers. It'd been _months_ since the Budoukai and Ten had only stopped training to help build their house and when she and Chaozu had dragged him along to the wedding. Launch gave a beer to Chaozu, who popped the cap off with his telekinesis. Launch could never tell how old Chaozu was _._ He never seemed to age, after all. Ten had known him since they were kids, though, so Launch _assumed_ it was okay to give him alcohol.

"Can you put these away for me?" she asked, gesturing towards the groceries while she took another two beers. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Could be a while." Chaozu nodded and Launch tapped her beer against his in an appreciative salute before she headed out the back door. Chaozu sighed as he hopped down from his chair and muttered curses under his breath.

"Seriously" he grumbled as he sorted through the bags, "Who even _needs_ this many kinds of jerky?"

As it turned out, "outside" had meant "two mountains over". Launch supposed that the nice thing about living in the mountains was that basically everything within your line of sight counted as your yard. She found Tenshinhan standing on the side of the mountain amongst a pile of rubble. As she got closer, however, Launch noticed that the "rubble" was all cut into perfect little cubes. She floated and watched Ten with her arms folded over her chest as he sliced a massive cube of rock out of the mountain and flung it high up into the air.

"Dodon Danmaku!" Bursts of ki flew from Ten's fingertips and sliced the rock into tiny pellets that rained down on Ten and bounced off his aura. Judging by the pile around his feet and the chunks missing out of the mountain, Launch guessed that he'd been at this for a couple hours. Tenshinhan began to cut another chunk when he noticed Launch floating down towards him.

"Doing some precision training, huh?" Launch asked as she handed him a beer. Ten nodded and jammed his thumb under the cap to pop it off in lieu of a bottle opener. Launch did the same and thought about the fact that super strength was pretty awesome. She sat down on the mountainside and motioned for Tenshinhan to do the same. He did so reluctantly and they sat in silence and drank for a moment. "So," Launch said, "What's this about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You, what else? You're training like even more of a crazy person than usual. You don't sleep, you don't eat–"

"Did Chaozu send you up here?" Ten asked irritably. Launch frowned and punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"No, you dummy!" Launch exclaimed, " _I_ sent _myself_ up here! Because I care about you! Now, what's going on?" Ten took a long drink and sighed.

"I'm the fourth strongest being on the planet," he said. " _Fifth_ if you count Kami." He wasn't even going to bother getting into the strangeness of their casual relationship with more-or-less God. "For one moment, I was the strongest. It feels like no matter how hard I try, I keep falling behind and it's driving me insane."

"I mean," Launch pointed out, "I was _never_ the strongest and you don't see me freaking out about it." She laughed but Ten just sighed and slumped forward. "Hey," Launch said softly as she put an arm around him, "I thought you figured out that there was more to life than being strong. Isn't that what you told Tao Pai Pai, basically?" Ten gave a halfhearted shrug.

"I know, I know," he admitted, "It's just… the desire to be the strongest and that strength was all that mattered was still the driving force behind almost my entire life. It's hard to simply cast that aside and not care about it anymore."

"Well," Launch reminded him, "When you fought Piccolo Daimaou, were you doing it to prove how strong you were?"

"Of course not," Ten said, sounding almost offended. "It–"

"Was the right thing to do," Launch finished with a smile. "And when I came to you for help, when I was going crazy, did you help me because it would make you stronger?" Ten shook his head. "No, you did because it was good. I came to you for help because I knew you were a good guy. So you may not be the strongest," Launch said with a dismissive shrug, "But you're the best in my book." Ten smiled and put an arm around Launch to hug her.

"Thank you," he said before he started to stand, "But I need to get back to training."

"Oh no," Launch said with a smirk as she pulled him back down to the ground by the back of his shirt. "What _you_ need is to rest."

"...This isn't restful."

OoOoOoO

Muten Roshi returned from one of his trips to Baba's to find Krillin still on the couch. Not that he minded Krillin staying over, of course- he'd _told_ Krillin that he was welcome to stay, after all, and he liked the company- it was just that Krillin had been on the couch when he left _four hours ago._ The boy was in a funk. No two ways about it.

"That's it," Roshi muttered as he jabbed Krillin with the end of his staff to get his attention, "We're goin' out." Krillin jumped to attentiveness and looked at Roshi curiously. He hadn't even been watching TV or reading a book, just staring out into space.

"Out?" Krillin asked as he got up from the couch. "Out where?"

"I dunno," Roshi admitted, "But somewhere where you're not just sittin' around!"

"I'm not just sitting around!" Krillin shot back defensively. Then he looked back down at the butt-shaped dent in the couch cushions. God, how long had he just been sitting there? He couldn't help it. Ever since the tournament he'd felt so… despondent. He'd fallen hard for Son Goku. Attending the wedding had just turned it into a full-blown wretchedness. Part of Krillin thought that he really shouldn't have gone, but how could he not? Goku had asked him to be her Best Man (a position he was surprised to know that she knew existed)! Even though it had been obvious that he didn't have a chance from the minute Goku and Suno had left, there had been something so painfully final about actually _seeing_ them together.

"You've been in the bushes for months," Roshi told Krillin as he unfurled his magic carpet. "You don't even train these days! Let's get a move on!" It was true, Krillin thought as Roshi shuffled him out the door and onto the carpet. Krillin wasn't training or seeking out underground fighting tournaments or anything like he'd been before. He just couldn't see the point. His whole motivation for the last three years was to become strong enough to face Goku at the Budoukai and confess his feelings. That hadn't even come _close_ to working out so what was the point? "Bald Tiger". Big whoop.

Roshi wound up taking them to the nightlife section of South City and to a casino called "Dragon's Gold Casino" where apparently Roshi was something of a regular.

"Not that I expect this to solve your problems or anything," Roshi was explaining to Krillin as he gave his young protege a few thousand zeni in chips, "But you _desperately_ need to have some fun. Live a little!" He led Krillin to a poker table and waited for a game to finish. "Now I know they'll be shufflin' real slow to us," Roshi said as they waited, "But try not to count cards. If they catch ya, they'll break your legs."

"Uhh…" Krillin muttered as the color drained from his face. He was supposed to have _fun_ now?

"Well they'll _try,"_ Roshi added as they sat down, as if remembering Krillin's experiences with his legs, "But they probably won't be able to. Then they'll just get mad and they'll throw ya out. Then they'll throw _me_ out for bringing you here and I like this place, okay?" Krillin nodded nervously and swallowed as the dealer dealt cards.

' _Good thing Roshi taught me how to play,'_ Krillin thought to himself. Although that _had_ been a couple years ago. God, he was going to go broke, wasn't he?

"Royal Flush!" Krillin declared triumphantly as he slapped the cards down onto the table. He was six games in now and as he raked in the mountain of chips in front of him he knew he was on _fire!_ "I think I've just about cleaned you gentlemen out," Krillin said as he peered at the small pile of watches, wallets, and cash beside his chips. "What about you, big guy?" he asked, peering over his chips to look at the rotund, orange-clad ronin across the table from him. The shaggy-haired man glowered and tossed his katana onto the table which made Krillin's eyes light up.

"Well," Roshi said as they say at the casino bar a short time later, "You seem to be feeling better." Krillin grinned and adjusted the katana on his back while the pair sipped mojitos.

"I am," Krillin assured him. "Thank you, Master Roshi. I needed this." They clinked glasses and Krillin returned to his drink before catching something out of the corner of his eye. He spun around and saw a woman standing by one of the slot machines. For half a second, Krillin thought she was Bulma but her hair was a few shades bluer, not to mention she was more… developed. She saw Krillin looking at her and gave a sly smile before pointing down. He noticed a slip of paper under his coaster. It was too small to be a bill although Krillin discovered that there _was_ a number on it, as well as a message.

" _Call me sometime, 'Tiger'."_ Krillin looked up from the paper with a bright red face and she winked before disappearing into the crowd. Krillin looked back at Roshi who started laughing his head off.

"Did… did that _just happen?"_ Krillin asked in disbelief, which only made Roshi laugh harder. They left the casino a couple hours later and Krillin was left alone outside while Roshi sauntered off to find where the valet had parked the magic carpet. After a while, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," said a young voice, "Are you the Bald Tiger?" Krillin turned and saw a dark-skinned young girl in a black gi with yellow belt and boots. She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen and was, frustratingly, already as tall as Krillin.

"Uh, yeah." Krillin said awkwardly. People usually didn't come up to him on the street anymore. Then again, he rarely left the island anymore.

"You're my favorite fighter in the whole world!" the kid declared with a grin.

"That so?" Krillin asked with a smile of his own. _He_ was someone's favorite?

"Yeah," the kid told him as she pointed at her own shaved head. "I wanna be just like you!" she held out her hands, with a yellow headband in one hand a marker in the other. "Could you sign my headband?" Krillin grinned and took them both.

"Sure thing," he said as he scrawled, "What's your name?"

"Jean."

"That's a nice name."

"Not as cool as Bald Tiger." Krillin had to laugh at that as he handed Jean her headband back.

"My friends call me Krillin," he told her and watched her tie it firmly around her head.

"Thank you so much!" she said ecstatically before she took out her phone. "Can I take a picture with you?" Krillin grinned and shrugged. Why not?

After a few pictures, Jean ran off and Krillin sighed happily as he tucked his hands into his pockets. He'd get back to training tomorrow. There _was_ life after Goku, after all.

OoOoOoO

Mai ran a hand over the smooth finish of her brand-new desk with a grin. She'd saved up for a year to be able to afford her own office and start up her business. Let Shu and Pilaf keep their fast food chain. She was going to be a detective like she'd always wanted when she was a kid. She sat behind the desk and kicked up her feet, lighting a cigarette as she looked at the golden lettering on her glass door: "Private Mai, Detective for Hire". She'd added that last part because, without it, she sounded like a callgirl. A few weeks passed with relatively steady work. People were always convinced that someone was trying to murder them or steal from them or cheat on them or sometimes all three. It was exactly what Mai had expected out of this gig. She'd even gotten into a few shootouts! It was a _thrill._

Then. _She_ showed up.

It was a rainy evening in Epicenter City and Mai was sitting in her office in a powder-blue suit. Smoke clung to the room like draperies as rain pattered softly against the windows. Mai was about ready to call it in for the night when her door swung open and a gust of wind swept the smoke right out of the room. Mai sat up quickly and stared at the dame in her doorway. She looked like the kind of trouble that led to a funeral. She wore a dark green dress that she looked like she'd been poured into, with matching lipstick, and her purple hair cascaded down around her shoulders. She was wearing an enormous golden necklace that jangled like a change purse with every step. She slid into the office with legs that went on for hours and bent forward with her hands on the table to expose the decidedly un-miserly deep cut of her dress.

"And just who are you?" Mai asked as she tried to keep her composure. Even so, she was sweating like a sheet of ice in July. The woman smirked a devilish smile that did nothing to hide eys a viper would've called untrustworthy.

"Bellerose," the woman said as she plucked the cigarette from Mai's lips and sat on the edge of the desk, "Iris Bellerose." She took a drag and grinned again, exhaling the smoke through her nostrils. "And I'm here for a job." She stamped the cigarette down into the ashtray where it stood as straight as a flagpole while her other hand played with Mai's salmon tie. Mai swallowed and her face went flush.

"Wh-when can you start?"

OoOoOoO

Piccolo looked down into his reflection in the desert oasis that he got all his water from. He frowned in deep thought as he contemplated a very serious decision.

"Wider?" he asked himself aloud as a light wind blew through his cape. He held out his hands and the shoulderpads of his cape stretched out to meet them. Piccolo inspected himself before holding his hands up again. "Shorter?" This time the pads grew shorter than they had been before. "Wider," he decided as he moved his hands out again. "Wider is good."

God, he was lonely.

OoOoOoO

"So how's Gohan doing?" Bulma asked as she sat in her capsule house. "Are you remembering what I said about keeping his window closed on–"

"Yes, I am," Suno said over the phone, "And he's doing well. My mother's visiting so he's getting spoiled by grandma."

"I am doing no such thing!" Bulma heard Yuki call.

"Mother," Suno said while turning away from the phone, "You've already given him _how_ many sweets in the last hour?" Bulma laughed and shook her head. She'd met Yuki at the wedding and she honestly wasn't surprised. She seemed like a sweet lady.

"Sounds like you're having fun."

"Yeah," Suno agreed. "So, what're you doing out by Mount Paozu, anyway?" Bulma grinned.

"Believe me," Bulma assured her, "When I find it, you two will be the first to know."

"Ms. Bulma!" Someone called from outside the house. "We think we've found something!"

"I gotta go," Bulma said, "I'll talk to ya later."

"Same here," Suno replied. " _Someone_ is getting hungry."

"Your son or your wife?" Bulma asked with a chuckle.

" _Goodbye,_ Bulma." Suno said with amused annoyance before she hung up. Bulma sat up from the edge of her bed with a stretch and tucked her phone away. It had been good to get out of the house for a few months although she was a little suspicious of what Daddy might do while she was away. He'd locked her out of his lab and she was beginning to think he'd finally figured out that she was trying to remove him from power in the company. Not that she should have been surprised, she knew. How many "surprise" trips could she send him and mom on that coincided with important meetings where she'd sit in as his "representative" and vote and make decisions "on his behalf", anyway? Dr. Brief was no dope. He wasn't as smart as her, of course, but he was no dope.

Bulma walked out of her capsule house and into a bustle of activity surrounding a crane near a massive crater. There were dozens of Capsule Corp workers, many holding pickaxes or shovels or other digging equipment. She'd needed a big, new discovery that would knock the Board's socks off, especially since she had _no idea_ how to replicate the device. The blueprints were completely useless, written in a language that didn't exist at any point in Earth's history and in a handwriting that didn't even _look_ like hers! That was why Bulma had been spending the last four months turning the area for several miles around Goku's childhood home upside-down. A suspicion she'd been nursing for almost nine years now, practically since the day she'd met Son Goku. Her sister Tights had offered to come along but Bulma balked at the idea. This was going to be science _fact,_ not science _fiction._ She didn't want this to wind up in one of her silly books like that Jaco guy that Tights and their grandfather had _always_ sworn was real.

"Be careful!" Bulma warned into a megaphone as the crane slowly lifted something up out of the crater. "If this is what I think it is, it is _literally_ worth more than all of your lives!" After several agonizing minutes for the impatient young woman, the crane operator set the cargo down on solid ground and Bulma shoved her way through the crowd to get a look at it. It was a sphere about the size of a small car that had once been white, although it was covered in dirt and scratches and… were those _reentry_ burns? Bulma giggled to herself giddily as she inspected the craft, peering through the open hatch at the interior filled with buttons and displays in a language she'd _never_ seen before. Resting on the seat, with two tubes connected to it, was a small, clear bubble that was just about the right size for a human infant. "Well, well, well," Bulma muttered to herself as she rubbed her hands eagerly. "Looks like you're _finally_ about to start making sense, Son Goku."

OoOoOoO

Suno put the phone back on its hook before she turned around and walked back to the living room, scooping a giggling Gohan out of her mother's arms as Yuki was giving him raspberries on his stomach.

"That's enough, you two," Suno said as she sat down in an armchair next to the couch where Yuki was sitting. She pulled down one of her sleeves and held Gohan against her chest so he could nurse. Goku, in typical Goku fashion, was hanging from the ceiling and doing upside-down crunches.

"So how's work, dear?" Yuki asked while trying not to be distracted by Goku.

"Work's going good," Suno said. "I've been back at the job for about a year now and I don't think it'll be that long before I can drop the 'assistant' part from my title." She smiled as she looked down at Gohan, "And _this_ little guy is pretty popular. Half the first grade girls want to be his girlfriends when he grows up." She and Yuki laughed while Goku continued her crunches. "How's Jingle Village? Anything new happening?"

"Well," Yuki began, "Frost has taken on a few new students."

"Has he really?"

"Oh, yes," Yuki said with a smile, "A couple of polar bears. It seems a certain _someone_ gave him the teaching bug."

"I think she means you, Suno," Goku put in helpfully.

"He's not as spry as he used to be," Yuki went on, "But then, none of us are." She sighed and put her hands in her lap. "It's not all good, I'm afraid. The village chief passed away about a month ago."

"Oh no," Suno said softly. That was _awful!_ She remembered the village chief well suddenly and how saving him from Muscle Tower had been her and Goku's first adventure.

"He was really nice," Goku added sadly. Yuki nodded before she looked up as if remembering something and smiled again.

"Of course, it's not all bad," she added. "That's why Eighter couldn't visit, after all."

"What?" Suno asked with a confused frown. What did Eighter have to do with the chief's passing?

"Eighter is the new chief now!" Yuki explained with delight. Suno was so shocked that she fell out of her chair and Goku threw her arms down to catch Gohan before he fell. The one year-old giggled obliviously like this was some fun new game.

OoOoOoO

Mercenary Tao shuffled miserably down the street as he looked at the crumpled bills in his hand. Five hundred thousand zeni. _That_ was what he'd been reduced to lower his price to. After years of inactivity, his near death, and his humiliation at the hands of Tenshinhan in front of a worldwide audience; his reputation was in shambles.

"Damn Son Goku," he muttered. "Damn Tenshinhan. Damn them all!" He swung a wild fist in rage and knocked a lamp post over the horizon, scowling at those who stared at him before he realized that, without eyelids or eyebrows, it just looked like he was staring back. He groaned and continue on his way. With every step, however, he grew a little calmer. He'd get his price back up. He'd outlive them all. It would take time but that was no matter. He was ageless. He had forever. Spirits slightly lifted, he walked into a "Pilaf's" on the corner. He was _starving._

OoOoOoO

Giran stepped forward onto the podium to give his acceptance speech. He was dressed in a fine gray suit with sleeves stitched into the back for his wings with a white shirt and a red tie. He adjusted his glasses and looked down at his typed remarks. This was a historic day: he was the first monster _ever_ elected to the World Parliament.

"Today," Giran said as he stretched his wings, "Is a great day. A day for change. A day for hope. A day for the future!" The crowd cheered and Giran waited for it to die down before he continue. "A future not just for monsters but for _all_ the races of the Earth. For I promise you that I shall use every ounce of my seat's power to make change and every decibel of my voice, the people's voice, to call for action! To bring about change that will not only benefit monsters but will benefit all!" The crowd roared again and Giran found himself again thanking the day he'd met Krillin. The "Bald Tiger's" endorsement had been instrumental in securing his votes, after all. He didn't know how he'd ever be able to repay him.

OoOoOoO

Pilaf sat behind his desk and smiled to himself as he tugged at his suspenders. The former Emperor, now CEO, looked thoughtfully back on his life. With smart investing, careful planning, and culinary experimentation; what had started as a hot dog cart had grown into a genuine _empire_ of fast food restaurants across the globe. He was finally a success.

The name had been Shu's idea. "Pilaf's: Food Fit for a King!" Pilaf had groaned at the slogan at first but, over the years, it had grown on him. Shu was now a regional manager, in charge of all the "Pilaf's" between East and West City. Pilaf had offered him a higher-paying desk job several times- he _was_ a founder, after all- but Shu always declined with a smile. He said he liked to be with the people that were doing the work. He'd joke that he loved the smell of deep fry in the morning. Or maybe it wasn't a joke.

Pilaf sighed wistfully as he looked at a photograph on his desk of himself, Mai, and Shu around the hot dog cart. He hadn't seen Mai in _years_ now. She'd had to change the name of her business to "Tri Pri Eye" after she and that Bellerose woman added a young man named Upa to their company. Apparently, they were also involved in some sort of polyamory thing? Pilaf honestly couldn't remember. He should call Mai, it had been far too long.

Pilaf looked to the awards his restaurant had won that were plastered all over one wall. He was finally happy. And it hadn't taken a single Dragon Ball to do it.

OoOoOoO

Uranai Baba sat bolt upright in bed with wide, panic-filled eyes. She was drenched in a cold sweat as she stumbled out of bed and climbed onto her crystal ball. She could feel her old heart fluttering in her chest as she floated over to the window and yanked back the curtains to stare up at the orange-purple dawn sky and the few stars still visibly twinkling in the dark.

"It's _here,_ " she whispered, aghast. The terrible thing she had foreseen years ago. _It was coming!_


	46. All Does Not End Well!

Chapter Forty-six

All Does Not End Well! Arrival of the Mysterious Warrior!

In the void of space, billions of lightyears away from Earth, there floated three white orbs in front of a field of dust and ash, trapped forever in the weightlessness of space, buffeted ever so slightly on the solar winds of the nearby star.

"Are you both on the private channel?" came one voice into the ears of two others. It was a harsh voice, filled with the anger of fettered youth and ambition yet with the tones of a highborn son.

"Yes, Your Grace," came the simultaneous replies from the adjacent pods. One was gruff and gravelly, an older voice heavy with a life on battlefields all across the stars. The other was younger, about the same age as the first voice, and gritty with lowborn indignity. The older voice was earnest in its reply, the younger… _sarcastic._

"Very good," the first voice continued. There was a moment's pause and the faintest hum that crackled in each of their ears as their battle auras surrounded them, wide enough to catch some of the air inside each of their pods. Then the pods slowly opened and three men floated out into the void.

Out of the far left pod came a mountain of a man in dark blue armor with black boots and gauntlets and yellow pads over his shoulders and thighs. He had a machine fixed to his right ear, white with a piece of translucent blue glass over his right eye. His bare arms and legs were covered in battle scars, some faint and pale while some were large and gnarled. The starlight glinted off his bald head as he glowered at the void. The man in the left pod was slightly shorter with a green piece of translucent glass over his left eye. His body armor was black where the first man's was blue and brown where it was yellow. Where the other man was bald, he had a massive mane of black hair that practically reached his ankles. He had his share of scars as well, though not so numerous as the first man.

Between either of them was a much shorter man, perhaps five feet tall without his six inch spike of black hair. His body armor was white with yellow pads and he wore a blue undersuit. The glass over his eye was pink. His neutral expressions seemed to be a barely-repressed hatred for the universe.

They all had tails wrapped around their waists.

"What do you see?" the shortest man asked.

"The remains of our home planet, Your Grace," the largest man replied plainly as a handful of dust floated past his face.

"You would be wrong, Nappa," the first man shot back as he glared at the emptiness. "I see a murder."

"What're you saying, Vegeta?" asked the man with the most hair. Vegeta glowered at him before making a sweeping gesture with a white-gloved hand.

"Look at this," he told them, "Complete annihilation. No asteroid could have reduced Planet Vegeta to this. It would have taken a chunk out of the planet for sure but to leave _nothing_ behind… even if our own _moon_ had collided into the planet, it would have created more debris."

"So what was it?" asked the second man again.

"Is it not obvious, Raditz?" Vegeta asked. He waited for a rhetorical pause. "It was Freeza." He paused again to let that information sink in as the other two stared at him in stunned horror. "I have suspected it for quite some time, in truth. Now that I actually _see_ the remains of my race for the first time, it is clear."

"But why?!" Nappa demanded. "We'd served him faithfully for years! We were his most valuable soldiers!"

"That bastard!" Raditz snarled through clenched teeth. "I-I killed for him! I took his money! I'm wearing his stupid armor! I'll kill him mys–"

"You will do no such thing!" Vegeta snapped. "As for the _why?_ He feared us. He feared our potential for power. He feared… _what we might become._ "

"I don't understand," Nappa interjected. "If you _know_ he killed our people, why serve him?"

"What choice do we have?" Vegeta asked. "Freeza is the most powerful being in the universe. Not a day goes by where I do not wake up with the thought of strangling him yet I know it's impossible. I have been trying to get stronger for years now, seeking out his most dangerous missions on the most violent worlds, but it is not enough. It is time to take action."

"Whatever it is, I'm ready," Raditz assured him with a defiantly balled fist. Vegeta nodded and folded his arms over his chest.

"It is simple," Vegeta said. "We are going to carry on like nothing is happening. Freeza must suspect nothing. However, in secret, we will be seeking out and gathering any members of our race we can find. They cannot _all_ have been on Planet Vegeta on the same day. Search every databank, every mission log, look for every exile or castaway. Gather our strength. Rebuild the empire and, in time, bring about our bloody vengeance! We'll reconvene on Zeron-4 in three years' time." Raditz nodded and floated back into his pod, which quickly took off and turned into a blip as it made the jump to lightspeed.

Nappa entered his own pod and waited for Vegeta to follow. He watched from the viewport of his pod as Veget floated in space and gathered a handful of debris into a gloved hand, squeezing his fist tightly until he held a stone. Lightning crackled through Vegeta's hair as he threw his head back and screamed. Below the scream Nappa heard in his scouter, he could hear a faint echo, which he realized wasn't an echo at all. Vegeta's rage was so great that Nappa could hear the scream in _the vacuum of space._

OoOoOoO

Raditz landed on the surface of Zeron-4 frustratingly empty-handed. It was a frustration that was only compounded by the planet they were meeting on. Zeron-4 was a disgusting planet, sixth from a blue sun and nearly every inch of it was swamps of varying temperatures that were populated with repulsive amphibioids. It stank of sulfur and dead vegetation. Gods, he just wanted to blow the whole thing up from space. Here he was, however, trudging through the muck as he made his way to Nappa and Vegeta. _Just_ Nappa and Vegeta.

"Well," he said with a slight smirk, "Glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't bring any new friends." The others glared at him. "Is Tarble dead?" he asked with the slightest hint of genuine concern.

Vegeta scoffed, "My younger brother is quite alive. He merely refused to join." Raditz chuckled at that.

"Ha! Told ya to go fuck yourself, didn't he?" Vegeta glowered with made Raditz chuckle again.

"Can't say I blame him," Nappa admitted with the barest hint of a smile. "This plan is insane."

"It would not be a Saiyan plan if it were otherwise," Vegeta reminded them with a grin. "Not that we needed him, he was banished for being a coward. What about that Tullece woman? The one with the pirates." Raditz shook his head.

"Last I heard any mention of her, she'd run off to the Southern Universal Quadrant. Seems her brilliant fucking plan for beating Freeza is waiting for him to die of old age in the ass-end of the universe."

"Writing off the only female Saiyan in the universe," Nappa put in before adding, "Not like that's an issue for you, Raditz." Raditz scowled and balled his fists.

"What," he shot back, "Just mad that you're not my type?"

"Enough, the both of you!" Vegeta snapped. There was a tense pause as he ran a hand over his face in aggravation. "So that is that, then. Everything else came up empty. We are all that is left." His shoulders slumped as he sat down on his pod with his head in his hands. Then he sat up with a sudden realization. "Wait," he said, "You've a sister, Raditz, do you not?" Raditz's face drained and he swallowed nervously. He wanted to lie but Vegeta's hawk-like gaze bore down on him and ripped the words from his mouth.

"Y-yes," he stammered out, "Your Grace. She was sent away on her first mission the day of Planet Vegeta's destruction. She couldn't have been more than a few days old."

"So she will be one and twenty now," Vegeta surmised as he stroked his chin. "Yes, yes. That will do nicely for me." Then he turned to Nappa and smirked, "Hopefully something for you as well in about fifteen years or so, Nappa." Nappa laughed as Raditz's face turned red and his hands began to curl into fists. "Does something trouble you, Raditz?" Vegeta asked. The veins stood out in Raditz's neck. The smug little shit. He wanted to strangle him. To jam his thumbs into his eyes and rip his heart out through his… no. It was pointless to even think of that sort of thing. Even if he got past Nappa, which was already impossible, Vegeta would crush him like a fly.

He had no choice.

"No, Your Grace," Raditz said as he lowered his gaze. "No problem at all. It should take me about a year to reach the backwater planet she's on." Vegeta grinned and stood up to clap Raditz on the shoulder.

"Good man," he told him while Raditz fought an urge to vomit. "Off you go, then. Try to bring her back peacefully. Don't want my queen damaged, do we?" Vegeta and Nappa laughed as Raditz trudged back off to his pod. As it took off, Raditz tried to imagine Kakarot. It was only then that he realized that he'd never actually seen his sister. Would she look like their mother, he wondered? What would she be like? Confused, alone, so separate and different. No one to answer her questions. No one to talk to if she'd done her job and killed them all.

"Well," he told himself as his pod made the jump to lightspeed, "At least I can give her that much." With that miniscule amount of comfort, he let the chemically-treated air of his pod bring him to sleep.

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Suno was telling Goku and Gohan as she stuffed a few last-minute things into her satchel before heading to work that morning, "So you guys are going to meet up with the gang at Kame House around noon and then I'll come by when I get off from work, okay?"

"Are you sure you can't come with us?" Goku asked with Gohan in her arms as she watched her wife race around the house.

"You know I'd love to," Suno reminded her gently, "But I couldn't get the time off. It'll only be a couple hours and then I'll be over. Besides, all our friends will be there. You won't even notice I'm gone!"

"Yes I will," Goku assured her with a sad puppy-dog look. Suno sighed and leaned up to give her a quick kiss and then gave Gohan a motherly peck on the cheek.

"Be nice to all your moms' friends, Gohan," Suno told the toddler as she ruffled his red hair.

"I will, mother," he told her and smiled. Suno grinned before turning her attention back to Goku.

"And you," she said with a stern playfulness as she poked Goku on the nose, "You stay out of trouble." Goku just grinned.

"Come on," she said, "It's me! What's the worst that could happen?"

OoOoOoO

Raditz was jostled awake by his battle pod crashing into the Earth. The pod's door opened with a hiss and he was hit in the face with clean, fresh air. He climbed slowly out of the pod as his heightened senses were bombarded with and adjusted to a barrage of sights, sounds and smells. He looked out over lush, green, breeze-blown fields and up into a bright, blue, cloud-filled sky.

"Hrm," Raditz muttered to himself as he tapped his scouter. "This doesn't look genocided at all." The scouter pinged with information as yellow numbers flitted across his eye. "Six billion?!" he went on with a disbelieving roll of his eyes. "Gods, Kakarot, were you even trying?" He finally turned to see the fat, bearded man in strange clothes waving some sort of weapon at him and babbling in a nonsense language. It took a few seconds for his natural Saiyan adaptability to pick up on and immediately translate it.

"Now git yur dagum space rocket offa mah prahperty afore ah–" he froze when Raditz stepped towards him and the man fired his weapon. Raditz threw a hand out to block the attack and was shocked when something solid hit his hand. His fingers wrapped around the rifle bullet and he stared at it for a long moment.

"Ho. Ly. SHIT!" Raditz burst out laughing. "Ballistics?! Is that what passes for a weapon on this planet?! You're throwing _rocks_ at each other! How has my sister not killed you all?!" He laughed again and the fat man shot him again, right in the forehead to less than no effect. Without ever not laughing, he walked to the man, grabbed him by the front of the shirt, and casually flung him into space. "All right," Raditz said when he finally stopped laughing and tapped on his scouter, "Where the heck are you, baby sister?" His scouter pinged when it noticed the nearest high power level. "Three hundred and twenty two? Sweet Galick, what have you been doing, _napping?!"_ He jumped with the intent to fly but couldn't repress the whoop of surprised glee as he soared up into the air. The gravity was so light here! It had to be a _tenth_ of Vegeta's! He landed and, since it was so much _fun,_ he took another big jump and laughed his head off. He landed on a rocky outcropping in a desert and dusted himself off. "Now then," he said to himself as he swept over the area with his scouter, "Where's that power level?"

"WHO DARES DISTURB MY MEDITATION?!" bellowed a deep voice from high above. Raditz looked up and cupped a hand over his eyes to see a wide-winged shadow on the sun. As the shadow descended and came more clearly into view, Raditz realize that they weren't wings at all. It was a _cape_ and the shadow was…

"A Namekian?" Raditz muttered and scratched his head as the green man touched down. "The fuck are you doing out here? Your home planet's about a billion lightyears from here!"

"What's a Namekian?" the Namekian asked. "I am Piccolo the Demon King!" Raditz laughed again. Holy shit, his sister was stranded on the funniest planet in the universe. Maybe that's why she didn't kill them all.

"D-d-demon King?!" Raditz sputtered before the Namekian snarled and punched him in the face. Raditz kept right on laughing. "No, my green friend," he finally managed to say, "What _you_ are is a slug far away from home with delusions of grandeur." He cracked his knuckles as the Namekian took a step back, "And I'm your reality check." The Namekian snarled again and charged at Raditz who blocked every attack so lazily he was worried he might fall asleep. Then the Namekian did a stupid-ass backflip and hit him in the face with some kind of blast. The Namekian looked rather pleased with himself until he saw Raditz dusting himself off and straightening his hair. "Yeah, yeah," Raditz said patronizingly, "So you can make a pretty light that makes a lot of noise. It's adorable. But if you actually wanna _kill_ someone, you've gotta put something into it!" He raised his left hand high overhead and a ball of purple energy collected into his palm while lighting ran up and down his arm. " _Let me show y–"_ he paused as his scouter pinged and he dropped his arm. "Huh," he muttered, "Three hundred thirty-four." Well, it was a _little_ better. Gods, her muscles must be _atrophied_ from this planet's soft gravity! "I'll have to kill you later, _Demon King_." Then Raditz rocketed off into the sky.

Piccolo wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and looked down at his trembling hand. He… he almost _died._ Whoever that strange man was… Come to think of it, Piccolo realized, he had a _tail._ Just like–

"Son Goku," Piccolo muttered with narrowing eyes. He had a revolting suspicion that he knew _exactly_ how today's events were going to unfold.

OoOoOoO

The patties and hot dogs sizzled as Yamcha manned the grill outside Kame house, mingled with the gentle crash of waves upon the shore. There was a picnic table set up under the shade of one of the palm trees and surf music played over the radio while Krillin sliced up lettuce, tomatoes, and a few watermelons with his katana. Turtle and Puar were setting up a volleyball net. Launch was inside the house preparing drinks and Bulma was helping. Although it sounded like awful loud and argumentative helping.

"You put the salt on _after_ you make the drink!" Bulma was insisting.

"What kinda 'genius' are you?!" Launch shot back. "Then I'd get salt _in_ the drink! You salt the glass _before!"_

Roshi, ever-helpful, was lounging in his beach chair, sipping a highball and reading a magazine.

"Good weather, good food, good company," he said as he flipped a page before taking a sip, "This was a pretty good idea, Krillin."

"Yeah," Krillin said with a nod as he wiped down his katana with a napkin. "I dunno why we didn't think of doing something like this sooner."

"We've all been busy with our lives and stuff," Yamcha reminded Krillin as he deposited the freshly-cooked barbecue onto an ever-growing platter that included more burgers and hot dogs plus ribs and chicken. One might say it was a lot of food and one would be correct. Except that Goku was coming so it only _might_ be enough. "Oh, that reminds me," Yamcha said as he dumped an entire chain of sausage links onto the grill, "That white box I put in the fridge has some cupcakes Chi-Chi made. If I don't come back with an empty box–"

"You'll be in trouble?" Krillin assumed with a laugh.

"Oh, no," Yamcha told him, " _I'll_ be fine. However, there _is_ the distinct possibility that Chi-Chi _maaaaaay_ hunt you down." Roshi and Krillin laughed… which slowly died when they realized Yamcha was being serious.

It was at this point that Launch came out of the house with a tray of drinks, Bulma shuffling behind her in something of a huff.

"So who else is comin'?" she asked as she walked around, giving drinks to Krillin, Yamcha, Puar, Turtle, and finally Bulma, smirking as she held it out of reach before handing it to the other woman who rolled her eyes and smirked right back.

"Well," Bulma started to say before taking a sip, "...damn it, that's good," she muttered with a smack of her lips before continuing, "You said Ten and Chaozu are–"

"Building a deck for the cabin," Launch reminded her. "Dunno _why,_ Ten got some kinda crazy building bug. Probably just training in disguise. Shouldn't take them more than a couple hours."

"Right," Bulma said before moving on, "And Chi-Chi is…"

"Working," Yamcha replied before flipping the entire sausage chain at once. "We can't _both_ take the day off. Kinda sucks but, y'know, that's what happens when you're basically a superhero." Bulma rolled her eyes.

"Riiiiight," she said dryly. "Suno's got work today, too, but she'll come by when she gets out, so that means the next person to show up is–"

"Look!" Puar shouted as he pointed up at the sky. Bulma was _really_ getting tired of being interrupted. "It's Goku!" Everyone turned their eyes skyward and waved excitedly as the tell-tale yellow cloud came zooming down towards them.

"Goku!" they all cheered in unison as Nimbus came to a stop right on the shore. She had… a little kid sitting in front of her on Nimbus. The kid was wearing a blue-and-yellow striped shirt, blue shorts, red sneakers, and the four star Dragon Ball was hanging from a string around his neck. His hair was a bright shade of orange, practically red.

"Hey, everyone!" Goku said with a grin as she hopped down off the cloud. She turned and picked up the kid in her arms and they all saw a tail curling out from behind the kid to wrap around Goku's wrist. "What're you all staring at?" Goku asked as the kid looked at them shyly.

"Goku…" Launch started to say with a stunned expression on her face.

"Are… are you babysitting or what?" Yamcha asked.

Bulma, it should be said, was grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" Goku asked before looking at Gohan, whom they were all pointing to. "Oh! This is Gohan! He's my son!"

Krillin nearly fainted.

"Y-y-your _son?!"_ he croaked. "But when? _HOW?!"_ Goku scratched her head and thought as she set Gohan down.

"I don't remember," she admitted with a grin. Everyone but Bulma face-faulted as Gohan saw a crab and shuffled off, distracted by the animal. "Suno knows, you'll have to ask her when she get here. I know Bulma helped, though." Then she turned to Gohan as the others picked themselves up. "Say hi to everyone, Gohan!" Gohan stopped what he was doing and turned to bow respectfully to his mama's friends.

"Hello," he said shyly before he went back to studying the crab.

"He's _adorable,_ Goku!" Launch cooed as she clapped her hands excitedly. Roshi chuckled and adjusted his sunglasses as he leaned on his cane.

"So y'named him after your grandpa," he said wistfully as he watched Gohan chase the crab. "He would've love to see this."

"Why," Yamcha said as he dug sand out of his ear and looked at Bulma, "Am I not surprised that you had something to do with this?" Bulma just kept on grinning.

"What," she asked, "You got something against true love?"

"True love," Yamcha shot back, "Or 'science'?"

"Yes." Yamcha groaned and rolled his eyes. He caught Goku heading towards the food table out of the corner of his eye and grinned. _Some_ things never changed, at least.

"Whaddaya want, Goku," he asked. "We've got burgers, franks, chicken, ribs, all kinds of stuff." Goku stared at him, then back at the table, then back at him.

"Yyyyyes?" she said slowly. Krillin laughed.

"Well at least that's norm–" he started to say when a sudden sensation shot through all of the ki sensitive people, like a jolt of electricity through their brains. Even Bulma, who was as ki sensitive as a rock, could tell something was up. "You guys feel that?" Krillin asked nervously.

"Yeah," Goku said with a nod as she glared up at the sky, "Something's coming!" This power was _huge._ It was unlike anything she'd ever felt! "Gohan," she called sternly, "Get over here!" Gohan scampered over to Goku and instinctively hid behind his mama's leg.

"What is it?" Yamcha added as the fighters gathered together with Goku at their center, spatula still in his hand as they searched the sky.

"Whatever it is," Roshi muttered, "It's bad." He was reminded of his sister's fortune.

' _I don't know_ how _they'll be prepared in time.'_

The seconds dragged by agonizingly as they waited for something… anything. Then suddenly there he was, a man in strange armor with enormous hair. He sneered at them in contempt with his arm folded across his chest and the water spraying behind him when he came to a sudden stop. Goku stared at him in shock. He was _so fast!_ Where had he come from? Then her eyes drifted downward and she noticed… a _tail?_

"Hello," the man said as his gaze fixed on Goku, "Kakarot." Goku took a step back as he walked towards them and got into a guarded stance with Gohan safely behind her.

"Why did you call me that?" she asked. "My name's Goku."

"No," the man insisted as he came closer, "It's Kakarot. I would know. I'm your big brother, Raditz." The others stared at him in open-mouthed shock. "It's good to finally meet you, little sister."

"Wait," Goku interrupted, "If you're my brother, why haven't I seen you before?"

"Because I haven't been here before," Raditz explained. "I'm not from this planet. Neither are you. We're members of a race called Saiyans." The others gasped, except for Bulma.

"I coulda told you that," she muttered. Goku didn't know what that meant but she wasn't really paying attention to her. She watched Raditz's eyes find Gohan and her whole body tensed up as her son tried to hide even more.

"Is that your son?" Raditz asked as his eyes lit up. "Am I an uncle?!" He grinned for a moment before his face turned deadly serious and he pounded one fist into the other palm. "Show me where the father is so I can rip him in half."

"I'm not Gohan's mother," Goku explained. Raditz's brows furrowed in frustration.

"Don't lie to me, Kakarot, I can see his tail! Are you _ashamed_ of your son?"

"Stop calling me Kakarot!" Goku said sharply. Why did he keep calling her that? "My name is Goku! Besides, Gohan's my son but I didn't have him. Suno did." Raditz blinked.

"Is Suno a woman?"

"Yup!" Goku said with sudden cheerfulness. "She's my wife."

"Huh," Raditz said before shrugging, "All righty."

"That's all you have to say?!" Bulma asked, sounding offended for some reason.

"Back on Planet Vegeta," Raditz explained, "It was common for pairings to be made based on strength or mutual attraction. Biological compatibility wasn't super important. That's why we had birthing chamber technology, after all." Then he put a finger to that funny device on his ear. "Hold on a second," he said while holding up a finger on the other hand. "Hey, Vegeta," he said suddenly, although it didn't look like he was talking to any of them, "There's a slight snag with your plan." Then a voice came out of Raditz's device; the angriest voice Goku had ever heard.

"What is it?" the angry voice demanded.

"My sister's more masculine than you," Raditz said with a grin.

"WHAT?!"

"She's impregnated someone. You haven't."

"I WILL RIP THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES, YOU INSOLENT CUR!" Raditz laughed and pushed a button, apparently hanging up on Vegeta.

"Who's Vegeta?" Goku asked.

"I thought that was the planet," Launch added.

"It's both. You'll find out soon enough," Raditz said sourly. He didn't seem to like Vegeta, whoever he was. "Short version: A fucking dickhead."

"Hey!" Krillin barked. "Watch the language around the kid!" Raditz held up his hands apologetically.

"You're right," he admitted, "My mistake." Then something flicked out as quick as a flash, cracking like a whip as it struck Krillin on the chin, sending him flying through Kame House to skip across the water like a stone. "How's that for fuckin' language?!" It was only when Goku saw Raditz's tail wrap back around his waist that she realized he'd hit Krillin with it. She hadn't even _seen_ the attack!

"Raditz!" Goku snapped as she advanced towards him while Yamcha flew off to get Krillin. "I don't know _why_ you're here but you need to leave, now!" Brother or not, he was being a real jerk!

"I don't understand," Raditz said with a shake of his head, "None of this makes sense! Why are these people alive? Why don't you know your mission? Why don't you know _your name?!"_

"My name is _Goku!"_ she said stubbornly. "What mission? What are you talking about?"

"When you were put into the pod that brought you to this planet," Raditz explained, "There should have been a message played over and over, telling you who and what you were and what your mission was. You were supposed to wipe out every life form on this planet."

"What?!" Goku cried in horror. That was _awful!_ How could she ever do something like that?!

"It's not that big a deal," Raditz said casually. "I've killed a few planets. It's what we do. We kill a planet's people and then that planet is sold to someone else." His frustration returned as he glared at her, "I just don't get it! _How_ could you not remember? Were you hit on the head or something?" Goku chewed her lip in thought. _Had_ she? She had a fuzzy memory from when she was very little of falling a long way down.

"Come to think of it," Roshi spoke up suddenly, "When Gohan sent me his first few letters about you, he mentioned how much of an ornery fussbudget you were. Then one day you took a bad spill in a ravine and hit your head. When you woke up, you were as gentle as a lamb." Something about that really seemed to bother Raditz.

"I can't believe it," he spat. "This planet's entire population owes its existence to your soft head." He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Fine, here's why I'm here. We are two of the only Saiyans left in the universe after someone destroyed our planet. I have two associates and I need you to come with me. We need you to help pay back the one who destroyed our race." Goku frowned. That sounded important, but...

"Your friends," she said thoughtfully, "Do they kill people, too?"

"Oh yeah," Raditz said flippantly. "Nappa's killed a few hundred million and Vegeta? He _has_ to have cracked a billion by now." Goku glowered and balled up her fists. How could she be the same race as such _awful_ people?

"Then I don't want anything to do with you or them!" she declared resolutely. For half a second, Raditz looked genuinely sad. Then he sighed and something hit Goku hard enough to knock her to the ground. She gasped with pain and held a hand to her chest. Even Piccolo didn't hit this hard!

"Mama!" Gohan cried out in distress as he ran to be at her side. Raditz snatched him up by the nape of his neck and hauled him up into the air while Gohan kicked and flailed and cried and screamed.

"I'll give you twenty-four hours," he told her bluntly. "Kill one hundred people or come with me. If you won't do either, I'll wipe out this planet and take Gohan with me instead."

"Give me back my son!" Goku insisted painfully as she tried to sit up. "Give him back..." she repeated weakly as she fell back into the sand.

"Twenty-four hours," Raditz repeated coldly. "In the meantime, I think little Gohan here needs to bond with Uncle Raditz." Then he rocketed off into the sky as Gohan screamed.

"Gohan!" Goku cried in despair. But he was already gone. She slammed her fists angrily down into the sand before the others moved to help her up. How could she let this happen to her son?

"Are you alright?" Yamcha asked as he and Bulma hauled Goku up to her feet.

"I'll be fine," Goku insisted with a wince before looking skyward. "Nimbus!" The cloud flew back down and Krillin put a hand on Goku's arm.

"Are you sure you wanna fight him by yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah," Launch added, "I'll call Ten and Chaozu, get them over here. I bet the six of us–"

"Will die," came a stern voice from above. They all looked up to see Piccolo descending towards them.

"Great," Bulma muttered, "From bad to worse."

"I've seen this Raditz," Piccolo said as he landed and walked towards them. "Your five stupid friends will die without so much as scratching his armor. The only chance you have…" Piccolo paused and seemed visibly disgusted with what he said next, "Is to work with me."

"Fine," Goku said firmly. "Whatever it takes."

"WHAT?!" the others cried out in unison.

"He's right," Goku was forced to admit. "The only way I can save my son is to work with Piccolo." She turned to Bulma and held out her hand, "Give me the Dragon Radar. I can use it to find him." Bulma nodded and handed Goku the Radar from her shaking hands. Then she turned away from her friends and climbed onto Nimbus. She glowered at him and he glowered right back, the both of them flying off.

"Can they win?" Launch asked as the group watched them leave.

"They'd better," Roshi muttered. "We can't."


	47. A Sacrifice is Made!

Chapter Forty-seven

An Unlikely Alliance! A Sacrifice is Made!

"Goku," Piccolo said as the two enemies flew side-by-side on their way to confront Raditz, "Tell me you have _some_ kind of plan."

"I do," Goku assured him while she kept her eyes on the Dragon Radar. "If Raditz is anything like me, his weak point is his tail. If I grab it, he'll lose all his strength."

"And then we'll kill him," Piccolo said with grim satisfaction and an unpleasant smile.

"Only if we have to," Goku insisted. "If he promises to leave then I'll let him." Piccolo scoffed.

"I heard this Raditz talk about his countless murders across numerous worlds," Piccolo reminded her. "Is Raditz any less of a monster than my father? Or is it different because he is _your_ blood and not mine?" Goku thought and chewed her bottom lip in silence as they flew on.

OoOoOoO

Raditz dumped Gohan in his Space Pod and slammed the door shut to silence his squalling. They'd flown for over _ten minutes_ and the brat never shut up!

"Thank the gods for noise-cancelling technology," Raditz muttered as he walked away from the crater. His scouter pinged and he spun around to face the pod where he had left Gohan. "Seven hundred ninety-one?!" he gasped in shock. "Th-this thing's gotta have a bug in it!" That was the only thing that made sense! How could a _toddler_ have a higher power level than his own mother? Raditz sighed and leaned against a tree while he thought about Kakarot. "Speaking of things that don't make sense," he muttered while taking stock of all the things he had thought or noticed during their meeting.

He definitely hadn't expected her to look like _father._ Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her tail, either, so she couldn't transform into an Oozaru anymore. Which made her completely _useless_ on the battlefield with her power level. Not that he was bringing her back to Vegeta for her usefulness in _battle,_ he reminded himself with a shudder of revulsion and self-loathing. Worse than that was what had happened to her head. His sister practically had _brain damage!_ The worst thing of all, though, was that she was so godsdamned _stubborn!_ Why did she keep denying her true name? Her heritage? Her _family?!_ These creatures may have _looked_ like her but they weren't her. She would always be different to them. A freak in comparison. Why wouldn't she understand that? Why… why didn't she want to come home? He hadn't been able to bring himself to really hurt her. That was why he'd struck her with his palm instead of his fist, after all. Raditz's scouter pinged again to notify him that Kakarot and the Namekian's power levels were coming closer.

' _That doesn't make any sense,'_ Raditz thought. ' _How would they know where to find me?'_ The scouter was definitely broken, useless piece of PTO shit. He'd heard that there were some species that could sense Battle Powers without the aid of technology. After this mess was finished, one way or the other, he'd start looking into that. Anything that meant he didn't have to rely on Freeza's technology was good and, if he didn't have to talk to Vegeta, even better. He looked up into the sky and saw his sister riding a… yellow cloud with the Namekian flying next to her. Could… could Kakarot _not fly?! 'More importantly,'_ Raditz thought, ' _The scouter isn't broken. So the kid's power level really_ is _that high!'_

OoOoOoO

Goku hopped down off Nimbus and landed in a three-point stance that left a small impact crater in the open field while Piccolo floated down slowly to stand beside her, barely disturbing a blade of grass.

"So," Raditz said as he pushed himself off the tree he was leaning against and made his way towards them, "Guess you've made up your mind." Then he looked over at Piccolo and smirked. "Ooooh," he cooed with mock-astonishment, "And you brought _the Demon King!_ Now I'm in trouble!" He laughed as Piccolo balled his fists in anger.

"Where's my son, Raditz?" Goku demanded. "What have you done with him?" Raditz jerked a thumb over his left shoulder.

"He's in my Space Pod," he told her, "And I haven't done anything to him, Gohan's fine. I'm not a _monster,_ little sister."

"You said you've killed millions of people!"

"Nobody I _knew."_

"That's not the point!"

"Enough of this chatter!" Piccolo snapped. "We're here to fight so let's do it already." He tossed his turban aside and it slammed down into the dirt with a heavy _thunk._ Goku nodded and started taking off her weighted clothes as well while Raditz looked _very_ confused.

"Hey, Piccolo," Goku said as she pulled off her weighted undershirt, "I gotta ask you something."

"What?" Piccolo replied as he pulled off his cape.

"It's about your weighted clothes," Goku went on as she did a few stretches. "They don't make sense. You've got all the weight bunched up on your neck and shoulders so it's not evenly distributed. What about your arms or legs? Why don't you weight your shoes?"

"What," Piccolo asked as he cracked his neck and his knuckles, "Are shoes?"

"Those things on your feet!" Goku told him while pointing at his brown moccasins. How could he not know what shoes were? He was wearing them, wasn't he? Piccolo looked down at his feet and wiggled them before looking back up at Goku.

"These _are_ my feet!" Piccolo exclaimed, sounding almost offended. Goku stared down at his feet curiously. They _were?!_ She supposed it would have been a weird coincidence for Kami, Piccolo Daimaou, and Piccolo to all have the same shoes. Where _did_ he get his clothes from, anyway?

"Are you two done?" Raditz asked. Goku and Piccolo got into their stances and Raditz sighed. "This is your last chance, Kakarot," he said softly. "Nothing's happened yet. I can let Gohan go. Just come with me, I won't even kill anyone. These people… you don't belong with them! You're not like them, can't you feel it? When they're _scared_ of something dangerous and you're _excited_ by it? That's your Saiyan heart pumping with battlelust! When you get lost in the thrill of fighting, that's the blood of a warrior race coursing through your veins! They're soft! They're weak! They're _afraid_ of you! You belong with your race. You belong out in the stars. You belong with me…" his voice was so quiet it was almost pleading. It _was_ pleading. Goku could see the moisture in his eyes and for half a heartbeat her stance faltered. Then she reminded herself of _what_ he was, what sort of _people_ he was friends with, what he had wanted her to do.

"Raditz," she said coldly, "My place is here on Earth. My family is my wife, my son, and my friends. My name is Son Goku." Raditz's hands balled into fists and he chewed his bottom lip.

"Don't make me do this," he begged. Goku balled her fists and glowered at him.

OoOoOoO

Raditz's heart broke. She was really going to make him do this. All he'd wanted was to see his sister for the first time! All he'd wanted was to pull his family back together. Even if he was bringing her to Vegeta so that he could breed her, it was just… why couldn't she understand? Why were these useless fucking humans so important to her? WHY?!

Then Raditz closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his heart back together. She wanted to die for this shitball planet? _Fine._ She'd die on her feet, in battle, fighting to the bitter end. It wouldn't be a _long_ battle but she'd die like a Saiyan. He opened his eyes and let out a quick sigh as he got into his stance.

' _At least I can give her this much,'_ he thought as Kakarot and the Namekian charged him. Even if taking off their weighted clothes had raised their power levels, which was _really_ weird by the way, they still didn't come up to his own power. "You oughta know," Raditz told them as he effortlessly blocked their attacks, "That even if by some miracle you _do_ kill me, Nappa and Vegeta are _way_ stronger than me." He smashed a clubbing blow into the Namekian's stomach and drove his palm up under Kakarot's chin to send her careening into the sky. The Namekian rebounded and attempted to attack Raditz from behind but Raditz was already behind _him_ in the time it took the Namekian to prepare his strike and hit him with a spinning kick that sent the Namekian flying, colliding with Kakarot when she dropped out of the sky. Raditz couldn't help but laugh at that.

The pair picked themselves up and attacked again, this time coming from opposite sides to try and trap him in a pincer. It might have actually _done_ something if they weren't so ridiculously _slow._ He smashed them under the jaws with uppercuts and focused on the Namekian, hammering with with vicious blows before kneeing him a good three hundred feet into the ground. Then he turned his attention back to Kakarot, who let out a battle cry as she charged him and attacked with all she was worth. It was then that Raditz realized that what Kakarot was worth… wasn't much at all. She was stupid. She was stubborn. Worst of all… she was _weak,_ in body and spirit _._ He batted aside her attacks effortlessly and grabbed her by the front of her shirt in disgust.

"You shame our entire race, Kakarot!" Raditz spat before smashing her in the face with a headbutt. "You're slow! You're weak! And your _heart! Is! Soft!"_ He headbutted her over and over, letting go of Kakarot's shirt on the word "soft" to send her flying away, a trail of blood leaking from her nose and flying behind her. The Namekian burst from the ground directly behind Raditz and he drove a kick back into his chest without even turning to look before he reached up and grabbed him by the face, contemptuously flinging him into Kakarot as she was picking herself up. Raditz threw forth his hands in a rage, sending blasts of pink-purple energy at the two of them. They dove out of the way to avoid the blasts and while Kakarot landed lightly on her feet, Raditz saw that the Namekian hadn't _quite_ cleared it. He watched the Namekian stare at the stump of his right arm in horror and laughed his head off. "Ha! Some mighty Demon King you are!" he shouted derisively before laughing again.

OoOoOoO

Suno's smile was becoming strained as she went over the multiplication tables with her class. She had felt an ungodly amount of ki arrive and go out of her range at an impossible speed towards what she thought was the wastelands. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that but, when it turned up later with Gohan's ki, it took every ounce of her self-control to not break through the wall and go after it.

When she sensed Goku's ki, she relaxed a bit but not by much. That _thing's_ ki was far greater than anything she had ever felt before and was far greater than Goku's was. The fact that she sensed what was likely Piccolo with Goku only made things more complicated as she wasn't sure whether to be thankful or even more nervous.

By the time she managed to get out of her class, the fight was well underway. As she sped towards the battle ground in her car, she began to quickly strip down and remove her own weighted clothing- a wedding gift she had received from Kami- before capsuling her car and sprinting at full speed. She wasn't sure how much she could help given what they were facing but she'd be damned if she was going to let her wife fight for their son with only her arch-nemesis as help.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo grit his teeth and balled his one remaining fist as he glowered at Raditz. The long-haired buffoon would _pay_ for this indignity!

' _Goku–'_ he started to say telepathically before he was cut off by…

' _Piccolo!'_ her voice was _in his mind!_

' _Wait,'_ they thought in unison, ' _You can talk telepathically?! How?! I don't know, I just_ could _one day! ...Huh.'_

' _Anyway,'_ Goku pressed on, ' _Are you okay?'_

' _Don't worry,'_ Piccolo assured her, ' _I can fight just fine with one arm. Although if you've developed any secret techniques in the last four years, now would be the time to use them.'_

' _Eh heh heh,'_ Goku chuckled nervously, ' _Sorry, not really.'_ Piccolo mentally scoffed.

' _Of_ course _. Peace has made you weak. Fortunately_ I _haven't been slacking off and I_ do _have a technique, which I can still thankfully do with one arm. I was hoping to use it to kill you.'_

There was an awkward silence.

' _What do you need me to do?'_

' _I need a minute to charge. Can you manage that?'_ Goku grinned.

"No problem," she said aloud before breaking into a sprint and charging Raditz. Raditz sneered at her and Goku quickly realized that this _was_ a problem. A _big_ problem. She was fighting as hard and as fast as she could, using every technique and strike she'd learned in her whole life but Raditz was just too fast! He caught every attack and hit too fast for her to even try to deflect. As she was getting her butt kicked, though, Goku got an idea. If Raditz was like her, then he had really strong senses too. Which meant that she could…

"Taiyoken!" she cried as she thrust her hands up in front of her face and blasted Raditz in the face with blinding light. Raditz screamed and clutched at his face which gave Goku enough of a breather to leap high into the air. "Gotta make this count!" she told herself as she cupped her hands at her sides. "Kaaaa meeee…"

Raditz managed to blink the spots out of his eyes and see but everything was still fuzzy. He saw his sister high above him and… was she doing a Galick Gun?!

"Haaaa meeee…" Raditz's scouter pinged and the numbers scrolled up and up. Her power level was rising! His scouter pinged again and he looked over his shoulder to see the Namekian with two fingers held out, veins pulsing all over his body and covered in sweat. He was doing… _something,_ but _his_ power level was rising, too! It was over a thousand! This made no fucking sense! "Haaaa!" Raditz spun around to see a blue-white blast rushing towards him and hopped away from it with a smirk before it suddenly started _following him._ Raditz broke into a run to try and escape his sister's attack but it was right behind him.

"Okay," he growled as he turned to face the blast, "That's enough!" He threw out one hand and grabbed it by the wrist in his other hand, planting his feet to brace himself as he was hit dead-on. When the smoke cleared he was panting and his hand burned painfully but he was otherwise unharmed.

"N-no way!" Goku gasped as she floated in the air. He'd just shrugged off her Kamehameha! Raditz shook his hand before rearing back and lobbing a ball of energy up at Goku, hitting her dead on and knocking her out of the sky. It was then that Piccolo chose to strike.

"Raditz!" he crowed triumphantly. "Take this with you to Hell!" He thrust his arm out and grinned. "Makankousappou!" A beam of yellow light shot out of his fingertips, surrounded by a yellow-purple spiral that drilled its way towards Raditz. He only had time to stare at it in shock before the blast rocketed towards him and made contact, causing a massive explosion before the beam kept going, crashing into a mountain range in the distance and made an even larger explosions. Piccolo allowed himself a satisfied grin… before he realized that he could still sense _an enormous power level._ "N-no," Piccolo murmured in horror, "How? HOW?!"

"I'll tell you how," Raditz said as he walked out of the smoke, "Your aim sucks." His left shoulder was badly burned and there was a chunk missing from the pad over it but Raditz was otherwise unharmed. As Raditz advanced towards him, Piccolo felt unbridled terror. He _knew_ that he was about to die and he was powerless to stop it. "Now," Raditz continued, "As I said when we met, if you wanna _kill_ someone when you use a blast, you've gotta put something into it." He raised his left arm and a ball of purple light gathered in his hand, electricity crackling up and down from his wrist to his shoulder, "Like thi–" he stopped suddenly and the light faded. His whole body was wracked with unimaginable pain as something sucked the strength right out of his body and made him crumple to his knees. He was gasping for breath and whimpering when he heard… _laughter._ Raditz looked back over his shoulder and saw–

"Gotcha!" Goku declared with a grin and laughed as she squeezed tightly on his tail. She was bruised, she was bloodied, and she was _definitely_ going to need a senzu after this one but she had him! She had him and there was no way she was going to let go! "I remember when I was a kid, how much it would hurt when someone grabbed my tail!" She gripped it as hard as she could and gave his tail a twist. Raditz howled in pain and fell onto his hands and knees. "That's what you get for not training hard enough!" Then she turned to Piccolo while holding her brother's tail in an iron grip. "Piccolo! Do you think you can do that… beam thingy again?" Piccolo cackled and brought his fingertips to his forehead again.

"It would be my pleasure," he said with the slightest bow. Raditz's eyes went wide with panic. He was about to _die._ Unless… unless he did something no Saiyan would ever do.

"Kakarot," he pleaded, "W-wait! You're not going to let him _kill me,_ are you?! I'm your brother! I'm your blood!" Goku glowered at him and squeezed on his tail.

"You kidnapped my son! You tried to kill me! You said you'd kill everyone on Earth!"

"I was bluffing!" Raditz gasped desperately and tried to focus through the pain. "I-I just wanted you to come with me! I would have done or said anything! Gohan's fine, I swear! I never would have killed my own family!" That gave Goku a second's pause. If _he_ was never going to kill Gohan and she thought he was a monster, what did that make her for being okay with killing him?

"Do you promise to leave this planet and never come back?" she asked while she never loosened her grip. Piccolo's eyes bugged out of his head. She wouldn't be so stupid! She couldn't!

"I swear!" Raditz promised. "I'll leave this planet and never come back! You'll never see me again!" Goku's fingers slowly let go of Raditz and his face of pain and terror instantly flashed into one of wicked glee as he shot up and smashed his elbow into her face. Goku cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. Raditz was on her in an instant, stomping on her chest over and over. "You idiot!" he roared while laughing at her. "You stupid, soft, fucking idiot!" Goku screamed and writhed as Raditz slammed his foot down on her chest. "Come on, Kakarot!" he screamed at her. "Let's hear _you_ beg! Beg for your life! Beg for your son! Beg for this planet! Why wouldn't you listen?! WHY?! WHY?!" Even though his face was twisted in fury and he was grinning malevolently, tears streamed down Raditz's face. "Beg, godsdamnit! Beg!" Goku shrieked and screamed and coughed up blood, but she never begged. ' _Heh,'_ Raditz thought with just the smallest hint of pride, ' _Stubborn like our mother.'_

Then, something happened. Goku and Piccolo felt an enormous power growing and growing, full of fury, while Raditz's scouter pinged as a number rose higher and higher. They all turned and stared… at the crater the Battle Pod was in.

OoOoOoO

Gohan could hear his mom screaming. He had been listening the whole time, crying and scared because mama was in trouble. He could hear that jerk with the big hair screaming at her. He was hurting her. _He was hurting mama._ Something inside snapped and suddenly Gohan wasn't scared anymore. Instead, he was angry. He was _so angry…_ his body was flooded with energy. For the first time, he felt strong. So strong that he could make that jerk _stop hurting mama!_ Gohan screamed with fury and punched through the pod he'd been locked in like it was made of paper, tearing it to shreds. The jerk looked at him like he was scared. _Good._

"Leave my mama alooooone!" Gohan screamed and he jumped, launching himself at the jerk like a bullet, his whole body glowing as he smashed into his armor. Then Gohan fell down and sat beside mama and the anger was gone. He felt… dizzy. Confused. What just happened?

OoOoOoO

"G-Gohan?" Goku stammered as she looked at her son. ' _What just happened?'_ she thought in disbelief. When did Gohan get so strong? She was half-proud and half-terrified because now Gohan was out and Raditz had been staggered but was still standing.

"M-mama?" Gohan asked with a sniffle before he started crawling over to her.

"Run, Gohan!" Goku urged as she struggled to sit up. "Run! Get away! Get out of here!" But Raditz was already on top of them.

When Gohan had hit Raditz, it had been almost as painful as it was shocking. What just happened?! Where had the brat managed to find that kind of power?! It was insane! He was barely a pup and he was already almost as strong as Raditz. As he ran a hand over his cracked armor and felt a rib move, however, Raditz decided that it was definitely more painful. And _infuriating._ He growled as he stalked towards them again.

"Where'd you get that power from, you little shit?" Raditz demanded as he towered over Gohan, his scouter already telling him that his power had dropped. "Where'd it go?"

"Wh-what?" Gohan blubbed out in terror. "What power?" Raditz snarled and kicked Gohan hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling with a cry of pain.

"Gohan!" Goku shrieked in panic. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening!

"You managed to crack my armor, kid," Raditz said as he stood over Goha and raised his hand high. "You might have this weak race's blood muddying you but you're a Saiyan, all right. So you'll die like one." Everything moved in slow motion. Goku was in so much pain that she couldn't move. All her ribs were broken, she _definitely_ had internal bleeding. None of that mattered. Raditz was going to kill her son. He was going to kill her little boy and she wasn't going to be able to do _anything!_ Then, however, Goku knew exactly what she had to do. With whatever strength was left in her body, she lunged to her feet and grabbed Raditz in a Full Nelson, holding him in a death grip. "Wh-what?!" Raditz exclaimed in disbelief, "How did you–"

"Piccolo!" Goku exclaimed. "Now! Do it!" Piccolo gathered his power as Raditz's eyes widened with horror and he struggled feverishly.

"K-Kakarot," he stammered in fear, "You have to be joking! Think this through, damn it! There's no way for you to survive this! If I get hit, we're _both_ going to die!" Goku's grip only got tighter as she clenched her jaw shut. "Kakarot! Th-this is crazy! Kakarot! Kakarot!"

"Makankousappou!" Piccolo roared again. The beam flew true this time and punched right through Raditz's heart… and Goku's.

' _Suno,'_ Goku thought just before she was hit, ' _I'm sorry.'_

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan let a bundle of logs slip from his numb fingers. That ki that disappeared. That… that couldn't be. He and Chaozu rocketed off towards the other powers they had felt around hers.

OoOoOoO

"Goku…" Yamcha whispered. No, it couldn't be! Goku… Goku didn't die! Bulma grabbed onto his arms fiercely and looked up at him. Even without the ability to sense ki, she could tell something was wrong.

"Let's go," she demanded. Yamcha nodded and he scooped Bulma up into his arms, flying off with Launch, Krillin, Puar and Roshi following.

' _Please let this not be what I think it is,'_ Krillin thought desperately. ' _Please, God, please!'_

OoOoOoO

Suno cursed as she felt Goku's ki drop and took off flying- energy consumption be damned. The other, larger ki was also dropping, which was good, and Gohan's ki was stable. She made herself relax even as she pushed herself to go even faster. This was far from the first time Goku's ki had dropped like this so she'd be fine just like all of those other time. Everything would be fine. Right?

OoOoOoO

Piccolo looked down at Raditz as he wheezed out his dying breaths, blood gushing out of the wound with every gasp. He was reaching feebly for his sister, which struck Piccolo as more than a little strange.

"Why?" he struggled to say. "Why? Why would she… kill herself? Now we're both dead!" Piccolo smirked down at him.

"I don't think so," he told the dying man with satisfied arrogance. "We have these things called Dragon Balls, seven orbs that when gathered together can grant any wish. Her stupid friends will bring her back to life." Then, despite the unimaginable pain he must have been in, Raditz smiled and started to laugh through bloodstained teeth. "What's so funny?" Piccolo demanded.

"Y-you're fucked, that's what," Raditz chuckled. "My scouter's also a communicator. My allies heard all of that. Now they'll be here within the year. You'll die! You'll all die!" Raditz laughed and died with a smile on his face. Piccolo sneered down at him and kicked his corpse in frustration. Then he heard Goku's friends arrive and watched them scramble towards her. _Pathetic._

"G-Goku!" Krillin sobbed with tears streaming down his cheeks as he fell to his knees beside her and took her hand in his. "Goku! Say something!" Goku coughed out a mouthful of blood.

"H-hey guys," she wheezed painfully with one eye squeezed shut, "Is… is Gohan okay?" Bulma had the toddler bundled up in her arms. He was unconscious but otherwise unharmed.

"He's fine," Bulma assured her, "And you're going to be, too!" She denied everything science and logic told her about the fact that Goku had a giant, gaping, bleeding hole in her chest and that they had no senzu beans or any other ways to revive or heal her, her friend _was not going to die!_

"Just hold on," Yamcha insisted. "I can head to Korin Tower! I'll be back in no time!" Goku gave a weak laugh and shook her head while keeping her eyes on Gohan.

"I was so proud of him," she said softly, barely a whisper. "Take care of him for me, guys. Help Suno."

"Goku…" Roshi whimpered as Goku slowly closed her eyes. His daughter was dying right in front of him. She smiled and went limp.

Son Goku was dead.

"Goku?" a distant voice said from behind the others. Everyone turned and parted as Suno slowly made her way to Goku's body. "Goku? You're okay, right? This- This is just like that time with Tao or Piccolo Daimaou, right?" The others looked away as Suno knelt down next to Goku's corpse; a far off, haunted look in her eyes brimming with tears. "C-Come on, Goku, th-this isn't a good place to be sleeping." Suno knew the truth- how could she not- but she wouldn't accept it. "I-It's almost lunchtime, you know? I-I-I'm going to make all of your favorites."

Suno timidly reached out as her tears started flowing freely. She cupped her beloved wife's cheek and started to gently stroke it with her thumb. "G-Goku, I… We… Let's… Goku, you…." Suno's walls of denial and rejection began crumbling to the weight of the truth that faced her. Her self-control finally shattered as she closed her eyes and wailed, leaning over Goku's body. The sound of her heartbroken cry was the only thing anyone could hear and broke the remains of what little self-control the others had. Even Piccolo, though he loathe to admit it, couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

Piccolo scowled and looked down at the stump of his arm. He grunted and a fully-formed arm burst from the stump, drenched in green fluids. He flexed the fingers and walked over to Bulma as they watched Goku's body disappear.

"Wh-what?" Launch gawked. "How did she… where did she go?!"

"I'm sure it was Kami," Piccolo said with a knowing smirk. "The old fool must have a plan." Then he turned his attention to Bulma. "The child," he demanded with an outstretched hand, "I need him. He has great power and he has to be trained. There are more Saiyans coming in one year's time, stronger than Raditz. We will need his strength."

"Wait," Suno said, her voice utterly lifeless as she stared at the spot Goku had been. "Please don't take my son. He's all I-"

"You fool," Piccolo spat. "You've used the balls how many times and you're left like this? How pathetic. If you want to stop me then feel free to try but you'll just end up making the boy an orphan. We need his power and I'm the only one who can properly train him." With that, Piccolo took Gohan from Bulma and flew off.

"S-Suno, aren't you-" Krillin started.

"No," Suno interrupted. "I can't do anything to stop Piccolo. I'm too weak, just like I've always been. I can't-" Suno let out a deep sigh as she stood up. Her eyes were no longer lifeless but the joy that had always been in them was gone. "All I can do is pray he'll be alright."

"What do we do now?" Yamcha asked.

"First we gather the Dragon Balls so we can bring Goku back. Then," Suno turned towards the direction of Korin's Tower as her eyes burned with anger, "Then we go to God."

* * *

SSV/N: Yeah, sorry guys. Raditz is dead. I had considered keeping him alive, but that would mess too much with the canon, which this story was meant to stick to (more or less). However, if you're looking for something off the beaten path, check out my new story, "Three Eyed Turtle and the Murderous Monkey"! It's already going off in its own direction, and I promise Raditz won't die. When he comes to Earth. *Sinister cackle*

Z/N: Hey guys! Zelenal here with some exciting news! I've finally gotten one of my original works published so, if you're interested in seeing that, just go over to Amazon's homepage and add this to the end of the url: /Malcolm-Floyd/e/B01GTLUN3W/


	48. The Saiyans Approach!

Chapter Forty-eight

The Saiyans Approach! Goku meets a Greater God!

"So," Nappa said as he watched while Vegeta wrestled with one of the amphibiods of Zeron-4, "We're using this 'wish' to bring Raditz back to life, right?" Vegeta grabbed the amphibiod's shoulder in his teeth and yanked the arm violently from its socket with an unsettling "squelch!" Then he beat the creature to death with its own arm.

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Vegeta asked with a face covered in yellow blood. "Unlimited power at our disposal and you would _waste_ it on _him?"_ He scoffed and tore chunks from the amphibioid's arm and chewed furiously before swallowing them down. "He was weak," Vegeta declared with a full mouth. "Anyone who could be killed by beings so weak _deserves_ the grave." He wiped his mouth but seemed unaffected by the blood on his face. "I have far grander plans, Nappa. How do you fancy immortality?" Nappa stroked his thin mustache thoughtfully.

"Immortality?" he mused. To live forever. Never grow older, never die. Vegeta nodded as he ate more arm.

"Yes," Vegeta said. "Picture it!" He gestured dramatically with one hand as he spoke, "A Saiyan Empire that stretches on throughout eternity! Think of it, Nappa! Not even Freeza could stand against us!" Of course by "us", Vegeta had truly meant himself. "We would become invincible! We would become… Super Saiyans!" He smirked and tossed the hand and bones, all that remained of the arm he'd been eating, to land in the swamp. "Unless your heart is set on bringing Raditz back, of course." Nappa scoffed and already started walking towards his Space Pod.

"Who needs him?" Nappa asked with a laugh. Vegeta laughed and climbed into his pod as well. "To Earth!"

"To Earth," Vegeta agreed as their Space Pods rocketed away, "And to immortality!"

OoOoOoO

Goku was surprised to find out that she'd woken up. She didn't think that you woke up from death. She was standing at the end of two _huge_ lines of puffy little clouds. Super huge! They just seemed to go on forever and ever, with more hundreds of thousands of puffballs. Maybe _millions!_

"Don't look at it for too long," said a very familiar voice beside her. "You're staring at every dead soul in the entire universe. Your mind simply isn't meant to comprehend numbers this large. The one on the left is Limbo while the other leads to King Enma." Goku turned and couldn't stop herself from smiling when she saw Kami!

"Master Kami!" she cried excitedly as she threw her arms around him in a hug. "It's good to see you! But what are you doing here? Where _is_ here?" Kami returned the hug somewhat awkwardly and gave Goku a pat on the shoulder so she'd release him.

"This is the Otherworld," Kami explained, "Or at least a fraction of it, where souls get sorted between Heaven and Hell. I brought your body here so that you could receive training from the Northern Kaiou."

"Oh, that guy you always shout about," Goku said as she and Kami walked. "Who the heck _is_ he?"

"The Northern Kaiou is a powerful deity and a great warrior who has trained warriors for eons, creating techniques such as the Kaiouken and the Genki Dama," Goku's smile grew wider and wider from the word _warrior_ onward. "He will train you to be strong enough to battle the Saiyans. First, however, I have to convince King Enma to let you through."

"How hard could that be?" Goku asked.

Goku had noticed that the line to "Limbo" just seemed to be going to a bathroom. Unlike the other line, it never moved. Goku stared up at the big red man with a beard in a purple suit in shock. He was _huge!_ His desk was bigger than Bulma's house!

"Hello up there!" Kami called, using ki to project his voice. "King Enma! I request permission for a soul to train with the Northern Kaiou!"

"WHAT?!" Bellowed the voice from high above. Enma's voice was deep but he didn't _sound_ mean or anything. He kind of sounded like Bulma when she was super-busy. "THE NORTHERN KAIOU? THAT'S A TALL ORDER! WHO'S SO SPECIAL?"

"Son Goku!" Goku called up, introducing herself before Kami could.

"SON GOKU?" Enma repeated. There was the sound of papers flipping and Enma muttered several "doot-doos" and "pah-pahs" as he flipped and the heavy thud of his fingers strumming on the table. "YOU CERTAINLY HAVE DONE A LOT OF GOOD DEEDS IN YOUR LIFE, GOKU," Enma mentioned. "ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO JUST GO TO HEAVEN?"

"Nah," Goku said, "I've gotta get stronger so I can go back to Earth!"

"ALL RIGHT," Enma said, "HAVE IT YOUR WAY. OFF Y'GO!" An ogre in a suit and tie appeared next to Goku suddenly.

"Right this way," he said in a nasally voice as he led Goku down a hallway and into a car. Kami found himself musing on the fact that he hadn't seen Raditz's soul in the line for Limbo. It was quite curious, he supposed. Perhaps it meant that his other half was not so terrible anymore.

"DON'T YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE?" Enma asked and snapped Kami out of his thoughts

"Oh, yes! I'll be off then," Kami said. "Can't have them wishing her back too soon." He tapped his cane twice on the ground and disappeared off to the living world again.

"GOODBYE TO YOU TOO, JERK!" Enma grumbled indignantly. "HONESTLY, THAT'S JUST PLAIN RUDE. HE OUGHT TO BE NICER TO ME. SEE IF I DON'T SEND GOD TO HELL." Then he looked up to see that the line was starting to congest and sighed as he went back to work. Why couldn't people stop dying for five minutes?

The ogre drove his little yellow car for a while until he stopped Goku in front of an enormous snake's head.

"This is your stop," he explained, "Snake Way. If you fall off the road, you'll go straight to Hell." Goku hopped out of the car and stared.

"Whooooa," she muttered.

"At the end of Snake Way," the ogre explained, "Is the planet of the Northern Kaiou, the trainer of the greatest dead fighters in the Northern Universal Quadrant." Goku wondered how great they were if they were dead. Then again, _she_ was dead.

"So how long is it?" she asked.

"About a million kilometers," the ore said nonchalantly.

"WHAT?!" Goku exclaimed in shock. "Man, I shoulda packed a lunch!"

"You don't need lunch," the ogre pointed out. "You're dead."

"...Oh yeah," Goku muttered with a shrug. Then she hopped up onto the snake's head and got into a runner's crouch. "Here I go," she said resolutely, "No time to lose! Fubuki Odori!" Then she tore off in a blue-yellow streak down the winding Snake Way.

OoOoOoO

Suno had the Dragon Radar in her hand and looked down at the five star ball in her other hand.

"So far so good," Suno muttered as she threw the ball into a satchel which already contained the three, six, and four star balls. She only needed the one, two, and seven star balls and then Goku would be–

' _Pardon me, Suno,'_ Kami's voice said in her head, ' _I'm going to need you to put that down.'_

" _Excuse me?"_ Suno demanded icily. What was Kami thinking? Asking her to _not_ wish Goku back? Why in the world would she do that?

' _Goku is going to train with the Northern Kaiou, a powerful martial arts master who will give her the skills and strength to fight the Saiyans. She needs as much time a we can give her._

"I… guess that makes sense," Suno muttered with an agitated shrug. The group later gathered on Korin Tower to take the Water of God before they trained with Kami. The assembled party included Suno, Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Launch, Chaozu… and Chi-Chi.

"I am surprised to see you here, Chi-Chi," Ten commented as they waited for Korin to bring the Water, "Given the nature of your feelings on Son Goku."

"This has nothing to do with Goku, Mr. Shinhan," Chi-Chi said sharply, although she was hit with an immediate pang of guilt at Suno's pained expression. "I'm sorry," she added quickly, "I only meant that, well… Earth is all of our home, right?" she took Yamcha's hand in hers. "I'm going to fight for it."

"That's not how my name works." Before the conversation could continue, Korin arrived with the jug of water in one paw on a tray with several cups of water.

"Okay," Suno said carefully, "You guys _should know…_ eh, you guys are stronger than Goku and I were when we drank this so you _probably_ won't die."

" _WHAT?!"_ the others shrieked in unison and gawked at Suno.

"It's a really, really small chance! You'll be fine! I promise!"

"Actually," Korin put in, "Given it's a ratio of 14-to-2, I'd say that it's more likely that you'll–" Then Suno stomped on his tail. "YEEEEEOW!" The other stared uncomfortably at the cups of potentially-lethal liquid and each tentatively reached for it before pulling their hands back.

"Oh, come on," Launch said before grabbing one of the cups, "You buncha pussies!" She slammed the cup back like a shot of liquor and then the others, feeling pressured, took the cups and drank from them as well. Suno counted off on her fingers while the others stood and waited for something to happen.

Three… two… one…

Then the others fell to the ground and screamed in unimaginable pain. Suno sighed and flew up to Kami's Lookout. Good thing she brought her music, she'd be waiting for them a while.

"This is the worst pain in the world!" Krillin screamed. "Oh God!"

"Don't worry," Korin muttered lackadaisically as he flipped through the newspaper, "You'll be seeing God one way or the other soon enough."

"You're not helping!" Yamcha cried out as he thrashed. Eventually, however, the pain passed and, thankfully, no one died.

"Well," Chi-Chi muttered as they flew up to Kami's lookout, " _That_ was horrible."

"Yeah," Chaozu added as they reached the Lookout and joined with Suno, Kami, and Popo, "Now the really bad part starts."

"I'm sure you already known," Kami began. "But as things stand right now, this situation is utterly hopeless. However, if you will commit yourselves to my and Mr. Popo's training, I am confident that in one year's time, you will be stronger." Krillin couldn't help but notice that Kami hadn't said that they would be strong _enough._ "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes!" They all said emphatically as one. Suno knew she'd _have_ to get stronger. Not just for the Saiyans but because she might have to fight Piccolo for Gohan when all this is over. She only hoped that her baby was okay.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo frowned while looking at his hours-old new hand in deep thought as he pondered something. He would have thought about it sooner but it had been hard to concentrate with so much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Son Goku was dead. He had _killed_ her. The sole purpose for which he was born had been achieved. So then why did he feel so… melancholic? He felt empty inside when he should have been full of triumph and victory. Was he feeling… remorseful? Had he gone _soft?_

"Ridiculous," he muttered aloud. He, the Demon King? Soft? "It simply didn't prove anything," he assured himself. "She just stood there and let me kill her. That was no real victory. When we defeat these other Saiyans, I shall fight Son Goku again. Then when I kill her, it will _count."_ His ears twitched and he noticed that Goku's whelp had _finally_ started to stir. If he'd had to wait any longer, he would have started kicking the boy.

"Wh-where am I?" Gohan asked as he stood up on shaky legs. "Who are you? Where's my mama?"

"I am Piccolo. She's dead, boy." Piccolo said coldly. Gohan stared up at him with eyes brimming with tears.

"Wh-what?" Gohan asked with a sniffle. Piccolo sneered in disgust.

"There is no time for tears, boy!" he snapped. "In one year's time, other fighters like the man who took you are going to come here and they will try to kill _everyone_ on this planet. Do you want that to happen?" The boy shook his head dumbly. "Then I will train you. You have great power locked inside you and, by unlocking that power, we might just stand a chance."

"B-but I don't have any power!" Gohan protested. One corner of Piccolo's mouth jerked up in a malevolent grin.

"Oh no?" he asked as he gripped the back of Gohan's shirt. "Let me show you!" Then he flung Gohan at a massive plateau as hard as he could and watched the boy sail off in a crying blue-yellow blur.

Gohan was crying and scared, he was _so scared._ Who was this man? Where was his mother? Where was mama? What was happening to him?! Then as suddenly as he was afraid he was angry. Instead of crying, he was screaming as that surge of burning power filled him up and he turned into a missile, violently smashing into the plateau and vaporizing it, blasting the surrounding area into a blackened streak.

Piccolo watched with his arms folded over his chest as the boy sat down in the smoking plain. He looked very confused. Piccolo shrugged and made his way towards the boy. It was a start, he supposed.

"Now then," Piccolo continued as he yanked Gohan out of the rubble, "I am _not_ going to coddle you like your mothers would. If you slip up during my training or fail to rise to the task, you _will_ die. Do you understand, boy?" Gohan nodded nervously. "These Saiyans will not show mercy. They will not fight fairly. You must be willing to fight with your last breath, and survive by any means necessary. Is that clear?!"

"Yes," Gohan said, "Mister Piccolo." He'd get stronger. He'd beat up these "Saiyan" jerks who were coming to kill everyone. He'd make mama proud.

OoOoOoO

The first day of Kami's training had been nothing short of _brutal._ Krillin couldn't remember being so sore since he had started training with Roshi as a kid. Funny how these things work out huh? Instead of going straight back to Kame House to pass out, however, Krillin found himself flying over to Bulma's house in West City. He had a feeling told him that something was up and he felt compelled to check. Upon walking into Bulma's workshop, Krillin noticed three things; the device Raditz had been wearing was sitting on Bulma's bench, in some state between disassembled and reassembled, his armor was placed on a mannequin, and Bulma was wearing an apron stained with blood that Krillin decided it was best to _not_ think about too much. Bulma was also sketching on a chalkboard, drawing some sort of giant cannon.

"Uh, Bulma?" Krillin asked. "What the heck is that for? Are you gonna fire that at the Saiyans?"

"Nope," Bulma said casually. "I'm firin' it at _that,"_ She pointed out the window at the full moon with a grin.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo watched the boy sitting on a mountaintop with barely-contained disdain. He hadn't even made an _attempt_ to climb down so far. If he hadn't brought those apples then the brat would have gone hungry. He'd probably die if he didn't have Piccolo watching out for him. Not that Piccolo cared about Gohan, of course. It would just be a waste of potential power, nothing more. Now the child was just staring at the moon like a simpleton and… what was happening?

Gohan stared up at the full moon with wonder. He'd never seen a full moon before! It was so bright and beautiful and huge. It made him feel a little less afraid. Suddenly his eyes went wide and his heart started pounding painfully in his chest. He felt himself start to grow and grow and his clothes tore apart as the mountain crumbled under his weight. He was strong! He was the strongest thing in the world!

As the Great Ape roared and pounded its chest, Piccolo stared in open-mouthed disbelief. He hadn't expected _that._

OoOoOoO

"I'm sorry," Krillin said with a nervous laugh, "You're gonna have to explain, because it _looked like_ you said you were going to blow up the moon!"

"I am," Bulma confirmed.

"WHAT?!" Krillin exclaimed, practically screaming.

"Oh come on," Bulma said with clear exasperation. "We're going to be fighting super-strong evil aliens that can turn into even stronger giant primates of death when they look at the full moon. It's just logic." Seriously, why couldn't people think on her level?

"But what about the tides," Krillin asked, "And all the other stuff the moon is for?!"

OoOoOoO

Gohan roared and beat his chest furiously. He stomped his feet and picked up chunks of mountain over his head, flinging them violently over the horizon. Piccolo was _confused_ by this but not terribly worried. He would be fine as long as he kept out of range and waited for Gohan to calm down or turn back to normal. Then the beast opened his mouth wide and a gigantic blast of energy flew out of his mouth.

' _This may be more of a problem than I anticipated,'_ Piccolo realized.

OoOoOoO

"What," Bulma said sharply, "Do you think I'm an idiot or something? I'm gonna replace the moon."

"You're going to WHAT?!" Krillin shrieked incredulously. Honestly, did he need everything repeated? Bulma pointed to a massive Capsule warehouse that was nearly as large as the Capsule Corp building itself.

"I'm going to send a fleet of Capsule-bots up there to build an even better, spectacular, Capsule Corp Megamoon!"

"Okay," Krillin said wearily, "How much of this plan has to do with fighting the Saiyans and how much has to do with owning the moon?"

"Not a difference that you could prove in court," Bulma said in a sing-song voice. Krillin groaned and rolled his eyes.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo had found out to his misfortune that attempting to _fight_ Gohan in this state was less than futile. His power was simply _insane._ Piccolo looked up at the moon and put two and two together. He couldn't wait for the sun to come back up so that just left one option.

OoOoOoO

"What about all that debris raining down from space?!" Krillin objected. "It could kill _millions_ of people before the Saiyans even get here! Bulma, this is crazy talk!"

"I'm sorry," Bulma countered with her hands angrily on her hips, " _Who_ is the scientist here?" Before the argument could move any further, the moon violently exploded overhead, leaving nothing behind. Krillin stared with mouth agape while Bulma shrugged. "Go ahead and fire up the Capsule-bots." Bulma muttered into her walkie-talkie. "Look at that," she smugly pointed out to Krillin, "No debris!" Krillin groaned and walked away while Bulma looked at the laser cannon on her chalkboard. "Maybe I'll put it _in_ the moon."

OoOoOoO

Piccolo looked down at the unconscious and naked regular-sized Gohan and yanked his tail off. It was a weak point anyway and the fewer advantages the Saiyans had, the better. Then he looked down at the naked child and sighed. With a dismissive wave, Gohan was clothed in a similar gi to his mother but with Piccolo's own character in place of "Turtle" or "God" or some other drivel. Hopefully the change would make him less whiny. Not that he _cared,_ he just wanted the boy to shut up.

OoOoOoO

After running for what felt like _forever,_ Goku could finally see the end of the snake's tail in the distance. She put on another burst of speed to get to the end and was shocked to find an incredibly tiny planet hovering high up in the air. It was about as big as Enma's desk! She saw a little house and a road on the planet and shrugged before leaping high up into the air. Suddenly, something grabbed Goku and yanked her down into the planet like a rock.

"Owwww," Goku groaned as she struggled to get to her feet. Why was she so heavy? She could barely move! Each step took all her strength as she tried to walk around the planet. She decided to take off her weighted clothing, which made things a little easier. "Hello?" Goku called out as she wandered around the planet, "Kaiou? I'm here to be trained! Hello?" Goku found, of all things on this planet, a monkey! Well, it _looked_ like a monkey. Maybe it wasn't. After all, _she_ looked like a human but was apparently an alien. "Kaiou?" she asked the money.

"Ook," the monkey replied.

"I'm here to be trained," Goku continued. "Can you help me?"

"Ook!" Kaiou said again and began to wave his arms around and shuffle around the planet. Goku figured that this must be part of the training and started copying his movements.

"Why am I so heavy on this planet?" she asked.

"Ook," Kaiou said again. Goku was beginning to think that this might be a problem.

"Just what the heck are you doing?" came a voice from behind her. Goku spun around and saw a short, round blue man in sunglasses and a black longcoat with red sleeves. He had whiskers hanging off his cheeks like a catfish and long black antennae that twitched when he talked.

"Who are you?" Goku asked curiously.

"I'm Kaiou," the man explained. Goku looked back over her shoulder at the monkey.

"Then… who is that?" she asked.

"That's my pet monkey, Bubbles."

"Oh," Goku said and felt pretty silly.

"So, what the heck are you doing here?" Kaiou asked again.

"My name is Son Goku," Goku said with a respectful bow. "I'm from Earth and I'm here to be trained, please." One of Kaiou's eyebrows quirked up in suspicious.

"Training, eh? Well, if you're gonna train with me, you need to do something to prove that you've got what it takes." Kaiou leaned in and jabbed Goku on the chest with a finger to emphasize each word, "Make. Me. Laugh."

"What?" Goku asked in disbelief. She was supposed to do _what?_ Suno was the funny one!

"Tell a joke," Kaiou went on. "Make me laugh." Despite everything else she'd experienced in her life, _this_ made Goku break out in a cold sweat. What could she do? What if he didn't laugh? She couldn't come all this way for nothing! She _had_ to get stronger! All she had were puns!

"I, uh, I like your planet," Goku began. Kaiou folded his arms over his chest and waited for more. "It… must be easy to… get a _round!"_ Goku threw out her arms and put on an incredibly strained smile, the universal body language for "punchline". There was an uncomfortable silence and Goku was sure she was doomed. Then Kaiou fell backwards and laughed his head off, holding his stomach as his whole body shook with laughter. Goku let out relieved laughter as she helped up to his feet.

"Oh man," Kaiou muttered as he lifted up his sunglasses and rubbed a tear from his eye, "All right. That's pretty good. Okay then, first o–" Goku threw a jab at him… that he blocked with a single finger. "What. Was that?"

"I… uh… I wanted to see how strong you were," Goku muttered and swallowed nervously.

"And?"

"Now I know."

"So you're not gonna do that again?"

"No."

"Good," Kaiou said before moving his hand down and dusted his shirt off. "So, you're from Earth? The gravity here is about ten times as intense as it is on your planet."

"Yeah," Goku said, "I wouldn't be able to move if I hadn't taken off my weighted clothing."

"Go put it back on." Goku stared at him.

"But I just said–"

"Once you're able to move freely with your weighted clothing on this planet, imagine how much faster you'll be back on Earth!" Goku supposed that made sense. It was just like Kami's training with weighted clothing or Master Roshi's training with the turtle shells. Funny how that worked out. As Goku was putting her boots back on, she felt a shiver pass through her body.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Kaiou assured her. "That was the Kaioushin passing through an area where their plane intersected with ours."

"Who's the Kaioushin?" Goku asked.

"Hopefully you never have to find out."

OoOoOoO

Gohan charged at Piccolo and slammed a flying kick into his teacher's chest and ducked when Piccolo went to swipe at him with a chop. Gohan landed on the ground and went for another kick before Piccolo slammed him down.

"Don't repeat yourself!" Piccolo lectured as he launched a ki blast at Gohan. "Your next opponent might snap your neck instead of slap you!" The boy jumped back to avoid the blast and threw one of his own at Piccolo who slapped it away and attacked Gohan with a series of strikes that Gohan just managed to dodge before headbutting Piccolo in the gut and uppercut him hard enough to knock him off his feet. Piccolo picked himself up and rubbed a hand on the back of his head and was surprised to see his fingertips come away bloody. "Not bad," he muttered.

"Thank you, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said appreciatively with a bow. Piccolo growled and shot lasers from his eyes at Gohan that he barely managed to dodge.

"Did I say we were done?!" Piccolo barked as he continued his attack.

"N-no, Mr. Piccolo!"

"Never give your opponent an opening!"

"Yes, Mr. Piccolo!"

A few hours later, the training had concluded for the day and Gohan and Piccolo were sitting by a small pool of water. Gohan wrapped his bruises and scratches with a poultice that mama had taught him how to make while Piccolo drank water from the pool.

"You know," Gohan said, "You're not so bad, Mr. Piccolo." Piccolo let out a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle at that. "You don't have to stay out in the desert, you know. After we beat up the Saiyans, you could stay with me and my moms. You can even sleep in my room." Piccolo scoffed again and rolled his eyes. He did, however, smile ever so slightly.

OoOoOoO

Goku felt the genki gathering around her, pouring into her fist. She could feel the energy from the trees and the soil, from every blade of glass and every leaf on the small planet being pulled towards her. She could feel the radiant light of the ki warming her skin before she opened her eyes and stared at her glowing fist and watched the trails of energy flowing off her fist.

"All right," Kaiou shouted as he held his hands over his head, "Here it comes!" He whipped his hands forward and telekinetically launched a brick at Goku. It whizzed through the air at super speed in an orange-red blur and Goku lobbed the Genki Dama at the brick which exploded in a burst of light and dust. Kaiou let out a whoop of excitement and clapped his hands, laughing as he walked towards Goku. "Excellent!" he cheered as Goku beamed. "Absolutely excellent! You've really gotten the hang of this, Goku. Heck, you're better at the Kaiouken than I am and it's _named_ after…" Kaiou stopped talking as his antennae stood up stiffly.

"What's wrong, Master Kaiou?" Goku asked.

"The Saiyans," he muttered, "They're in your solar system! They're a month early!"

"What?!" Goku shouted in surprise. That wasn't good.

"It's worse, I'm afraid," Kaiou went on. "I… I forgot to account for how much time it would take you to get _back_ to Earth."

"What?!" Goku said again. "Why wouldn't it just send me back home?!"

"Because your body is here!" Kaiou reminded her.

"We have to tell them!" Goku cried out in worry and pulled on her halo.

"Put a hand on my shoulder," Kaiou explained. "You can reach someone tele–" Goku grabbed Kaiou's shoulder fiercely.

Suno was sparring with Krillin when something happened that made her come to a dead stop.

' _Suno!'_ Goku's voice rang in her head as clearly as if her wife was right next to her.

"Goku?" Suno whispered. Krillin stopped mid-charge when he realized something was wrong. "Goku," Suno repeated with tears welling up in her eyes, "Where are–"

' _There's no time!'_ Goku's voice interrupted. ' _The Saiyans are coming!'_

"I know that, Goku," Suno said as she rubbed an arm across her eyes. "We've been training to–"

' _I mean they're coming now! They'll be on Earth in two days!'_

"...Oh. That's… that's a problem."

' _Wishmeback, wishmeback, wishmeback!'_

"R-right!" Suno nodded as she flew off the edge of the Lookout. "Get ready, guys!" Suno called over her shoulder. "Goku says the Saiyans will be here soon!" She rocketed back to her house and grabbed the Dragon Radar and the satchel that the other Dragon Balls were already in. It took Suno about an hour to round up the last two Dragon Balls and the group gathered on the lawn of Capsule Corp as Suno placed the balls onto the grass.

"All right," Yamcha said to Puar, "Do your thing, man." Puar floated to the front of the group and raised his head towards the sky.

"Shenron!" Puar called. "I summon you!" The sky went black and a bolt of lightning flew from the balls and stretched high into the sky, swirling and arcing for miles before transforming into the Eternal Dragon. Chi-Chi stared at the spectacle in open-mouthed wonder. The others were a little more used to it by now.

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron boomed, "Speak your wish and I shall grant it."

"Hey," Krillin whispered, "Why don't we just use him to kill the Saiyans?"

"That is beyond my power," Shenron replied, "For they are more powerful than Kami." Bulma rolled her eyes and added another mental caveat to the supposed "all powerful" dragon.

"Please," Puar said, "Return Son Goku to life!"

"A simple matter," Shenron said as his eyes flashed red. "Your wish has been granted."

"Where is she?" Ten asked while looking around.

"Her body is still in the Otherworld," Shenron explained.

"Can you… bring her here?" Suno asked reluctantly as if she already knew the answer.

"Farewell," Shenron said bluntly and disappeared with a thunderclap before the Dragon Balls scattered in different directions.

"Well that was rude," Chi-Chi muttered.

"How long do you think it'll take Goku to get back?" Krillin asked.

"Not too long," Suno hoped.

OoOoOoO

Goku was flying frantically down Snake Way as fast as she could, thankful for all the laps she had flown around Kaiou's planet to try and get her flight speed up and not get tired so easily.

' _Don't worry, guys,'_ she thought. ' _I'll be there soon!'_


	49. The Battle Approaches! Strange Visitors!

Chapter Forty-nine

The Battle Approaches! Strange Visitors from Another Planet!

In the early morning hours, just before the sun broke over the horizon, two far-off lights twinkled and flashed across the sky. They looked like shooting stars and so many people took them as a sign of good luck or another good omen. They could not have been more wrong.

OoOoOoO

The Saiyans' arrival in Earth's upper atmosphere caused those who had been training with Kami to sit up in their beds, yanked awake from their dreams by the incredible power pushing on their minds. It was _far_ beyond anything they had ever sensed before. Chi-Chi took Yamcha's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. She was so new to ki sensing that the power of the Saiyans was practically overwhelming. Yamcha squeezed her hand gently back and kissed her cheek.

"It'll be alright," he promised in a whisper. "We can do this." Then he got out of bed and started getting dressed. Despite his better judgement, he put on his white-and-gold gi. When he finished dressing, he noticed that Chi-Chi was still sitting in bed. "Hey," he said softly as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her, "C'mon, we gotta go, hon." Chi-Chi shook her head slowly and Yamcha frowned. "Chi-Chi? What's wrong?" Chi-Chi looked at Yamcha and cupped his face in her hands before kissing him softly on the lips.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, "It's just… something's happened. I'll tell you when you come home. After you _win."_ She smiled at him and Yamcha smiled back before kissing her again.

"I _am_ coming home," he assured her as he sat up and made his way for the door, "I promise." Chi-Chi watched him walk out of the house and waited until the door clicked shut before hugging her pillow fiercely to her chest.

' _Please, God,'_ she thought, ' _The_ real _one, not the green one._ Please _bring him home.'_

OoOoOoO

Launch, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu stood on the front deck of their cabin and stared at the beautiful morning sunrise as it crested over the mountains and the mist clung to the peaks like draperies, drinking in what they knew might be the last time they saw such splendor. For Chaozu, the stakes were highest of all. He'd already died once. Chaozu started to fly off and Launch began to follow after him before Ten took her hand and pulled her back down.

"You go on ahead, Chaozu," Ten told him. "We… I just need to talk to Launch for a minute." Chaozu gave his friends a knowing smile and flew off while Launch turned her attention to Tenshinhan.

"What's up?" she asked and was surprised when Ten took her hands in his and looked down at her with a softness in his three eyes she'd never seen before.

"Launch," he said as he looked into her eyes, "Being with you has changed my life for the better, more than I ever thought possible. I… I know what we're up against. I know there's a very real chance we won't make it out alive. So I want you to know that I–"

"Shhh," Launch took her hands out of his and silenced him with a finger on his lips, "I know. I do, too. But don't get all mushy on me now, alright? You're gonna jinx us. There'll be all the time in the world for flowers and kisses and all that junk after this is over. Let's go kick some ass." Ten smiled at her and the two flew off after Chaozu, hand-in-hand.

OoOoOoO

Krillin stared out at the ocean from the shore of Kame Island with his katana gripped tensely in both hands. This was it. No more waiting, no more training. They were here. He could feel the Saiyans' power like a constant pressure. He was sweating, his knees were weak and his palms were shaking. He could die today. He probably would. If he did, there'd be no coming back. It'd just be the end. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, though, as he strapped the sword to his back and flew off. He could do this. _They_ could do this. He had to believe in himself and his friends.

' _Besides,'_ Krillin thought to himself as he flew off to meet the gathering of ki, ' _Better to die fighting than in a hospital bed like last time.'_ Muten Roshi watched Krillin fly away and shook his head sadly as he turned from the window and sat down on the couch in shame. The greatest martial artist who ever lived. The invincible old master. The fighting genius. Yet he could do _nothing_ to help his students. His _children._ He had never felt so… old. So _weak._

OoOoOoO

Korin looked up from reading his morning paper to see Kami's manservant, Popo, staring at him. He gave a cry of shock and the surprise of the djinn's random appearance startled Korin so severely that he nearly fell out of his chair.

"This one is only here on God's orders," Popo announced. "This one would not be here otherwise." Where did Kami _find_ such a rude djinn, anyway? "This one requires your current senzu crop. It is time."

"So the Saiyans are here, eh?" Korin asked as he hopped down from his chair to go pick the beans from his senzu stalks. "Alright, alright. Don't need to–" He was surprised to see that the beans were already gone. He looked back over his shoulder to see that Popo holding a small brown bag.

"This one was not making a request," Popo told him, "Merely an announcement." Then he was gone again. Korin sighed and went back to reading his paper.

"I liked the last Kami's Popo better," he muttered.

OoOoOoO

Suno had felt the other strong ki gathering towards an abandoned clearing several miles from the five major cities on the continent and flew to meet them, not bothering with her weighted clothing when she dressed that morning. Despite the fear that she felt spreading through her chest like chips of ice, there was at least _one_ good thing coming out of today. She'd be seeing Gohan again! And Goku, she reminded herself, if she could live long enough.

OoOoOoO

It was a perfectly normal morning in East City. It was practically noon and all the office workers were getting ready to go on their lunch breaks, looking forward to talking about the sports games or the TV shows or why so many Capsule Corp shops had suddenly popped up and replaced some of the local East City businesses. All perfectly normal and perfectly pleasant.

Then two fireballs dropped out of the sky and wiped out a city block. First there was chaos, dust, and screaming as people ran in panic from the source of the explosion and alarms blared inside buildings and sirens wailed from all manner of emergency vehicles coming onto the scene, news vans following swiftly behind them. Had it been some kind of attack? Was the Red Ribbon Army back? Was Piccolo? Had that black-haired girl who'd beaten up Piccolo those two times finally gone nuts? Finally the dust settled and the police and SWAT teams moved to keep the civilians pushed back from the crater while emergency crews moved to remove the wounded and put out fires. The two fireballs down in the crater had turned out to not be fireballs at all but some kind of round spacecrafts. The officers drew their weapons as the pods hissed open and a giant bald man and a short, spiky-haired man stepped out of the pods. The crowd gasped and gawked at the strangely-dressed men, taking pictures and videos with their phones.

"P-put your hands up!" one of the officers demanded as he gestured with a pistol that was clattering in his shaking hands. "The pair of you are under arrest for committing an act of terror on this city! Do you understand?!" The short man held up a hand and the murmuring crowd fell silent.

"My name," he said, "Is Vegeta. I am King of all Saiyans. You will all die–" that was all the officers needed to hear before they opened fire, the air filling with bullets that bounced harmlessly off the strange men. Vegeta looked down at the bullets with a puzzled expression before he sighed and shook his head, "If you do not give us the Dragon Balls, is what I was attempting to say." Then he turned to his giant associate. "Nappa," he said, "Kill them for me." Nappa grinned and cracked his knuckles.

OoOoOoO

"We aren't entirely sure what's happening," the rabbit-woman reporter said on the scene with a microphone gripped tightly in one hand, fear clearly evident in her wide eyes and twitching nose, "But some sort of beings have emerged from the pod and–" then there was a deafening roar and everything went white. Bulma stared at her television screen in shock as it quickly turned to static before switching to the somber face of a moose-man reporter as he solemnly folded his hands over his desk.

"That was the last report received from East City," he explained. "While we're still trying to discern what exactly happened there today, we know one thing for certain: East City is gone." His face dropped down into his hands and he let out a shaky, terrified breath. "God help us all." Bulma found herself in one of those rare moments where she wished she wasn't so smart. She knew that God wouldn't be any help now.

OoOoOoO

An acrid wind blew across the blackened, smoking, burning oblivion that was once East City. Vegeta and Nappa stood on an untouched peninsula of earth that was just wide enough for the both of them to stand on and were completely pristine.

"I was referring," Vegeta grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, "To the ones who had shot at us."

"You should have been more specific, Your Grace," Nappa said defensively. "You said _them._ Besides, all the sirens and the squabbling and the screaming was bothering me."

"Quite," Vegeta said wearily as if speaking to a child rather than a man thirty years his elder, "But now I cannot threaten anyone into telling us where these Dragon Balls are. What if you destroyed one of them?"

"Ah," Nappa muttered before chewing the end of his mustache in an awkward and apologetic silence. "I beg your pardon, Your Grace." Vegeta let out another sigh and suppressed another daily urge to kill him as he tapped at his scouter. If Nappa weren't the closest thing he had to a companion in the universe, and the only other Saiyan he knew, he would snap the man's neck like a twig.

"Ah," Vegeta muttered as his scouter pinged to signal a collection of… "high" power levels, "Those must be Kakarot's worm friends. How convenient for us that they have all gathered into one place." Then he and Nappa rocketed off into the sky.

OoOoOoO

Gohan turned his head in the direction of the explosion. He'd felt it with his ki senses more clearly than he had heard it. _So many people…_

"So," Mr. Piccolo said impassively with his arms folded over his chest, "They're here." Gohan nodded and tried to look brave. He was dressed like Mr. Piccolo, after all, and _he_ seemed pretty brave. Nothing bothered him.

"Gohan!" called a familiar voice from up above. Gohan looked up to see his mother flying down towards him and flew up into the air to meet her.

"Mother!" he cried happily as he jumped into her arms. Suno hugged him tight and held him up proudly to look at him.

"Look at you!" she exclaimed. "You've gotten so strong!" Suno hugged him again before setting him down. "You're very brave, Gohan. I'm proud of you."

"If you're quite done" Piccolo asked with a weary roll of his eyes, "This is no time for sentimentality. Focus, boy."

Gohan nodded and put his hands at his side. "Sorry, Mr. Piccolo," he said studiously while Suno gave them a curious look. Mr. Piccolo? And why was her son _dressed_ like him?

"Hey, guys!" Krillin greeted as he touched down to meet them, followed by Ten, Chaozu, Launch, and finally Yamcha. "Hey, where's Chi-Chi?" Yamcha gave an apologetic shrug.

"I tried to get her to come but she said she couldn't. I think something's wrong but she wouldn't say."

"Something's _wrong?"_ Ten asked with clear irritation. "She _does_ understand that there are bigger problems at stake here, doesn't she? The _world_ for instance? Is she a coward?" Yamcha was on Ten in an instant and grabbed him by the front of the shirt.

"That's my wife you're talking about, Triclops," he snarled as he glowered at the other man. Ten was unfazed.

"Launch is here," Ten pointed out. "I suppose I should've made _her_ stay home? Would that be 'safer'?"

"You really wanna do this right now? I figure we've got enough time that I can kick your ass before the Saiyans show up."

"Ohhhh ho ho ho, I would _love_ to see you try!" Before the two of them could come to blows, however, Suno stepped between them and physically shoved them apart.

"Hey, hey, hey, _enough!"_ she said sternly, unintentionally using her teacher voice. "Ten, you were _just_ talking about the the world is at stake here! Is this really the time to get all macho? For crying out loud, keep 'em in your pants!"

"Keep what in their pants?" Gohan asked. Piccolo groaned.

"Guys, guys!" Krillin spoke up suddenly and the others all turned to focus on him. "Uh…" For a moment, whatever Krillin was going to say seemed to die on his tongue with so many eyes on him but he managed to press on. "Look, I know we're all tense right now. I know this looks rough. Heck, it looks _impossible._ The thing is, I dunno if you noticed but we're pretty used to the impossible, aren't we? I mean, Yamcha, Suno, Launch and I helped Goku take down the Red Ribbon Army! You all fought against that monster Piccolo Daimaou…" The others nodded with slowly-growing smiles as he looked awkwardly at Piccolo and shrugged, "No offense. For crying out loud, Chaozu and I were _dead!_ And let's not forget, Goku is on her way! She does impossible stuff all the time, for fun! All we've got to do is hold the line until she gets here!" He took a deep breath and put a hand on his katana, squeezing it reassuringly, "I know this looks scary. It _is_ scary. But if we stand together, we can do this! We can save our home!" Now even Piccolo gave the scantest of nods. "If we've got each other's backs and we work together, I know there's _nothing_ that we can't stand against!" The others gave a cheer and Piccolo's mouth quirked in a nearly-invisible smile. Someone started clapping and the others joined in… until they realized that none of them had started it. The assembled warriors slowly looked up to see what could only be the Saiyans descending toward them, a small one and a big one. The shorter man was the one clapping.

"What a moving speech," the short man said with feigned emotion. "I must say, though, I'm more than a trifle confused." He smirked as he looked up at the large man, "Nappa, have you ever heard of a eulogy being given _before_ anyone has died? By one of the deceased, no less?" The big one, Nappa, evidently, chuckled and shook his head.

"Can't say I have," he replied with a predatory glint in his eye, like a wolf standing before a flock. And the shepherd was still a lifetime away.


	50. The Battle Begins! Hurry, Son Goku!

Chapter Fifty

The Battle Begins! Hurry, Son Goku!

The air seemed to buzz with tension as the warriors stood in their guards while the Saiyans stood completely at ease.

"Oh, look, Nappa," Vegeta said genially as he gestured with one hand at Gohan before his voice dropped with thick contempt that bordered on disgust, "It's an _abomination."_ To Gohan's credit, he did not falter under Vegeta's murderous gaze, and even moved away when Suno tried to shield him. "I suppose introductions are in order, more on principle than anything. Since none of you are Kakarot, I don't care who you are. I, however, am Vegeta, King of all Saiyans. This," he said with a gesture to the giant, "Is Nappa, my…" he paused and rolled his wrist as he searched for the right term, "My Grand Vizier by default." Nappa looked slightly hurt by the last half of that title while he tapped at his scouter.

"Let's see here…" he muttered, "We've got… 356, 427, 500, 211, 335, 194, 677, oooh, a whole 1,034," he chuckled and folded his arms over his chest. " _Very_ impressive."

"So what were you before your planet got blown up?" Krillin asked out of a curiosity he really couldn't explain. He supposed that he was stalling for Goku but other than that… why would he care?

"Well," Nappa began as he stroked his beard, "I held a rank in the Saiyan Military– which, to be fair, was eighty percent of our race– and given my status as an elite, I suppose my rank would have been…" it had been twenty years and so it took Nappa a few moments to recall his long-useless title. "Ah, yes! A Major General!"

"A Major General?" the humans all asked at once. Piccolo held his face in his hand and groaned again.

"Yes!" Nappa declared proudly as he stuck out his chest. "I _was_ a Major–"

"No!" Vegeta insisted sharply as he stamped his foot on the ground. "No singing!" Nappa looked somewhat deflated while Vegeta massaged his temples. "Just… just dispense the Saibamen. That should kill most of them." Despite having no pockets, Nappa produced a small glass tube with a liquid and six green beans inside from… somewhere.

"What's a Saibaman?" Launch asked as Nappa cracked the glass open and sprinkled the six beans onto the ground. They quickly burrowed into the ground as the soil drank up the strange liquid.

"Just a guess," Yamcha muttered as the ground began to rumble and bulge, "Nothing good." No sooner had Yamcha said that than six red-eyed, green little monstrosities burst out of the ground, shrieking and clacking the three claws on each of their hands.

"Yeah," Chaozu agreed with a gulp, "Not good." Nappa smirked before catching a trio of news helicopters out of the corner of one eye.

"Look, Your Grace," he gestured with his chin. "Spectators!" he raised one hand and created a ball of ki, casually bouncing it in his palm. "Want me to kill 'em?"

Vegeta shook his head. "Leave them be, Nappa," he said with a dismissive wave before grinning wickedly. "I want this world to watch its heroes _die."_

OoOoOoO

"As you can see," the same solemn moose-anchor was saying as footage from the helicopters was being shown, "The strange beings believed to be responsible for the destruction of East City have come face-to-face with some of the world's greatest martial artists. We have identified former Tenkaichi Budoukai Finalists Yamcha, Launch, Son Suno, Krillin, and Chaozu as well as Budoukai winner Tenshinhan and the being that calls himself the reincarnation of Piccolo Daimaou." Bulma surmised that they either hadn't seen Gohan or were ignoring him because they didn't want to drive the citizens into a further panic that a _child_ was facing the Saiyans. "Conspicuous by her absence is one Son Goku. We will stay with this story as it develops." Bulma had met with Roshi, Puar, Turtle, and Baba at Kame House to watch this nightmare on the news.

"It'll be okay," Bulma muttered to herself. "Goku'll get there. It'll be fine."

OoOoOoO

Chi-Chi brought her chair as close to the television as she dared, every movement leaving her with baited breath. Her Yamcha was going to be fine, she assured herself. He'd been training hard and he'd gotten strong. They were _all_ strong. Everything was going to be okay. She wished she could go to him and fight by his side but she just…

OoOoOoO

King Furry's council was seated around a table in his war room, watching the news on an enormous monitor.

"Your Majesty," insisted General Scaline, an alligator-man, "We can't expect these fools in pajamas to save us! We _have_ to strike now and overwhelm them!"

"These fools in pajamas," the king reminded his advisor sternly, "Have saved the world before when our weapons could not. I will _not_ risk drawing ourselves into this conflict until it is absolutely necessary!"

"These creatures _destroyed_ East City!"

"All the more reason not to engage them! I will not endanger the lives of any more of my people!" Furry folded his hands over the table and frowned as he looked at the screen. Where _was_ she?! Where was Son Goku?

OoOoOoO

Yamcha noticed one of the Saibamen moving towards him and shrugged once he realized that the weird little freak seemed to want to go one-on-one. Why not? Hardly the strangest fight he'd ever been in.

"Let's see what ya got," Yamcha challenged the Saibaman as he got into his stance. It shrieked in response and lunged at him. Yamcha hopped back as it made a few swipes at him with its claws and threw out a few kicks of his own to keep the little freak at a distance. The two leaped into the air and traded strikes at lightning speed, reaching higher and higher into the sky.

"They're so fast," Gohan muttered as he strained his eyes to keep up.

"Try to follow their ki, Gohan," Suno told him. "It'll make things easier on your eyes." Yamcha ducked under a kick from the Saibaman and unleashed a barrage of devastating punches before blasting it down to the ground with a ki beam where it crashed violently into a crater. He descended and landed with his back to the Saibaman, grinning and giving his friends the thumbs-up.

"These little guys aren't so tough!" Krillin looked behind Yamcha's leg and watched the Saibaman start to crawl out of the crater.

"Yamcha, watch out!" Krillin warned. Yamcha turned around as the Saibaman lunged towards him with its arms and legs outstretched.

"WATTAAA!" Yamcha cried as he threw out his leg and hit the Saibaman with a mighty kick. The plant-man burst into a firework of viscera as Yamcha smirked and slowly lowered his leg. Like they were gonna get the drop on him. The other Saibamen let out a horrible shriek before attacking as one. They all swarmed for Yamcha but the others moved in to attack, each disposing of the Saibamen in short order. Ten sliced a Saibaman in half down the middle with a powerful chop while Chaozu held one in place with his telekinesis and Launch drove her fists through its chest. Krillin blasted one apart with a ki ball and Piccolo put two holes through one's head with his laser eyes. Gohan did his best to duck and dodge the attacks of the last Saibaman before hitting it under the chin with a flip kick that sent it up into the air where Suno finished it off with a jumping knee that _inverted its face._ Suno gave her son an encouraging thumbs up and he smiled.

"You should have been able to take that one yourself," Piccolo scolded. "Don't rely on her to save you!" Gohan bowed in response and Suno huffed slightly. She definitely wasn't letting Gohan spend any more time with "Mr. Piccolo" if she could help it.

"What the?!" Nappa muttered in surprise as he watched his Saibamen get thoroughly dispatched. "This… this doesn't make any sense!" He tapped his scouter and frowned. "With _these_ kinds of Power Levels…"

"Don't be a fool, Nappa," Vegeta scoffed. "Recall Raditz's battle with Kakarot and the Namekian. These creatures are obviously capable of disguising their Battle Powers. Put that scouter away." Nappa grumbled and took off his scouter, setting it down on a rock.

"Wait," Suno asked, "What's a Power Level?"

"The numerical value by which a creature's Battle Power is measured," Vegeta explained.

"Aaaand what's a 'Battle Power'?" Chaozu asked.

"The energy inherent in certain beings that allows them to fly, bolster their physical attributes, and shoot death lasers!" Vegeta went on with clearly mounting irritation.

"We just call that 'ki'," Krillin said. Vegeta's brows furrowed in confusion.

"The Nine Hells is _ki?!"_ he demanded. The Earthlings shrugged and he groaned. "Nappa, none of them are dead yet," he muttered with a dismissive wave. "Fix that. Just make sure not to kill the Namekian, or this entire endeavour is pointless." Nappa stomped forward and Yamcha stepped up to meet him. He was feeling pretty good about himself right now and besides, it wasn't like this guy would be the first big bastard he'd taken down. He just had to ignore his _fairly insane_ ki.

"Y'know," Nappa said with a chuckle, "Even if you're disguising your power, I don't need my scouter to see one thing about you as plain as day."

"Oh yeah?" Yamcha asked as he channeled all his energy. "And what's that?" He had less than a second to dodge a blow from Nappa's massive fist and the wind generated by the attack shore off a lock of his hair.

"You're already dead," Nappa told him. Yamcha barely even had time to dwell on the strange tingling in the back of his head that told him Nappa had stolen his line– despite never having said such a thing before in his life– as he desperately tried to dodge and block an onslaught of blows from the juggernaught. The attacks came at incredible speed and, worst of all, the guy knew what he was doing! Yamcha threw out a pair of Sokidan to whiz around Nappa's head to try and disorient him before smashing into either side of his head. Nappa shook his head for a second like a dog shaking off water before continuing his attack, otherwise unfazed.

' _Okay,'_ Yamcha thought, ' _This looks bad.'_ Before the others could step in to try and help him, Yamcha did the exact opposite of what any sensible being would do. He got _closer_ to Nappa. ' _Might as well take my best shot now,'_ he decided as he dug his feet into the ground and threw his hands out in front of Nappa's face to fire at point-blank range. "Kamehame–" Nappa's mouth opened wide and an enormous blast of blinding yellow energy ripped forth.

The dust cleared and the light faded. There was a blackened smear of soot in the dirt at Nappa's feet.

One second Yamcha had been there. Then he wasn't anymore.

OoOoOoO

Bulma stared at the monitor and fell to her knees in shock. Puar wailed helplessly and buried himself against Turtle's shell as tears began to run down Bulma's face. Even if their breakup had been messy and they hadn't been on good terms in years, Yamcha had been her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first… everything. How could… how could he just be gone?

OoOoOoO

For a few long moments, Chi-Chi was too stunned to say or do anything. She couldn't believe it. She _wouldn't_ believe it. He'd… he'd dodged! He was hiding! He'd… he'd done _something!_ Her Yamcha… he was so strong, so brave. He wasn't dead. He. Was. Not. Then reality set in for her and Chi-Chi cried out in despair as tears streaked down her face and she collapsed to the ground. With her ki sensing and the slight delay on the television, she had _felt_ Yamcha's death before she had _seen_ it, even as her brain had refused to believe it.

He… he was her husband. He was her _everything._ Yamcha had given her strength to believe in herself and make something of herself when she was lost and confused. Now… now she was all alone. Why had he been taken away from her? _Why?_ Her body wracked and thrashed with heartbroken sobs as she let out a scream of ultimate suffering. Eventually, her sobs died down and she was left a whimpering, blubbering heap on the ground with her face pressed desperately to the floor. She could still feel his presence, still smell him in the room, but he… he was gone. She could see his gentle and loving eyes, she could hear his infectious laugh, feel the warmth of his skin pressed against hers as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her and made her feel like the only thing in the world that mattered. She could feel all those things and more. She would feel the memory of them for the rest of her life. A life… without him.

"Give him back," she whispered between sniffles. "Please… give him back. Give him back. Give him back..."

OoOoOoO

Nappa smirked and dusted his hands off with an accomplished smile. Well, that was one down. Arcs of electricity crackled and danced around Nappa's body and he began to power up as the entire world seemed to shake beneath their feet.

"My powers aren't working!" Chaozu declared in a panic as he frantically threw out his hands. Piccolo frowned and began to sweat as the others stared in horror. They couldn't charge into this like blind fools. They'd need a cunning plan for this to–

"You bastard!" Launch screamed before she charged at Nappa in a red rage. Tenshinhan flew after her and quickly sprouted his two extra arms with Chaozu and Krillin close behind. Piccolo sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

"Or…" he muttered to himself, "Or everyone could just attack at once like a pack of morons. That will clearly be _just_ as effective." Launch stuck out two fingers on each hand and brought them to her side to charge a ball of blue-yellow light and thrust her hands out at Nappa.

"Dodonhameha!" she screamed, combining the size of the Kamehameha with the killing power of the Dodonpa. Nappa slapped the blast away and charged toward her with a powerful punch. Launch brought one arm up to block… and let out a bloodcurdling scream as Nappa _punched her arm off at the elbow._ The severed arm pinwheeled through the air in a spray of blood as Launch fought an inclination to fall to her knees. Ten swung around Nappa and charged in a rage as he unloaded with an enhanced version of his Dodon Danmaku, sending blasts from all twenty of his fingers. Nappa brought up a forearm to deflect his attacks as Chaozu came at him from behind. He spun around to intercept Chaozu's attack and hit him with such a powerful elbow that Chaozu's chest… exploded, sending his limbs flying off in different directions. Krillin flew forward and unleashed a massive blast that contained every ounce of ki he could muster. Nappa roared and threw his arms out to scatter everyone with a ki blast that shot up from the ground beneath him. Ten grabbed Launch as they were sent flying and set her gently down on the ground as she tried to will herself to stop bleeding.

"Chaozu…" Ten whispered as he suddenly realized that his friend was gone. Really gone. Forever. " _No…"_ his voice was hoarse with rage and grief but, before he could react, Launch grabbed him by the back of the head with her remaining arm and kissed him passionately.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips before she shoved him away and flew up at Nappa. She did more than just radiate energy, more than simply surround herself in ki. Launch _turned into_ a being of pure ki energy, a bullet, an attack that she launched straight at the murderous Saiyan.

"Launch!" Tenshinhan screamed in futility, knowing that she was long past the point of stopping, "Don't!" Nappa was at once too stunned and mystified to block Launch's attack and was caught full-on by the force of Launch's life energy, her genki, every drop of power she had in her body, all that she was and all that she had ever been.

The smoke cleared. Nappa was singed in places. His armor was in ruin, leaving him only in his boots and his black trunks. But he was alive. He was _unharmed._

"No," Suno gasped.

"Launch…" Krillin whimpered. She had died for _nothing._ Tenshinhan was stunned into immobility by his despair. In the span of seconds, he had lost everything that mattered to him. His closest friend. His lover. He had failed them both.

' _I have a plan,'_ Piccolo thought in their heads as he callously pressed on. ' _When Nappa leaves himself open; Suno, Krillin, and I will strike. With his focus off of us, his ki won't be so bolstered in his defenses and we can overwhelm him!'_ Nappa flew down to Tenshinhan, no doubt planning to finish him off. ' _Now!'_ Suno, Piccolo, and Krillin flew at Nappa in a three-pronged attack. Suno hit him from below with a flying kick that caught him in the chest and Piccolo followed up with a hammerlike backfist that caught Nappa just behind the jaw. Krillin finished the attack with a double palm slap that sent Nappa plummeting towards the ground, _and towards Gohan._ "Blast him, you little fool!" Gohan threw out his hands and charged his Masenko… but then he froze as Nappa got close to him and the blast vanished. He panicked. He was afraid.

Suno flew down to intercept, to save her son from any attack Nappa might have come up with, while Piccolo and Krillin dove after her. She came at Nappa with a kick but he caught her by the ankle and swung her into Krillin and Piccolo, the three plummeting to the ground.

Tenshinhan, meanwhile, was still frozen. Then he had a thought and his gaze drifted not to Nappa but to the other one. To Vegeta. He brought his arms forward and put all four of them into a diamond pattern, one on top of the other, and flew at the little monster. _He_ was the one in control, the one commanding Nappa. He wouldn't expect a direct attack. Tenshinhan could hurt him, could make him _pay!_ He screamed as his whole body flooded with power and Vegeta was bathed in the deathly orange glow that gathered in his hands. He'd never hit someone with the Kikouhou at point blank range before. It would _have_ to do _something!_

"Shiiiin Kikou–" Ten was silenced with a resounding "Crack!" as Vegeta backhanded him dismissively and his head twisted completely around. The light faded as his arms fell limply at his sides and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

OoOoOoO

This was horrible, King Furry realized, absolutely _horrible!_ The warriors were dropping like flies! Where was Son Goku?! Could _she_ even fight these monsters?! Was he witnessing the end of the world? Furry suddenly fell backward against his chair and clutched at his chest. His breathing was ragged as his eyes went wide.

"Someone get a doctor!" one of the advisors screamed as Furry slumped out of his chair. "A doctor for the King!"

OoOoOoO

Krillin went pale as Vegeta tugged at the glove he'd struck Tenshinhan with in mild disgust, like when you swat a mosquito against your leg. That's what they were, Krillin realized. To these Saiyans, they were all just… insects _._ All of their training had been for _nothing._

"Nappa," Vegeta called up, "One of them almost touched me! See it doesn't happen again!" Nappa nodded obediently.

"As you command, Your Grace," Then he rounded on the warriors again and Krillin swallowed nervously.

"I wish Goku was here," Suno muttered, "She'd make you pay!" Vegeta held up a hand at that, looking mildly intrigued.

"Wait, Nappa," he ordered before turning to Suno. "This Goku is Kakarot, is she not?" Suno nodded and Vegeta laughed. "What do I have to fear from some low-class sow who couldn't even kill Raditz?"

"She's a lot stronger now!" Suno told him. "You'll see!" Vegeta tapped his chin in thought and sat down on a rock.

"You know what? I will. Nappa, to me. I want Kakarot to be here when I kill these last few friends of hers, not to mention her Earthly brood." Nappa scowled.

"Why don't I just kill them now?" he demanded. Vegeta eyed him coolly.

"Are you disobeying me?" he asked in a soft, cautious voice. Nappa swallowed nervously and for the first time he looked genuinely afraid. More than afraid. _Terrified._

"N-no, Your Grace," Nappa stammered as he bowed his head and floated down to stand beside Vegeta. Somehow, despite everything else, that was the most terrifying thing Suno had seen today.

"I'll give her three hours," Vegeta declared, tapping a few buttons on his scouter and setting a timer. "Then Nappa will start killing you again."

' _Hurry, mama,'_ Gohan thought. ' _Please hurry!'_

OoOoOoO

Goku sprinted down Snake Way, cursing herself for not putting more effort into her flying. She still had hours to go before she'd reach the end!

"Hold on, guys!" she said aloud as she pushed herself, "Just hold on!"

OoOoOoO

"You know," Nappa muttered as he and Vegeta waited, "I've been thinking."

"A dangerous pastime," Vegeta mused as he found himself looking at the clouds. That one looked like someone he'd murdered. So did the next one. And the next one.

"That whelp of Kakarot's is surprisingly powerful for one his age, considering the one that gave birth to him is of a lesser species."

"You mean the abomination?" Vegeta asked curtly. Nappa sighed but pressed on.

"I'm just thinking," he said, "If Kakarot dies fighting us then perhaps we can still make something of this trip and breed with some of the females on this planet." Vegeta openly scoffed.

"Preposterous!" he spat. "Produce half-breed monstrosities that might some day be powerful enough to overthrow me? Have you taken leave of your senses? Besides that point, in less than a hundred generations, the Saiyan bloodlines would be completely diminished, unless they were to interbreed. I should think not."

"We're right here, ya know!" Suno called from across the clearing, having listened to the whole conversation and the insults to herself and her son. Vegeta smirked at her.

"So you are," he quipped. "Do my words offend you?"

"Hell yes, they do!"

Vegeta chuckled. "What do you intend to do about them?" Suno fumed silently. "I figured as much."

"When my wife gets here," Suno muttered darkly, "She's gonna kick the shit out of you." Gohan gasped. His mother never swore!

OoOoOoO

After three slow, agonizing hours, the tense air was broken by a beeping from Vegeta's scouter. "Well, three hours have passed and your savior is nowhere to be seen. It seems that Kakarot is not only a traitor but a coward as well." Vegeta scoffed, "If these are her true colors then she would not even make good breeding stock. Oh well. Beggars can't be choosers. Nappa, kill everyone except the Namekian."

"Alright! It's about time!" Nappa said joyously as he stalked towards the dead men and woman and cracked his knuckles. "It's a shame Kakarot won't be here to watch her friends die but I'll make sure to have plenty of fun anyway."

Suno bit her bottom lip as she contemplated her options. She had been meditating during that three hour break and she couldn't even _sense_ Goku no matter how far she pushed and she made it all the way to Korin's Tower. That meant that Goku was likely still in Otherworld, probably on the Snake Way thing Master Kami told her about. A part of her was highly tempted to just grab Gohan and run but she wasn't sure if she was capable of making it past Nappa and, even if she did, something told her that Vegeta was farther beyond her than Goku was when they first met.

Suno's thoughts were interrupted by a voice in her head, ' _Listen up, everyone. Without Son Goku, this situation is basically hopeless.'_ Suno recognized the voice as Piccolo. Judging from the way Krillin jumped and the way Gohan suddenly became very attentive, he was speaking to them, too. ' _If we work together, we_ might _be able to beat Nappa normally but there's no way we can take Vegeta. His ki is just unreal. However, if we can grab his tail then he'll be completely vulnerable. Krillin, I want you to to distract Nappa while Suno goes for his tail with her_ Fubuki Odori _. Once he's vulnerable, Gohan and I will blast him with everything we've got.'_

Everyone nodded as they steeled themselves for the fight of their lives.

* * *

A/N: For those curious, here are the Battle Powers/Power Levels/Whatever you wanna call 'em, for everyone in the Saiyan Saga at the time of the fight with Nappa:

Tenshinhan: 1,830

Yamcha: 1,580

Launch: 1,340

Chaozu: 610

Suno: 1,950

Piccolo: 2,500

Krillin: 1,770

Gohan: 981


	51. Sacrifice of the Demon King!

Chapter Fifty-one

Sacrifice of the Demon King! Son Goku arrives!

Goku's face lit up as she saw the head of the Snake coming up towards her. She was _finally_ to the end! Or… the beginning. Whatever! She ran forward with a new burst of energy and jumped off the head to hit the ground running not slowing down for a second as she went right through to Enma's desk.

"OH, HELLO!" Enma called down amiably. "GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, SON GO–"

"Notime!" Goku blurted. "Where'sKami?!" Kami teleported in front of her, wide-eyed and sweating, looking more than a little ragged. "Kamiareyouo–"

"Notime!" Kami insisted as he grabbed Goku by the wrist. "Everyone'sdying! _I'm_ dying! It'sallgonetoshit!" Goku barely had time to think about the fact that she'd never heard Kami swear before they were back on the Lookout.

"Hello, Son Goku," Popo said as he held out the bag of senzu, "This one–"

"Notime!" Goku shouted as she grabbed the bag out of his hand. "ByeKami! ByePopo!" She sprinted off the edge of the Lookout and kept running as she fell through the air. "Nimbuuuuus!" The yellow cloud flies urgently under her and Goku dug her heels into it to urge it on like a racehorse. "I'm coming, guys!" Goku called out as she pressed herself flat to Nimbus, doing whatever she could to make it go faster. "Just hold on a little longer!"

OoOoOoO

The second Nappa took another step forward, Krillin sprung into action. He flew at the hulking Saiyan as fast as he could and threw a ki blast into the ground in front him, kicking up a large cloud of dust and debris, before tearing off to the side. The instant the dust cloud was up, Suno completely vanished under the effects of her _Fubuki Odori_. Nappa was only able to catch the movement past him half an instant before he felt something grab his tail and he hear a woman shout "Gotcha!". Before he could even process what was going on, a cry of "Makankousappou!" and "Masenkou ha!" caught his attention as Piccolo and Gohan sent their most powerful attacks his way.

By this point, Nappa realized what they were doing and decided he was having none of it.

With a mighty yell, Nappa uncurled his tail from around his waist and _hurled_ Suno towards the oncoming attacks before easily dodging them. Acting quickly, Suno flipped herself in the air and tried to fly out of the way but only managed to avoid being directly hit. As it was, the beams clipped her back and caused her to cry out in pain as she slid to a stop on the grass.

Vegeta clapped as he sat perched upon his rock and laughed uproariously. "Oh, well done!" he called as he continued to applaud the fighters. He would not look at all out of place with a bucket of popcorn under one arm. "I must say, that was quite the little strategy of yours! There is, however, a fatal flaw: We are simply _better_ than common garbage like Kakarot and Raditz. Nappa is an Elite while _I_ am a _Super_ Elite!" Krillin thought that was a pretty dumb distinction but no way in hell was he going to say so out loud. "Nappa and I have trained the weakness out of our tails. All you managed to do was injure one of your own!" He threw back his head and laughed again.

Suno, Piccolo, and Krillin quickly back stepped away from Nappa to buy them time to think. With what was probably their only hope for an easy victory without Goku thrown out the window, their options basically boiled down to "Throw themselves at Nappa and pray to whatever sort of deity can affect this kind of thing that they won." They were so wrapped up in their thoughts that it took them a moment to realize that one of their number had stood their ground.

"You…" Gohan growled through gritted teeth as he glared at Nappa. "You… _jerks!"_ They'd hurt his mother! They'd made _him_ hurt his mother! They were _laughing_ about it! Suno could feel Gohan's power rising and felt a surge of panic race through her body like lightning.

"Gohan, don't-" Suno called but she was too late. Gohan launched himself forward with surprising speed and rammed his fist into Nappa's gut with enough force to cause the giant to stagger. Before he could regain his bearings, Gohan launched into a flurry of punches and kicks that were slowly but surely pushing Nappa back. The others could only watch in shocked awe as this five-year-old kid beat down a giant man that had previously been effortlessly killing them all.

By the time they got the wherewithal to realise that it would be a good moment to launch their own attacks, it was too late. Nappa managed to lock his stance and take one of Gohan's punches without flinching before retaliating by grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into the ground.

"I hate to admit it," Nappa growled with a tone almost like begrudging respect, "But you really surprised me there, kid! You're a Saiyan, alright, so I'll try to make this painless!" He lifted his other hand and a ball of ki gathered in his hand as he prepared to blast Gohan at point-blank range. Then, against every logical part of his brain, Piccolo did something he had never thought he would do.

He leaped to Gohan's defense. Piccolo charged at Nappa and fired a blast at him with both hands. This caused Nappa to use the blast he had meant for Gohan to block Piccolo's attack. At the same time, Suno lunged forward and drove two fingers into the crook of Nappa's elbow as hard as she could. The giant saiyan cried out in stunned pain as his arm spasmed and his grip released. To finish the attack, Krillin flew forward and upward and smashed his knee up under Nappa's jaw while he was stunned to send him flipping through the air while Suno dropped down to check on Gohan.

"Are you alright?" Suno asked him as she stroked his hair. Gohan nodded and tried to push her hands away. He didn't need to be babied anymore.

"I'm fine, mother," he assured her as he rubbed his neck. Suno nodded and ruffled his hair.

"Good," she muttered, "Because when this is over, you are _so_ grounded." Suno didn't know if he got this from her or Goku or the both of them, but she was suddenly feeling very sympathetic to the plights her own mother dealt with when Suno was younger.

Piccolo and Krillin both met Nappa in the air and did their best to capitalized on his defenseless state before they were joined by Gohan and Suno. The four threw everything they had into their punches and kicks while Nappa seemed to do little more than absorb the punishment. As it turned out, however, Nappa could absorb a great deal of punishment and he proved this when he grabbed Krillin by the ankle and swung him at the other three like a club. The attack sent the others flying before Nappa spiked Krillin into the ground hard enough to put him a good two feet underground. Nappa chuckled and dusted off his hands before descending towards Suno and Gohan.

"Now then," he growled darkly, "I believe I owe the two of you something."

"Makankousappou!" Piccolo roared from behind. Nappa spun around with seconds to spare as a large spiral beam of yellow-purple light pierced his left bicep and left a smoking hole that might have otherwise been in his chest. He snarled and lunged at the Namekian as Krillin burst out of the ground.

"Hey, ugly!" Krillin called out which, somehow, made Nappa come to a screeching halt. He turned slowly on Krillin and looked genuinely offended. "Y-yeah!" Krillin continued as he tried to look like he wasn't on the verge of weeping in terror. "I'm talking to you!" He balled his fists and tried to puff out his chest as Nappa lumbered towards him. "You think you can just come here, blow up a city, and kill my friends?" Nappa chuckled and cracked his neck.

"I dunno," he shot back casually, "Seems to be what I've been doing so far. Got something to say to that, little man?" Krillin swallowed nervously and looked to Suno, giving her a nod. She nodded back and waited to see whatever plan he was going to come up with.

"As a matter of fact," Krillin said, "I do!" He raised one hand high overhead and a small disc of ki hovered over his palm. The disc immediately exploded in size and there were very clear serrated edges that spun around the disc. "Kienzan!" The air hissed as Krillin through the huge ki disc with all his might and… Nappa hopped over it to avoid it. He landed in front of Krillin and lunged forward with his hands outstretched.

Here is what happened before his fingers reached Krillin's skull.

Suno watched the Kienzan sail overhead and realized what Krillin's plan had been. She gathered ki into her hands so that the disc wouldn't touch her skin and flew towards it in a burst of speed. Summoning all her focus, Suno caught up to the disc and guided it around in an arch before sending it back down to Earth.

Vegeta watched all of this with mild interest but never raised his voice to warn his ally.

Krillin felt the ki of the Kienzan as it flew back towards him and managed to hop out of the way with seconds to spare.

Finally, Nappa looked over his shoulder and saw the Kienzan come shrieking towards him. He flipped backwards to escape the deadly blade.

The edge of the Kienzan bit into his back and severed Nappa's spine.

Nappa crumpled to the ground in a broken heap as the Kienzan burrowed into the dirt and disappeared from sight. Earth's defenders stared in shock for a long moment without daring to breathe. Had they actually won? Was Nappa truly defeated?

Nappa let out a wretch of pain and tried to push himself up. His legs wouldn't move, however. No, Nappa realized with dawning horror, not _wouldn't_ move. _Couldn't._

"V-Vegeta!" Nappa gasped as he crawled through the grass and began to claw his way desperately to his comrade, "Vegeta! I… I can't feel my legs!" He sounded so different now. So weak and afraid. "Vegeta," he begged, "H-help me!" It was so pathetic that for a moment, Krillin and Suno felt a pang of guilt. Then they remembered all the dead and decided that this was more than deserved.

Vegeta hopped off the rock he'd been sitting on and walked towards Nappa while the other Saiyan desperately reached out a hand for assistance. Vegeta took Nappa's hand in his and Nappa smiled with genuine appreciation and affection.

"You disgust me, Nappa," Vegeta muttered sourly as his grip tightened on Nappa's hand.

"Wh-what?" Nappa said tremulously as color drained from his face.

"You're worthless," Vegeta continued. "Your defeat has shamed our entire race. After all, a Saiyan that cannot fight is no Saiyan at all." The others shuddered as they heard the bones snap in Nappa's hand which caused the massive Saiyan to whimper in pain. "It's a good thing you're removed from the gene pool, I suppose. Couldn't have you polluting my bloodline with your disgrace through interbreeding." Then he casually flung Nappa over his shoulder like a ball of trash. He watched Nappa sail up into the air, pleading and begging and screaming, and grinned. Without even the slightest effort, a geyser of purple ki seemed to erupt from beneath Vegeta's feet and sail up into the sky, reducing Nappa to wisps of ash. Vegeta grinned as he turned his attention to Earth's defenders. If a shark could grin, it would look not unlike Vegeta did at that moment.

"Well," he said as he cracked his neck from side to side, "That was fun. I suppose it's my turn."

OoOoOoO

Goku watched a bright purple beam of ki shoot high up into the sky from afar and her eyes widened in surprise and, despite herself, excitement. Whoever had done that must be really strong! Despite everything else, she couldn't help but look forward to the battle.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta tugged at his gloves and brushed dirt off the jutting shoulder pads of his armor, he rolled his neck and did a few stretches. He was acting as though they didn't exist or were beneath his notice. It was infuriating, because Piccolo knew exactly what it was. He was _trivializing_ them. Still, Piccolo told himself, that was to their advantage.

' _Let him preen and posture,'_ Piccolo thought. ' _It gives me the time for my last trick.'_ While Vegeta was preoccupied with, of all things, picking at his teeth, Piccolo slowly moved one of his hands behind his back. With carefully deft movements, he plucked a small vial from his blue belt and uncorked it before he placed it on the ground. He thrust out his hands and green energy swirled forth from his palms. "Mafuuba!" he cried as the energy enveloped Vegeta.

OoOoOoO

Kami grunted in pain and clutched at his chest. He leaned heavily on his cane as his knees began to buckle. Popo moved dutifully to him and propped Kami up, letting the Guardian lean on him for support.

"Oh," he muttered with a ragged breath, "How I wish he wouldn't do that."

OoOoOoO

Vegeta stared at the green energy surrounding him and Piccolo grinned. It had worked! Vegeta was trapped and now all he had to do was–

Vegeta took in a quick breath and blew the Mafuuba out like a candle flame. Piccolo's mouth went agape and his arms fell limply to his sides. In the blink of an eye, Vegeta was on him, hitting him under the chin with a toe kick that sent him tumbling end over end before collapsing to the dirt in a heap.

"Kienz–" but before Krillin could even finish the word, Vegeta was right in front of him and grabbed his forearm.

"No more of that," Vegeta told him in an admonishing tone. Vegeta put on the slightest pressure and Krillin let out a silent scream as the bones in his forearm shattered. Then Vegeta let go of his arm and flicked Krillin on the bridge of his barely-visible nose to send him flying. Krillin smashed through several rocks before coming to a stop in a tree with several more broken bones.

" _Fubuki Odori!"_ Suno cried out as she raced towards Vegeta from behind in a burst of speed. To the casual onlooker, it seemed as if Vegeta had simply stuck out his arm and Suno appeared from nowhere, flying in the opposite direction. What had actually happened was that Suno charged Vegeta and the Saiyan threw his elbow out to intercept her. It smashed Suno in the ribs, breaking several of them, before he smashed her again in the jaw to send her flying away.

"I must commend you," Vegeta said as he turned on Suno and slowly advanced towards her. "That little speed-boost technique is quite impressive. I've seen its like before but usually they're from races far more advanced than this cesspit of a planet. If you were of our race, I'd strongly consider letting you live."

"Mother!" Gohan screamed in fury as he lunged for Vegeta. He smirked and turned casually towards Gohan.

"But as you're _not,"_ he said while dismissively smacking Gohan into the dirt, "Then there's no reason for you to be alive." Gohan struggled to pick himself up before Vegeta kicked him into the gut and sent him tumbling away. "However, I've got a bit of _cleansing_ to do before I get to you." He raised one hand high overhead and a blazing ball of ki roared to life in his palm like a fireball. "Say goodbye, _abomination."_

Suno staggered to her feet before collapsing again. Her vision swam and she started to cough up blood. She crawled, desperately, but every movement seemed to take an hour. She'd never get to Gohan in time. She was about to watch her son die, right in front of her.

Vegeta hurled the ki ball at Gohan with all his might with a bark of laughter. Gohan steeled himself and threw up his arms to defend himself. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't cry. He would make his mothers proud. Everything was enveloped in a blinding flash of light.

OoOoOoO

The cane slipped from Kami's fingers and clattered to the ground. Not because Kami had lost his grip but because the cane had quite literally slipped through his hands.

"G-God?" Popo stammered in shock as his master began to fade away. "K-Kami?" Despite everything, Kami seemed… happy. Proud, even.

"He saved the boy," Kami whispered in disbelief before smiling serenely. "I knew he could be good." He faded away even as Popo reached out to try and touch him.

Popo suddenly realized how very… lonely it was at the top of the world.

OoOoOoO

Gohan slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see Piccolo standing in front of him with his arms outstretched. Tendrils of smoke were running off his body and his clothes were burning tatters that barely hung to his frame. For a moment, though, he seemed… fine. Then he fell forward and hit the ground with a thud.

"M-mr. Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed as he knelt at the Namekian's side. He took one of his teacher's hands in both of his and looked at him with tears in his eyes. To his surprise, Piccolo was crying, too.

"G… Gohan," Piccolo muttered. Every word seemed to be agony and every breath took all his strength. "Are… are you alright?" Gohan sniffled and nodded. Piccolo… smiled. "That's good," he wheezed before laughing weakly. "The great Demon King, dying for a child. I should be disgusted. You and your mother and your damn soft hearts. Yet… I am glad to have done so. You are the only one who has ever shown me true kindness, Son Gohan. I am glad to call you… my friend." Then Piccolo slowly closed his eyes and let out his last breath.

"Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan whispered in a small voice. He squeezed Piccolo's hand again and shook it, trying to rouse him. "G-get up! Mr. Piccolo! Get up!" Piccolo gave no answer. "Please?" Gohan whimpered. It was no use. Piccolo Daimaou was dead.

"No…" Suno whispered as she finally managed to stand. If Piccolo was gone then so was Kami. So were the Dragon Balls. There was no way to bring anyone back. Launch, Chaozu, Ten, Yamcha, the people of East City. They were all just… gone. Forever.

"No…" Vegeta growled as he balled his fists. "No, no, no!" With the Namekian dead, then the Dragon Balls were useless! This whole planet was useless! His immortality had slipped from his fingers. All this time, wasted! He glowered down at Gohan and raised his hand again, creating an even bigger ki ball this time. This time, he'd make _sure_ the brat was dead! He flung the ball down with all his might and Suno lunged forward to try and get to Gohan first… but she was too late. The blast engulfed Gohan and all she could do was scream as Vegeta laughed.

Then Vegeta abruptly stopped laughing and Suno felt a _very_ familiar ki. She looked up, hoping against hope, and was the happiest she'd been in months when she saw…

"Goku!" Suno cried out in elation.

The Heroine had arrived. Goku smiled down at her, standing atop Nimbus with Gohan in her arms. She had also, Suno realized, bulked up _considerably_ in the last eleven months. Vegeta furrowed his brow as he watched Goku descend to the ground on her strange yellow cloud. So _this_ was Kakarot? He scoffed. Frankly, he didn't see what he was supposed to be impressed by.

Goku hopped off Nimbus and set Gohan down on the ground. Suno threw herself into Goku's arms and squeezed her wife as tightly as she could. She couldn't believe it. Goku was _back!_ It was like she'd been in some awful, unending nightmare for almost a year and now she was finally awake again. Then she looked over Goku's shoulder at Vegeta and reminded herself that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Goku said as she gently let Suno down. "Is everyone else...?" Suno nodded as Goku took a small pouch off of her belt.

"Ten, Yamcha, Chaozu, Piccolo, Launch… They're all gone." Goku turned and glared up at Vegeta while she took two senzu out of the pouch. If Piccolo was dead, Goku reminded herself, then no one else could come back. She handed a bean to Suno and one to Gohan. Both let out a sigh of relief as they chewed on the magical beans and their healing powers took effect.

"Where's Krillin?" Goku asked icily. Was she too late again? Was Krillin dead because of her, _again?_ Krillin let out a groan of pain from the tree he was tangled up in and Goku flew up to him. "Hold on, buddy!" she told him as she carefully extracted him from the tree. She gently brought him down to the ground and gave him a senzu. Once Krillin was restored, he, too threw himself at Goku and hugged her tight.

"Goku!" he shouted. "Boy, am I glad to see you!" Goku smiled and hugged Krillin back.

"I'm happy to see you guys, too. I can take it from here." Krillin nodded and let Goku go before she turned back to Vegeta. He descended slowly as Goku walked towards him. The air seemed to simmer with tension like a heatwave as the two drew closer. Goku stopped for a moment and knelt to ruffle Gohan's hair affectionately. "You did great," Goku told him encouragingly, "I'm _so_ proud of you!" Gohan sniffled and smiled. "You guys need to get out of here, though." Gohan nodded and Goku stood up before turning back to Vegeta. "You're the jerk who's killed all these people, aren't you?" Vegeta gave a cavalier shrug.

"No but I commanded the one who did. I am Vegeta, your King. I will give you this one chance to-"

"Nope," Goku said suddenly. Vegeta blinked. No one ever cut him off before.

"I… I beg your pardon?"

"Whatever you were going to say, I'm not interested. You and whoever else you came with killed a lot of good and innocent people and I'm going to make you pay!" Goku pounded her fist into her palm before jerking her head towards the east. "Follow me. I want us to go somewhere where no one will get hurt. That way I can go all out." Vegeta chuckled and shrugged.

"Very well, Kakarot," Vegeta said. "Your king shall grant you this request for your final resting place." Goku flew off with Vegeta tailing after her while the others watched. Despite the joy they felt at Goku's return, they couldn't shake off a sense of dread. Vegeta was incredibly powerful, like nothing they'd ever seen. They just hoped Goku's training would be enough.

OoOoOoO

While she and Vegeta were flying, Goku couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen him somewhere before. There was something _about_ the angry man that made him seem very familiar. She landed on a rocky outcropping and Vegeta landed on one that was slightly higher than hers. He crossed his arms and sneered and it was then when Goku finally realized why he looked so familiar.

"Hey!" she said while jabbing a finger at him. "I saw you in a pot once!" Vegeta chuckled.

"How convenient," he replied as he fixed his scouter over his ear, "Because I'm about to see you in a grave!" He chuckled and Goku frowned. She didn't like this guy very much. "But first," he went on, "Perhaps you wouldn't mind showing me your power level? I'm just curious to see how quickly you'll die." Goku nodded and brought her fists to her sides. She let out a cry of power as her aura surged around her and her ki rose dramatically. Vegeta nodded and tapped at his scouter as it pinged repeatedly and a number rose higher and higher. "Four thousand," he mused. "Impressive for garbage. However, you are still low class where I am a super elite. This battle was decided from the moment we were born."

Goku smirked and got into a fighting stance. "Don't be so sure about that," she warned Vegeta. "Even a 'low class' can surpass an elite with enough hard work." Besides, she still hadn't shown him her Kaiouken technique so he didn't _really_ know how strong she was.

Vegeta chuckled and got into his own guard. "Then allow me to show you a power that no amount of 'hard work' will ever be able to overcome. You cannot win."

Goku narrowed her eyes at Vegeta and balled her fists. "People usually regret telling me when I can't do something," she warned. And with that, they attacked.

* * *

A/N: So you might have noticed that Goku's training didn't seem to be nearly as effective in this universe. That's not because she didn't train as hard or because she's inherently weaker. We're just... nerfing everybody in DBZ, to avoid the absurdly overblown power levels and power creep that DBZ winds up getting smothered in. Everyone's strength is still relative to what it is in canon so if Character A is stronger than Character B at Point C in canon but weaker than them at Point D then the same will remain true here.

SSV/N: If you're not a fan of that, "Three Eyed Turtle and the Murderous Monkey" won't have any nerfing.


	52. Fight, Son Goku!

Chapter Fifty-two

Fight, Son Goku! Vegeta Battles Against a True Hero!

The ground shook with every impact. Gusts of wind buffeted the baked desert ground until cyclones were whipped into life by the furious exchange of strikes. Every blow carried the sound of a thunderclap and errant ki attacks blasted the ground into glass where they hit. For the three remaining fighters, it was like watching a roiling thunderstorm in the distance. Every impact flashed through their ki senses like a lightning bolt as they stood transfixed despite Goku's warnings. Gohan covered his mouth with both balled hands while he watched with rapt attention.

' _You can do it, mama,'_ he thought. ' _You have to!'_

OoOoOoO

Goku pushed off a spire of rock and launched herself back at Vegeta, colliding with him in midair in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. Vegeta was, she had to admit, an incredibly talented fighter! She hadn't fought anyone in almost a year so this was exciting! Goku went for a straight jab but Vegeta deflected with his palm before grabbing both sides of Goku's head and smashing his forehead into hers which he followed up with a knee to the gut and a backfist that sent her spiraling down to the ground. She managed to right herself and landed on her feet as Vegeta descended casually down to meet her. Goku was already panting while Vegeta's breathing was completely even. This, Goku realized, was a problem. He was already stronger and faster than her by a _lot._

Vegeta smirked and beckoned for her to continue. "Come on, then," he taunted. "Make me _try."_ Goku smirked back and balled her fists.

" _Kaiouken!"_ she cried as a red aura wrapped around her body and her power level spiked. For half a second, Vegeta's surprised expression seemed to imply that he was wondering just what the hell that meant. Before he could put voice to his expression, however, his face was quickly obscured by Goku's fist. The Saiyan King hurtled off in a blue-yellow streak and smashed through several rocky pillars as Goku followed after him in a red blur, pinballing him around with punches and kicks before driving an elbow into the small of his back that sent him careening end-over-end into the sky. She followed him up and sent him hurtling down to the ground with a crescent kick, the heel of her foot smashing him down to shatter the hard earth. Goku took a few seconds to catch her breath and wiped her brow with a smile. She wondered if he still felt like talking big now.

Vegeta let out a burst of purple Battle Power to push off the debris he was buried under and then groaned before he picked himself up out of the crater he'd created. He rubbed his neck as he looked up at the red dot in the sky that was Kakarot quizzically. That was… not bad. He smirked to himself and rocketed up to meet her, surrounded by his purple Battle Aura. Perhaps she was worth something after all.

They met again in a collision that sent sparks of ki through the air. They bounced away and struck again and again as the sky flashed red and purple with each impact. Now, however, Goku was beginning to notice a problem. Not a new problem, though. The same one as before. Even _with_ Kaiouken, Vegeta was still faster than her and he was hitting her more often than she was hitting him. Even though she was getting hits in, like the twisting kick she drove into the side of his head, she could tell that she'd have to step it up if she wanted to win.

Vegeta grinned as he drove Kakarot away with an axehandle blow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It seems as if you're at your limit," Vegeta said mockingly. "In that case, let me show you what _true_ power looks like. This is the power of a super-elite, Kakarot!" Vegeta threw his arms out and lightning crackled across his body in surges of purple energy. He threw back his head and roared. Goku brought up her arms to cover her face as wind whipped up like a hurricane from Vegeta's rising power.

Before Goku could make her move, Vegeta was on her in a flash and hammering her with fists and knees. She threw out a kick but Vegeta effortlessly dodged it and grabbed her by the neck. He dragged Goku across the ground before throwing her up into the air and firing off a ki blast that she _barely_ managed to dodge. This was _bad._

OoOoOoO

Kaiou monitored the battle from Otherworld with his godly perceptions and frowned as his antennae dipped and bobbed. If he had learned anything from the past seven months, it was that Goku was going to take some incredibly stupid risk that could very nearly get everyone killed.

"Careful, Goku," he muttered. "Don't overexert yourself! Times two is your maximum but you've still got the Genki Dama!" Of course, the way the fight was going now, what choice did she have but to go to times three? He shivered when he felt the presence of the Kaioushin passing through his realm and, given the stress he was under, he spun around and snapped at… nothing. "Y'know," he screamed, "If you're gonna watch, the least you could do is create a physical presence in my dimension so that I'm not so creeped out!" Then Kaiou realized he had just screamed at _the Kaioushin_ and his face went pale. "Uh… n-never mind."

OoOoOoO

Vegeta had well and truly regained the advantage by this point with one arm wrapped around Kakarot's neck as he smashed his knees into her face again and again. He'd adjusted to the change in Kakarot's battle power and now was back in control. The fact that he was going to win this fight was so patently obvious that Vegeta didn't even notice _when the wench jabbed a thumb into his eye._ Worse still, he felt her bite down on his arm when he was blinded and cried out in pain when she actually bit down hard enough to _break the skin._ The next thing Vegeta knew, she had smashed the point of her elbow just behind his jaw and, for one time _far too many_ today, Vegeta was sent down to the ground again. He was in a red fury as he picked himself up but forced himself to stay calm. She'd not done any _real_ damage, he had to remind himself. Just a scrape or a scratch. He looked down at the angry red imprint of her teeth on the bare skin of his forearm and smirked. He liked that she had a bit of fight in her.

Goku groaned and spat out the piece of blue fabric in her mouth. She made a face and spat again. That was _awful!_ Whatever Vegeta's outfit was made out of (it _kinda_ seemed like rubber?), it was obvious that he didn't wash it enough. Worse still, she didn't like fighting dirty but it was what she needed to do at this point. At least it had bought her a few seconds breathing time and as she watched Vegeta flying towards her, she knew this was her best shot.

"Come on, Kakarot," Vegeta called up as he got closer, "If you surrender now I shall be gentle when–"

"Kaiouken times three!"

"Now what does _that–"_ Vegeta started to ask before he was rudely interrupted by Goku driving both of her feet into his face. She fired two ki blasts into the air from her hands to rocket them down to the ground even faster, Vegeta's head making a crater as her feet drove him into the dirt. She flipped off of him and rebounded off a boulder (that exploded from the force of her pushing off) to continue her assault as Vegeta got to his feet. She hit Vegeta with an uppercut that had comparable force to a meteor strike to send him up into the air and followed up immediately with a flash kick that sent him up even higher. The blue sky turned dark and the stars became visible as Goku hit Vegeta with strike after strike, lifting him into the upper atmosphere. Just before their momentum pulled them out of Earth's gravity, Goku unleashed a series of rapid-fire body punches and followed Vegeta the whole way back down to Earth as his armor chipped and cracked and flew apart under the assault. Their bodies burned orange with the heat of reentry and Goku finished her attack by grabbing Vegeta by the waist and flinging him down into the ground with enough force to create a crater that was nearly a mile wide. The tectonic impact would later be recorded by Royal Scientists as a 10.5, the largest in recorded history up to that point.

Goku sat on the edge of the crater and powered down, catching her breath. Her shirt had burned up on the way down but she didn't really care. That, she hoped, would be the end of it. Her muscles were on _fire!_ Kaiouken times three _really_ hurt.

OoOoOoO

The massive quakes from Vegeta's impact made skyscrapers wobble and set off car alarms across half the continent. It also knocked almost the entire planet's population off their feet, including Suno, Krillin, and Gohan. As they picked themselves up, Krillin gave voice to what they were all thinking.

"D'you think that did it?" he muttered.

"I really hope so," Suno replied despite being unsure. This sudden stillness didn't feel like the end. It felt like the calm in a blizzard before things _really_ kicked up. Everyone was so transfixed on the battle in the distance and what might happen next that no one, not even Gohan, noticed a furry brown tail slip up through the hem of the back of Gohan's pants.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta groaned under a pile of rubble that had once been a mountain and blinked the stars out of his vision as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. What… just… happened? On some level he _knew_ what had happened but he also knew that _it hadn't happened._ She had been too fast for him to block any of her attacks, had hit too hard for him to recover or counter, but that didn't mean… didn't mean…

"She is stronger than me," Vegeta growled in equal measures of horror and rage. He hacked up a mouthful of blood onto his chest and his fury grew as he reached a trembling hand up to his temple and his fingertips came away bloody. He was _bleeding. She_ had made him bleed. This was no longer amusing. This was no longer a game. Vegeta let out a strangled screech through clenched teeth as something in his brain… snapped.

OoOoOoO

Goku was just about to start walking down to see if Vegeta had been knocked out when a massive blast of purple ki vaporized the rubble he had been buried under while he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Vegeta looked up at Goku and she looked down at him. Both were bare from the waist up and covered in cuts, burns, blood, and bruises. Goku was cautious and already slipping back into her guard while Vegeta was wide-eyed and practically foaming at the mouth. He was breathing shallow breaths through his mouth and looked positively feral as he jabbed a finger up at Goku.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" he screamed as spit flew everywhere. "I am Vegeta! I am the greatest warrior in the universe! I am the strongest Saiyan ever born! I will not be bloodied, I will not be beaten, I will not be _surpassed_ by a discarded piece of gutter trash like you, you insolent, contemptuous _whore_!" His face turned red with rage before his purple battle aura flared up around him. "We shall see how you deal with this next attack, Kakarot! If I hit you, you shall die but if you dodge, it will destroy the planet and then you shall die!"

"But… won't that kill you, too?" Goku asked nervously while she hoped in the back of her mind that he was bluffing.

"At this point," Vegeta shot back, "I really don't give a FUCK!" He threw out both fists and rocketed off into the sky with enough force to create a sonic boom, looking for all the world like a shooting star going in reverse before he spun around to look down on Kakarot again. "Take this!" He shouted down as he brought his hands to his side. Tendrils of purple energy snaked off of Vegeta's body like lightning as he brought his full terrible power to bear.

"Oh jeez," Goku muttered in shock. "He's not bluffing!" Then she gritted her teeth and squatted low as she brought her hands to her sides. "Kaiouken times three!" She could feel her muscles shrieking in protest as the red aura flared around her while she pivoted her body and cupped both hands to one side. "Kaaaa… meeee…"

' _Strange,'_ Vegeta thought as he looked down at Kakarot, his Saiyan eyes able to pick out her movements from far below. ' _Those movements of hers look not unlike my Galick Gun.'_ He pushed the thought away as mere coincidence. "Galick Gun…"

"Haaaa… meeee…"

"FIRE!"

"HAAAA!"

The two beams raced to meet one another with blue and purple colliding a brilliant and terrifying explosion of light. Would-be video celebrities all across the continent fought to get the best possible shot of the phenomenon on their phones while scientists and royal parliament members panicked as the struggling beams outshone the light of the sun itself.

"That," Krillin murmured in shock, "Looks _pretty_ serious." Suno nodded wordlessly. Whoever won this struggle, some part of her knew, would be the one who won the fight.

OoOoOoO

Goku felt the ground crack and fall apart under her feet as she struggled and pushed back against Vegeta's attack. Even as she fought, however, she could feel the other blast bearing down on her. Over the cacophony of clashing energies, Goku could hear Vegeta's laughter.

"You see, Kakarot?" he called down. "You could never defeat me! I am your superior! You cannot win! Now die with this planet you love!" Goku ground her teeth and pushed back for all she was worth. This might kill her, she knew, but better for her to die again than for the planet to be destroyed!

"I'll show you what I can't do," she muttered. "Come on, body! Just hold out a little bit longer!" Then she threw back her head and screamed, "Kaiouken times four!" Her aura flared up again and her ki spiked as the Kamehameha surged forward and started to overwhelm the Galick Gun. Vegeta's eyes went wide with panic and pushed forward frantically as the blue-white light rushed up to meet him.

"Impossible," Vegeta gasped as he struggled, "Impossible! I am Vegeta! I am Vegeta! I am Vegetaaaaaaa–!" His screams trailed off as the Kamehameha overwhelmed him and blasted him high up into the sky.

Goku quickly powered down and let her arms fall limply at her sides and gasped for breath. She'd done it! It felt like her muscles were ripping apart and she could feel her heart pounding thunderously in her chest but she had done it!

...Hadn't she?

OoOoOoO

The three warriors watched the Kamehameha blast off into the sky and Krillin let out a low, impressed whistle. That was definitely something.

"Do you think mama's okay?" Gohan asked. He could sense her ki but it felt like she was in pain.

"We'd better go check on her," Suno said and the three began to fly off. Krillin couldn't let go of the cold feeling in the pit of his belly that somehow, someway, things were only about to get worse.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta finally stopped screaming once the beam faded out from under him and just hovered in the air for a moment, too furious to speak. His flesh was smoking and his back was covered with painful burns. He could practically _feel_ his blood boiling.

"How?!" he screamed as his voice echoed off the clouds. "How can she do this?! How can this… this insect, this _nothing_ be more powerful than I?!" He felt his tail twitching with rage around his waist and then a thought struck him. There was nothing for it, it would seem. "Time to stop worrying about my Kingly good looks," he muttered to himself, "And end this! I shall simply look at this planet's moon and transform into the Oozaru." He smirked to himself and looked up at the moon. "Once I am transformed, I will…" Vegeta blinked when he realized that he hadn't started to transform yet. Why? What was wrong with their moon? _WHO WAS THAT BLUE-HAIRED WOMAN WHOSE FACE HAD BEEN PAINTED ONTO IT?!_

OoOoOoO

 _Several weeks beforehand_

"Ms. Bulma," one of the Capsule Corp astronauts asked with a zero-gravity paint brush in his hand, "Do we _need_ to paint your face on the moon?"

"Damn right you do," Bulma snapped into her headset from ground control. "How else will people know that the new moon was _my_ idea?"

"Why were we going to blow up the moon in the first place?"

"Hey," Bulma said, "Are you gonna paint or are you gonna talk? Because I _can_ turn off your oxygen."

"Painting now."

OoOoOoO

Goku collapsed onto her butt and let out a weary sigh. She looked up and saw Suno, Gohan, and Krillin flying towards her and grinned as she waved at them. It had been about a minute and he hadn't come back down yet so Vegeta was probably– The spark flitted across her brain and her eyes went wide.

"No…" she breathed. What else would it take?! She waved her arm frantically and tried to shoo them away and she struggled to her feet as she watched Vegeta make a ragged, stutter-stop descent towards her before he landed in front of her.

"I don't know," Vegeta started to say before he staggered. Then he caught himself and straightened again, "I don't know what you did to your planet's moon but it was only delaying the inevitable." Goku had _no_ idea what the heck he was talking about. The _moon?_ What did that have to do with anything? Vegeta raised one hand and ki gathered in his palm with a malevolent grin on his face. "Now you will see my true power, Kakarot! Then, finally, you will _die."_ He hurled the ball high into the sky and clenched his fist. "Burst open and mix!" Before Goku could ask what the heck that meant, the ki exploded into a blinding flash of light and Goku cast her eyes down as Vegeta began to laugh maniacally. Goku looked up and watched with confusion and growing horror as Vegeta's eyes went white and his canines grew into fangs. There was a horrible crunching sound as the bones in his face distorted and stretched as dark brown fur sprouted all over his body. Vegeta's laugh turned into a roar as he shot up in height as his eyes turned blood red and began to grow.

"He… he can't be!" Goku muttered in terror as her skin went pale. His power was huge! More than that, Goku thought, he had turned into a giant monkey! Just like the monster that Grandpa had told her about! The one that killed him! Vegeta had said something about the moon… suddenly it all made sense! ' _That's why Grandpa wouldn't let me see the full moon,'_ Goku realized. 'I _was the monster!_ I _killed Grandpa!'_ She looked up at Vegeta as the massive monster snarled down at her. ' _Grandpa… I'm so sorry. I'll be able to tell you that soon.'_

"Well, well, well," Vegeta boomed down at Goku, his voice much deeper, "You hardly seem like such a challenge anymore! Oh, and I should mention my power is ten times greater in this form!" He threw back his head and let out a booming laugh. "You never should have lost your tail, Kakarot! Now you will pay the price for throwing away your heritage!" Vegeta reached down with one of his huge hands and Goku barely managed to leap away using Kaiouken. This wasn't like when Piccolo had made himself huge. Vegeta was still _fast!_ She hopped from rock to rock to try and avoid his enormous grasp.

She slipped through his fingers and made a mad dash up his arm to try and attack him. She threw a left jab at his jaw but Vegeta grabbed her arm in his other hand and squeezed it until it broke. Goku screamed in pain while Vegeta laughed but she managed to fight through the pain and lift up her legs until they were pointed at Vegeta's face.

"Kamehameha!" she cried and the blast flew from her feet to hit Vegeta right in his right eye. Vegeta dropped Goku and howled in pain as he clutched at his eye.

"I WILL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB AND DEVOUR YOUR CORPSE!" Vegeta roared as Goku dropped down to the ground and dashed between the rocks. She clutched her broken arm in her good arm and tried to take stock of the situation. She'd been in worse fights than this, she told herself. Vegeta couldn't sense ki so she could use that to her advantage. She only had one bad arm, she'd been in _way_ worse shape in the fight against Piccolo. Then again, Piccolo was about as strong as her. And not a giant. Vegeta was _much_ stronger than her. And a giant.

' _I've got one last trick,'_ Goku thought as she hid behind a pillar of rock and tried to slow down her breathing. ' _I can use the Genki Dama! I'll just need time to cha–'_ Then Vegeta's foot smashed through the pillar. ' _Never mind!'_

"You won't get away this time, Kakarot!" Vegeta bellowed down at her and reached again. Goku quickly spun around and threw up her hand in front of her face.

"Taiyoken!" She cried and Vegeta screamed in pain again and clutched at his face as Goku dashed away again. She found an outcropping that she hoped was hidden enough and closed her eyes. She blocked out Vegeta screaming about his eyes and the horrific pain coursing through her entire body and _especially_ the pain in her left arm as she raised her good arm overhead and opened herself to the energy of everything. ' _The trees,'_ she thought, ' _The rocks. The sea. The grass and the wind, all the creatures of the Earth and the very planet itself. Lend me your energy!'_ She could feel the power rushing through her body and into her hand and it filled her with a pleasant tingling. In spite of everything, she found herself smiling as the energy continued to gather. After a few minutes of gathering energy, Goku was sure that she had gathered enough. She clenched her glowing fist and smirked confidently as she opened her eyes.

She saw Vegeta's face not even ten yards away from her.

Goku didn't even get a chance to throw the Genki Dama before Vegeta opened his mouth wide and blasted her with an enormous pink laser from his mouth. The blast sent Goku flying through the air in a tumbling, smoking heap before she painfully hit the ground and skidded to a stop. Goku groaned and started to sit up but Vegeta was on her in a blink. Goku weakly lifted her arm to try and do something but, whatever she might have done, Vegeta stomped down on her legs and Goku felt everything beneath her hips shatter. The shrieks of her agony carried across the desert.

OoOoOoO

Suno, Krillin, and Gohan were halfway back to the plains where the fighting had started when they heard Goku's screams. They came to a screeching halt and Suno immediately spun around.

"That's it," she declared, "We're going back. Krillin, come with me. Gohan, you stay here."

"But I–" Gohan began to protest. Suno jabbed a finger in his face to shut him down.

"Gohan," Suno told her son firmly, "Stay. Here. You land and you get somewhere safe. Is that clear?" Gohan sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Yes, mother," he said softly. Suno nodded before she and Krillin took off towards the desert. Gohan started to drift down towards the ground and almost touched down when he heard Mama scream again. His young face screwed up with determination and he took off after them.

OoOoOoO

Krillin and Suno came to another sudden halt once they reached the fighting and found a giant monkey with Vegeta's haircut and wearing some of Vegeta's clothes, squeezing Goku between its monstrous fists.

"Huh," Krillin muttered, "Not gonna lie. Did _not_ expect that." Mostly because it was daytime and hey, hadn't Bulma _replaced the moon?_ "Okay, so we're gonna need a–" Then Vegeta squeezed Goku and they heard a crack and a scream.

"TAKE YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER!" Suno screamed furiously as she fired a ki blast at Vegeta and Krillin was forced to follow suit. They hit Vegeta in the side of the head and he slowly turned to look at them. For all the reaction he gave they might as well have thrown rocks. "Oh," Suno muttered in terror, "Oh, we should have had a plan."

"That's what I was going to–" Krillin began to say before Vegeta opened his mouth and fired an enormous ki blast at the pair from his mouth. Krillin and Suno barely managed to dodge and fired a few more ki blasts before disappearing behind a large rocky outcropping.

"Okay," Suno whispered, "What do we have for plans? What about the Kienzan?" Krillin shook his head.

"He knows I have it now. He'd see it coming, probably hear it, too, with those big ears. We'd need one heck…" Krillin's voice began to trail off as the ground rumbled under them, "Of a… distraction…"

OoOoOoO

Gohan was shocked when he saw the giant monkey that used to be Vegeta holding Mama. Mother and Krillin had tried to attack it but they hadn't done any good! Vegeta was just too strong for them. He started to cry when he heard Mama's screams but he stopped himself. Mr. Piccolo wouldn't want him to cry. He started looking around for something, anything, as his mind tried to come up with a plan or an idea. His eyes drifted upward and focused on the bright light in the sky. It was _so pretty!_ It was like another sun! Gohan had barely begun to admire it when he had that funny feeling again. His heart began to beat painfully in his chest and his head started to hurt and he just felt so _angry._ Then he started to feel stronger and stronger. Mother and Krillin were ants below him. He was stronger than them. He was stronger than Mama! He was strong enough to save her! Strong enough to make the bad man _dead_.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta laughed again as he squeezed Kakarot in his hands and felt her bones crush and crack and shatter under his grip. The collar bone, the ribs, perhaps even a vertebrae or two. Kakarot's howls of anguish and pain only made him laugh louder.

"What will you do now, Kakarot?" he asked mockingly. "Your allies are dead! Even your brood has abandoned you! There is no one left to–" he stopped and noticed the ground was trembling under him. "What the devil?" He muttered to himself and turned in the direction of the quakes to see something he would never have dreamed to see here. Another Oozaru, barreling towards him like a missile. It bellowed with rage and slammed into him with force that could only be described as a mountain flying into another mountain. Vegeta was sent hurtling back and Kakarot flew from his grip as the other Oozaru tackled him into the ground and they went sprawling through the dirt, crushing mountains under their weight.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Krillin gawked in open-mouthed shock as a giant monkey that Suno struggled to accept was Gohan charged past them and tackled Vegeta. Goku used to turn into _that?!_ They watched Goku fly out of Vegeta's hands and flew up to catch her. Goku groaned and whimpered weakly in Suno's arms and Krillin couldn't help but notice that one of Goku's hands was glowing.

"So," Suno said as they watched Vegeta and Gohan wrestle and devastate the landscape, "That work for a distraction?"

"Yeah," Krillin muttered, "That… that'll do it."


	53. A Desperate Struggle! The Earth's Power!

Chapter Fifty-three

A Desperate Struggle! Feel the Earth's Power!

As Vegeta struggled to push the raging abomination of an Oozaru off of him, something became suddenly clear to him. Though he had used this form a fair number of times in the past, he had never actually _fought_ anything while in his Oozaru state. Certainly not anything that was the same size as him. He was also blind in one eye, which didn't help matters. Kakarot's whelp roared in his face and rained down hammering blows before Vegeta was finally able to get his feet up under the brat and shove him off. Chunks of earth went high into the air with the Oozaru's landing but he got to his feet with primal quickness and they smashed into each other in a collision that shook the earth.

OoOoOoO

Krillin watched anxiously as Vegeta and Gohan grappled and could feel sweat running down his bald dome from more than just the sun beating down on them.

"Alright," Suno said as she set Goku carefully down on a flat rock and tried to ignore the terror rushing through her body as, giant monkey or not, her five year-old son was locked in a fight to the death with a planet-killing maniac, "What do you need?" Krillin gulped nervously. Him? It had really come down to _him?_

"A clean shot," Krillin told her while never taking his eyes off the colossal tussle. "I'll only get one shot and I can't risk hitting Gohan and missing Vegeta or missing both of them." He gulped again and slowly started flying towards the giant monkeys.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta stomped on the abomination's foot causing it to howl in pain before Vegeta followed with a clubbing blow to the side of the neck to stagger it and laughed as the stupid animal stumbled away.

"Foolish boy," he taunted. "You may have the form but, like the low-class trash you are, you have no ability to control it! You're nothing but a stupid, wild beast!" The Oozaru lunged for Vegeta with its fangs going for his throat and Vegeta took a moment to reflect that, as it was a stupid animal, there was little intimidation to be gained from mockery.

Vegeta brought up his forearm to block his throat and grit his fangs to muffle a yowl of pain as the abomination's teeth sank into the flesh of his arm. Belatedly, Vegeta realized that it was the same damn arm that Kakarot had already bitten! The fangs sunk in deep as Vegeta struggled to remove the abomination from his arm, punching it in the face over and over, which only made the little bastard bite down that much harder.

Finally, Vegeta jabbed a thumb into its eye, causing it to howl in pain and release his bleeding arm. Vegeta sent it staggering back with a series of ki blasts that caught it in the chest and sent it stumbling. He went to bite its throat but the thick fur around the Oozaru's neck protected it from his fangs and it reached up to twist Vegeta's ears. He howled in pain and shoved Kakarot's whelp away in frustration. Before he had time to collect himself, the Oozaru roared and fired a blast from its mouth. The blast caught Vegeta right in the face and he was sent hurtling back. The Oozaru ripped up a chunk of mountain before raising it overhead and running towards Vegeta, slamming the rock down on top of him.

OoOoOoO

Krillin floated closer and closer to the clash of titans, always hovering back a few extra feet out of fear of getting stepped on or having a rock fall on him. He watched Vegeta burst out from under a pile of rocks and smashed one of the rocks into the side of Gohan's face before tackling him down and the pair flipped end-over-end, rolling and tussling and roaring and biting. He raised a shaky arm over his head and the Kienzan burst to life over his palm.

"Just gotta wait…" he muttered to himself while his heart fluttered in his chest.

OoOoOoO

Suno watched on nervously as she cradled Goku's head in her lap. All she could do right now was wait. Gohan was the one fighting Vegeta and Krillin was the one with the most useful technique in this case. They'd have to have something for when Vegeta was back to normal size, since cutting off his tail probably wouldn't kill him. But _what?_

"What do we have left?" Suno muttered wearily to herself. She was startled when she heard Goku chuckling weakly. She was surprised her wife was still awake. Goku tried to lift her right arm but Suno quickly put her hand down on Goku's forearm to stop her. "Don't try to move," she said softly, "You need to save your…" she blinked and stared at Goku's right hand. "Honey, why is your hand glowing?" Goku smiled with the only muscles in her body that weren't torn to shreds.

"The Genki Dama," she told Suno, though it seemed that every syllable caused her pain. "It's energy given from the Earth. I was gonna throw it at Vegeta earlier but he got me." The twitch in her neck implied that she would have shrugged if she could move those bones. "At least I've still got the energy. Take it, Suno. I'm in no shape to use it." Suno's hand slowly crept down to rest on top of Goku's and she gasped in surprise as she felt the incredible power in Goku's hand. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was like she was suddenly connected to everything, to the very spirit of the planet itself! She turned her eyes back to the fight and a plan started to form in her head.

' _I just have to wait…'_

OoOoOoO

Vegeta was finally getting a handle on the awkwardness of fighting something of a similar size to his Oozaru state and was able to avoid and counter the brat's wild blows. The abomination was also slowing down and getting tired. He smashed his fists on the side of its head to disorient it before he followed with a barrage of blistering body blows. It was just about time to end this _nonsense._ He smashed it across the jaw with an axehandle strike to send it sprawling into the dirt.

OoOoOoO

"Not yet," Krillin murmured. "Not yet…" Vegeta was still too close to Gohan. If he missed, it could kill him! He watched with dread as Vegeta loomed over Gohan while the boy-turned-giant-monkey struggled onto his hands and knees.

' _Krillin,'_ Suno's strained voice broke into Krillin's head. He was so stunned that he nearly dropped the Kienzan. Vegeta grabbed a giant rock and smashed it over the back of Gohan's head to knock him back down.

' _Not yet!'_ Krillin thought frantically. He couldn't mess up! He had to make this just right because otherwise he'd mess up because he wasn't good enough. Gohan struggled to get up again, more slowly this time.

' _Krillin!'_ Suno thought insistently. Krillin's arm trembled as Vegeta smashed another rock over Gohan's head to send him back down. Vegeta picked up one more rock and threw it down onto Gohan's head and the boy's eyes closed shut. He was out cold. Vegeta stomped a giant foot on the back of Gohan's neck and opened his mouth slowly as it began to glow with deadly pink light. ' _Krillin, he's going to kill Gohan!'_ Suno thought in a mix of anger and terror. That snapped Krillin out of his fear and he flung the Kienzan with all his might. The disc of light sung through the air and flew straight and true, slicing effortlessly through Vegeta's tail and through his legs, sailing off across the horizon. Vegeta had half a moment of stunned horror before he instantly transformed back and plummeted to the Earth in a bleeding, bruised, bitten mess.

"Woo!" Krillin crowed triumphantly as he pumped his fists into the air. "I did it! Me! Krillin! I…" Vegeta started to move. "I…" Vegeta stood up. "I… I…" Vegeta _looked at him._ "I…" Despite looking like someone who'd had a planet dropped on him, Vegeta was still on top of Krillin before he could react, driving his fists into Krillin's gut. He gave a strangled gasp of pain as he felt his ribs break before Vegeta's hands encircled his throat and Vegeta began to strangle him.

"You…" Vegeta growled with one good bloodshot eye and flecks of foam at the corners of his mouth. "You…" His fingers began to squeeze as Krillin frantically kicked and pulled at Vegeta's fingertips, to no avail. " _YOU!"_ Before Vegeta could pop Krillin's head off of his shoulders, his grip was broken by Suno flying at him and dropkicking him in the side of the head, which Goku approved of. Vegeta stumbled to his feet and lunged at Suno who hovered above him with one hand drawn back and a blue orb of ki floating over her palm.

"You wanna blow up the Earth so bad?" Suno quipped. "Well the Earth shoots _back!"_ she flung the Genki Dama down at him with all her might down at him. Vegeta gasped and, in the moment before impact, Suno was able just a to savor his expression which was all at once confused, weary, annoyed, and best of all, _afraid,_ before he was enveloped by an explosion of light. He screamed in pain as the Genki Dama lifted him into the sky and held him frozen in place, writhing with tendrils of energy snaking off it before it suddenly rocketed him off into the sky in a pillar of light. There was a long, tense silence. The only sounds were the winds sweeping across the desert and the rumbling of Gohan's slow, labored breathing. Finally, Suno started to laugh.

"We did it!" she cried jubilantly. "We _did it!"_ Krillin let out a long breath, not even knowing he'd been holding it, and he laughed with her. They managed a tired, pained, yet extremely satisfying high five before they walked over to Goku and sat down beside her.

"You guys were awesome," Goku told them with a wince as she tried to sit up. She quickly changed her mind and laid back down. "I knew you guys could do great if you worked together." Suno smiled and ran her fingers through Goku's hair affectionately while Krillin just leaned back on his hands and smiled up at the sky. It was _over._

"Krillin," Suno said, "You'd better try one more Kienzan and cut off Gohan's tail before he wakes up." Krillin nodded and started to sit up.

"You're right," he agreed. "Then, who knows? Maybe things can finally get back to…"

Vegeta landed on the ground fifty feet in front of them.

"...Normal," Krillin said weakly with a gulp. There followed yet another painfully long silence. Vegeta didn't move. He didn't breathe. The only sound that came from him was the smoking and hissing of his skin. Maybe it really was over, Krillin thought as he took a step towards him. Maybe Vegeta was truly, finally–

Vegeta sat up like a shot and screamed bloody murder. Krillin screamed in terror and attempted to backpedal furiously as Vegeta stood up and turned on him. Vegeta's body was covered in so many burns that his body seemed to glow and his arm was still bleeding, to say nothing of the cuts that covered the rest of his body. But Vegeta didn't care, he seemed to be dead to the pain, running on pure adrenaline, pride, and an iron will. He lunged at Krillin and flew off with him before slamming him into the ground by the neck. He lifted one foot up to stomp on Krillin's head but was stopped by Suno leaping onto his back. She wrapped one arm around his throat and jabbed the fingers of her other hand in Vegeta's bad eye. He howled in pain as her fingers brushed the raw nerve endings and flipped her bodily off of him. Suno somersaulted to land on her feet and pushed off with a flying kick. Vegeta's face contorted with rage as he caught her by the ankle and slammed her against the ground, again and again. There was a sickening crack and Suno shrieked in pain as she felt her leg snap. Vegeta pinned Suno down with his knees on her shoulders and forced her mouth open with his palm.

"I will suffer no more of this planet and its so-called warriors," Vegeta gasped with a manic glint in his eye. "I will take this planet to my grave. Starting with you!" Vegeta's palm began to glow and Suno could feel heat in her mouth. She kicked and struggled frantically as her eyes went wide with terror. Vegeta threw back his head and cackled like a madman as he prepared to blast Suno's skull clean off her shoulders.

His laughter was cut short as Krillin's katana bit into his back. Vegeta froze as he felt blood trickle down from the fresh wound and run over the burning flesh. Krillin held the katana in his trembling hands as Vegeta staggered towards him with his hands outstretched. Krillin took another swing and Vegeta caught the blade in his hand, snapping it in half.

"You..." Vegeta snarled as he kicked Krillin hard in the stomach and sent him stumbling into the dirt, "You insult my honor with your very existence!" Vegeta pushed his foot down onto Krillin's throat and began to bear down on him. "You have mocked me for the last time, you insolent, impudent, insignificant little–" Vegeta staggered as a ki blast caught him in the side of the head and he really began to reconsider the benefits of monologuing. Vegeta wheeled around to see the source of the attack and saw Kakarot, _Kakarot,_ weakly holding up one arm that instantly dropped back to her side. Vegeta clenched his teeth, both too furious and too tired to scream, and began to stagger towards her. He was going to rip her head off. He was going to rip her heart out. He was going to remove _something_ from _somewhere_ and then she would be dead! He would not take his time and he would not make jokes, he was just going to–

The Earth began to shake and Vegeta looked up to see that the abomination had woken up again. And was standing right over him. Vegeta started to leap back to avoid whatever attack it might throw at him but he was too weary, too slow, and his legs were trapped under the brat's foot. He howled in pain as he felt his kneecaps snap under the weight. He looked up as Kakarot's whelp reached down towards him and pointed one finger at the beast. In desperation, he fired, the shot piercing through its tail and it transformed back into a naked half-breed. The boy fell on top of him and, as if every other injury he'd suffered today was insufficiently infuriating and humiliating, he had the wind knocked out of him. He lay there for a moment, gasping for breath and staring up at the sky. Once he'd collected himself, Vegeta decided he'd had more than enough of this planet and pressed a finger to the bump on the back of his neck. He pushed down on the subdermal implant and sighed with relief as he heard his Space Pod rocketing through the sky. He shoved Kakarot's whelp off of him and began to crawl towards the Pod as it landed. It was just a few feet away. He could make it! Just a few feet and he'd be done with this planet forever.

"Oh, no," Krillin muttered weakly as he staggered to his feet. "I don't think so." He grabbed his Katana off the ground, which still had a good two feet of blade on it, and staggered towards Vegeta. "You think that you can come to this planet, kill an entire city, kill all our friends, try to destroy the planet, and just _get away with it?!_ Nuh uh!" Krillin gripped the katana in both hands and raised it high over his head. "The only place _you're_ going is straight to Hell!" Vegeta grit his teeth and rolled over onto his back to stare up at Krillin.

"Go on, then," he said coolly. "Do your duty, little man. If you have the nerve." He was Vegeta, last of the Saiyan Kings. The nobility and heritage of the greatest warriors in the history of the universe rested on his shoulders. He would not weep. He would not beg. If this was his fated end, billions of lightyears from home at the hands of an inferior species and a race traitor, then he would face his death with dignity and look his executioner in the eye. Krillin raised the katana high and Vegeta's gaze never broke.

"Wait!" Goku screamed suddenly.

OoOoOoO

–- _An excerpt from "My Blood Made me a Warrior, The Earth Made me a Hero", the Memoirs of Son Gohan, published in the year 900. Volume 1, Chapter Four: "My First True Battle"._

" _Many historians and scholars over the last several decades have attempted to say that my mother, Son Goku that is, spared Vegeta out of a sense of altruism. That she saw the potential for good in him and, in allowing him to live, that potential would have the chance to grow. That by showing him mercy, Vegeta might learn to show mercy in turn._

 _While this belief was not entirely unfounded, as nearly every ally my mother had encountered, from Yamcha to Piccolo, had at first been an enemy, and while Vegeta_ did _become one of our staunchest allies and a man I call a personal friend, the responsibility falls on me to tell you, dear reader, that the truth is far less noble."_

OoOoOoO

"G-Goku," Krillin stammered, "What are you talking about? Wait for _what?!"_ Too weak and pained to speak out loud, Goku spoke to Krillin telepathically.

' _Let Vegeta go, Krillin.'_ Goku thought. ' _Let him live. As a favor to me? Please? I've never asked for anything but just… let him go.'_

' _Goku,'_ Suno's voice added to the mix as she hobbled on her good leg, ' _You can't be serious. Vegeta is a monster. He will_ never _get 'better' and if he lives, he will come back and kill us all!'_

' _I know he'll come back,'_ Goku admitted weakly, ' _So I'm determined to get stronger than him!'_ Krillin couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Krillin snapped. Vegeta's steely expression had the faintest tones of confusion. He was, after all, missing two thirds of this conversation. "Surpass him?!"

' _Is that what this is about, Goku?'_ Suno asked irritably, ' _Having someone_ strong? _Someone to push yourself against?!'_

' _That's not what I meant,'_ Goku insisted, ' _I only–'_

' _I'm sorry, Goku, but no.'_ Suno thought resolutely as she turned her attention to Krillin and spoke out loud. "Do it."

"May I," Vegeta interjected as he held up one finger, "Say something in my defense?"

"What?" Krillin asked icily although he had no idea why. Vegeta tapped on his chin and seemed to be in deep thought.

"How did she pronounce it?" he muttered to himself. "Ah, yes," Then Vegeta flung his hand up in front of his face and cried out, "Taiyoken!" Krillin and Suno were hit with a blinding flash as Vegeta used the last of his Battle Power to push off and collapse into the Space Pod. For all that about facing death with dignity, Vegeta thought as he pushed a few buttons and the ship sealed itself, he would cling to life as desperately as he could. "Computer," Vegeta muttered as the Pod began to look off and he felt the phantom fingers of unconsciousness dragging him down, "Set a course for the nearest PTO medplanet." This world would not be his grave. Destiny had not yet been ripped from his fingertips. "Freeza," he muttered weakly, "I'm coming for you." Then everything went black.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Be sure to check back here at 3 PM Eastern Time on the 31st for a special anniversary chapter of _Tales of the Monkey Queen_! There will even be a little something extra to go along with it! See you then!


	54. The Face of Evil! BONUS

SSV/N: Wow. A whole year. Actually updated every week! Any of my readers who were around when I started know that this should be basically impossible. I mean, that Captain America/Frozen fanfic sat basically untouched for a year and a half before I deleted it. So to think I could actually make something this long-lasting and consistent blows my mind. A big part of that has been all of you. Every review, every notification that I've got a new follow or favorite, watching the viewcount climb, it gives me such a thrill and a motivation to keep going. You guys are the best. We're not done yet, though. Not by a long shot! So here's to an ever-continuing adventure!

Z/N: A year, huh? A lot sure has happened in that time, both in the story and out of it. We haven't really talked to you guys much about what goes on behind the scenes or about what we're up to. We usually just pop in to address any pressing concerns we or someone else may have had and leave it at that. Well, let's break that tradition for now, at least, yeah? In all honesty, the fact that we've uploaded a chapter every week, without fail, for an entire year astounds me. When Cloud and I started this over a year ago, I fully expected to never even reach the Piccolo Daimaou Saga and yet here we are starting the Namek Saga. Who knows? Maybe we'll be seeing you guys again next year when we start up the Boo Saga. Well, be sure to stick around after the chapter for a special bonus!

* * *

Chapter Fifty–four

The Face of Evil! Set Controls to Outer Space Now!

Deep in the heart of the Northern Galactic Quadrant, billions upon billions of lightyears from Earth, was the solar system that was home to the base of Trade Planet Organization operations and the Arcosian homeworld: Freeza Planet One, a world of almost complete mechanical efficiency, every inch of ground covered in cities and factories and electronics. Everything on that planet buzzed and hummed with constant activity. Soldiers, servants, and realtors, sometimes one indistinguishable from the other two, flying on and off the pink-skied planet. The most attention-drawing fixture of Freeza Planet One was the Arcosian palace, a massive crystalline structure whose highest peaks stretched thousands of feet into the sky. Deep within the heart of that structure was the being to whom every creature of the Planet Trade Organization bent their wills to. The creature whose very name was spoken in hushed and terrified reverence across every corner of the known universe.

The Mighty Freeza.

Freeza sat idly in his hovering chair in his most comfortable and natural state: his true form. In his isolation chamber on his home planet, he did not have to take care that he did not kill a lesser creature with an errant breath. The chamber helped muffle out the rest of the world and alleviated his senses that were so powerful and so acute that inferior beings were blind and deaf by comparison. In this cool, darkly lit room, he could simply be himself, what he truly was. Power personified.

As Freeza mulled over a glass of black Marcotian wine, he thought about the encrypted messages that the Saiyans had been using for nearly two years.

'' _Private channels','_ he thought contemptuously. ' _As though their monkey brains could ever outwit the mighty Freeza!'_ He had allowed them to operate in their false secrecy and play at being clever little chessmasters because it amused him. He almost hoped that they would find more Saiyans that had eluded his grasp. Let them find a hundred. A thousand! It was, after all, so rare a delicacy to be able to genocide a race twice. Sadly, the Saiyans had turned up nothing. Still, Freeza was more than content to let Vegeta pump himself up for his little revenge fantasy. He kept throwing himself to suicidally dangerous planets that would almost assuredly kill him. When he didn't die, it made him a more valuable soldier. But best of all, there was absolutely no way, no conceivable way in all the universe for Vegeta to match him, no matter how hard he tried. ' _Unless…'_ his traitorous thoughts began to whisper in his head. Freeza dismissed those thoughts with a wave of his hand. It wasn't real. It _wasn't._ Just tales told by elders to scare hatchlings. _Super Saiyans._ The idea. That anything could match his almighty power. He'd wiped them out! Brought them under his heel! How super could they possibly–

Freeza took a long swallow of wine to steady himself. He was getting worked up. When he got worked up in this form, planets died. He let out a long breath and rubbed at his temples before pushing one of the buttons on his hoverchair to activate his intercom.

"Coomkwot," he said to his Chief of Internal Affairs, "Play the Saiyan audio files from eleven cycles past."

"Yiss, Lurd Frieza," The hair-covered Foyradian chirped. Freeza let out a shudder of revulsion at the bastard's under-evolved tongue making a butchery of Arcosian with that ludicrous accent. He never sullied his tongue with Galactic Basic unless it was absolutely necessary. If Coomkwot would not learn then he would have to die. A line of amber light danced and jittered in front of Freeza as a voice spoke, a physical representation of the recorded sounds.

"It's Kakarot," the voice of that long-haired Saiyan said, the weakest of the lot, "I would know. I'm Raditz, your big brother." Freeza rolled his eyes and pushed the button again.

"Not that one, you twit!" he snapped. "The other two!" What did he care of this "Kakarot" or "Son Goku" or whatever the hell her name was, or "Earth"? Coomkwot muttered a hurried apology and the single amber line was replaced by two.

"I have far grander plans, Nappa," Vegeta said. "How do you fancy immortality?"

"Immortality?" The other one parroted. He was dead, apparently, so Freeza supposed he hadn't fancied immortality that greatly.

"Yes," Vegeta continued, "Picture it."

"That's enough, Coomkwot." Freeza instructed and the lines disappeared. Freeza folded his arms behind his head and smirked as the glass of wine hovered in the air by way of his evolutionary-superior telepathy. Oh, he had pictured Immortality quite well. To finally have victory over the one foe who he could never best with strength: the passage of time. To outlive his father, his older brother, to outlive his entire race except the children he spawned. To spread his might across the entire universe. To slay the universe. Repopulate the universe. To _outlive_ the universe itself. To see what came after and remake it all in his own image. To be God in fact as well as might.

With the doddering oafs having killed Earth's Namekian, this "Piccolo", however, it meant that those Dragon Balls were lost to him. Still, he surmised, if one Namekian could make them, why not another? And with Vegeta out of commission, possibly dead, there was no better time to make his move. Freeza chuckled to himself and pushed one of the buttons on his console with his tail.

"Cheri," he ordered, "Prepare my ship for takeoff. I want it fully outfitted with a regiment, fueled, and stored with provisions in the next hour. And find Zarbon and Dodoria, pull them out of whatever brothel and bar they've buried themselves in, respectively." Then Freeza finished his wine in one gulp and, with a groan like someone forcing themselves into a too-snug pair of pants, reverted into his first form. Then he spun his chair around and made his way out the door. He would be invincible. Who could possibly stand in his way?

OoOoOoO

Son Goku let out a pained groan as she tried again in vain to sit up. Everything _huuuurt._ She tried wiggling her toes and hissed in pain. Well, she had felt something, so that was good. She looked up to see Suno and Krillin standing over her, with Gohan in Krillin's arms and Suno leaning on Krillin for support. Neither of them looked happy with her.

"Guys," Goku started to say, "I'm sorry. I just wanted him to–"

"Goku," Suno interrupted wearily, "Just… just don't." Goku looked sadly down at the ground before the sound of a jet engine roaring overhead caught their attention and the three looked up to see a Capsule Corp plane flying down towards them. "That was fast." Suno muttered.

Krillin shrugged and couldn't help but smirk. "That's Bulma for ya." The plane landed and the back hissed open as it fell down to make a ramp. Roshi, Puar, Bulma, and a few Capsule Corp Emergency Medical responders hustled down the ramp to meet them. The EMTs loaded Goku carefully onto a gurney and strapped her down while Bulma took Gohan from Krillin and wrapped him up in a blanket.

"Jeez," Bulma remarked as Roshi handed Suno his cane, "You guys look pretty rough." Bulma laughed weakly as they entered the jet and everyone sat down and buckled in. The plane started to take off and Bulma crumpled immediately, throwing her arms around Krillin and crying hysterically in a mixture of grief and relief. "Oh god," she sobbed out, "You guys are okay! You're… I'm just so glad!" She hugged Krillin tight and he returned her embrace and wept as well while Roshi nodded sullenly.

"We've lost far too much today," he muttered as he reached up to remove his sunglasses and rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "We should be glad for what we have left." Puar drifted over to Roshi to lay under his hand and the old master offered the cat a smile before scratching him behind the ears. Puar sniffled and purred which made Roshi give him a sad smile. Suno took all of that in and looked down at Goku. For a heartbeat, she was still angry at Goku for letting Vegeta get away, for being so foolish… then she saw her wife, her soulmate, who had come back from the dead to fight for her and looked in so much pain. She fell out of the seat onto her knees beside Goku and leaned her head down to cover Goku's face in kisses.

"You're alive," Suno whispered, tears running down her face as she squeezed Goku's hand as firmly as she dared with the damage Goku must be in. "You're alive. Oh, God, Goku, you're back." Goku smiled weakly and returned Suno's kisses as best she could while Suno laid her arms across her. With the exception of the unconscious Gohan and the somewhat-detached medical and piloting staff, everyone let their emotions release now that the battle, the _nightmare_ was finally over. Suno finally let out a sigh and sat back up, wiping her eyes. "We need to go back and get Piccolo and Ten's corpses."

Bulma shook her head. "No need," she assured. "We figured out where you guys had been on the news and grabbed those on the way over." She gave her pocket a sullen pat and sighed before she continued, "So we're heading straight to West City. The same medical wing where you had Gohan. Guess it's the 'extraordinary' wing now."

"Oh jeez," Suno muttered. "How much did people see? Are we famous?" Which she admitted to herself was a strangely conceited thought but she was far more anxious of the idea of fame than anticipating in it. The last thing she was looking forward to was being blasted with adoring people or media attention. The letters they got shortly after Goku moved in with her had been _more_ than enough.

"Eh," Bulma said with a shrug, "They saw… a lot. They didn't see the end, though. The helicopter that tried to follow Goku and Vegeta got knocked down in the blowback of their big laser-thingy." Suno and Krillin winced. Yet more innocent people dying in their battle. "So most people didn't see the end of the fight. We were only able to keep up with what happened because Baba had her crystal ball." She gave a shrug. "Then again, everyone's got a phone these days so who knows how long until the internet's flooded with giant monkey videos." Bulma groaned and rubbed at her temples. "I'm gonna have a headache explaining this mess to King Furry." Krillin blinked in surprise.

"I'm sorry," he interjected while motioning with his hands, "Hang on. Back up a few steps. _You're_ talking to _the King?"_ Bulma gave him a little bit of a smile and rubbed a finger across the bridge of her nose.

"Yup," she told him with a small measure of pride. "I'm Capsule Corps' official liaison to the Royal Government for all things supernatural and extraterrestrial." Krillin couldn't help but let out a low impressed whistle.

"Fancy," he muttered. They flew the rest of the trip in silence and were bustled into the private medical wing at West City General. Bulma had bought extra security to make sure it _stayed_ private while the wounded warriors were being attended to.

They all had several cuts and bruises, not to mention hairline fractures basically everywhere. Gohan got off the lightest although he had a concussion from when Vegeta had smashed him in the head with rocks. A doctor had attempted to examine the stump where his tail had been but Bulma had given him a large stack of cash not only to not look at it but to never mention it to a single person for the rest of his life.

Krillin had several broken ribs as well as a near-break through almost his entire left arm and a slipped disc in his neck from where Vegeta had slammed him.

Suno's right leg was broken in several places and deep bruising on the bone from where Veget had driven his knees into her shoulders. She also had two broken ribs and a pinched nerve in her back.

Goku had…

"Several concussions, arms and legs broken in half a dozen places, broken ribs, shattered collarbone, broken _toes,_ and her vertebrae are so damaged that I'm shocked she's not paralyzed." The doctor read off his chart before he looked down at Goku, wrapped head to toe in a full body cast with her face expose and sitting in a special medical bed that was halfway in design to a sarcophagus. "What _happened_ to her?"

"Do you watch the news?" Bulma asked. The doctor shook his head and she shoved more money into his face. "How's about you keep doing that?" The doctor shrugged and shuffled off.

"Jeez," Krillin said playfully from his hospital bed, "You look like a mummy, Goku." Goku grinned before she started to twitch her nose.

"Aaaaagh," she moaned, "It's itchy!" Suno, who was sitting in the bed next to Goku, sighed and leaned over to scratch her nose. Goku sighed with relief and smiled. "Thanks, Suno." Suno couldn't help but giggle.

"So," Krillin said, "When are we bringing everyone back?" Everyone blinked and stared at him.

"Krillin," Suno began delicately, "Piccolo's dead, remember? The Dragon Balls are gone." She didn't want to snap at him. After all, he might have hit his head pretty hard and be suffering from short-term memory loss.

"I know _that,"_ Krillin pointed out irritably. "I didn't mean _our_ Dragon Balls." Everyone blinked and stared at him. "Vegeta and Nappa kept calling Piccolo a Namekian," he explained. "Now, shot in the dark here, given that we were just fighting aliens and we found out Goku was an alien just under a year ago but it _just might_ be possible that Piccolo was an alien, too. Call me crazy." No one else seemed to follow, so Krillin pressed on. "If Piccolo was from this… Namekia, or wherever, so was Kami. Maybe _they_ have their own Dragon Balls and we can use them to wish everyone back!"

"I dunno, Krillin," Roshi muttered reluctantly from his seat by the window. "That's the textbook definition of a stretch." Krillin threw up his hands.

"Well it's better than nothing!" he snapped in exasperation.

' _He's not wrong, you know,'_ said a voice in all their heads before a further argument could break out. Everyone, except for Goku, obviously, stood or sat bolt upright at attention and Gohan sprang out of his sleep to sit up. ' _It's called_ Namek _,'_ the voice corrected, ' _But they_ do _have Dragon Balls. Now Namek is in the–'_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bulma interjected, "Who the heck is this and what the fff–" Bulma paused and looked over at Gohan, " _Heck_ are you doing in my head?"

"Hi, Kaiou!" Goku called out cheerily. "Guys, this is Kaiou's voice! He's the guy who trained me in Otherworld!"

"Hello," Suno said awkwardly, "Kaiou." She thought about bowing but she wondered if he could even see her. "I'm… uh… thank you for training my wife."

' _You're quite welcome,'_ Kaiou said amicably. ' _Now as I was saying,'_ he continued, ' _Planet Namek is in the… hrm…'_ they could hear the sound of papers shuffling inside their brains, ' _Ah, yes! By Earth directions, it's 9045YX from the direction of SU83."_

Krillin blinked. "What in the heck does that–"

"Hang on," Bulma muttered as she tucked a hand under her chin, "Lemme think about it."

' _If I may continue,'_ Kaiou said, ' _There are only about a hundred Namekians currently living on the planet. They had a terrible drought a short time ago that crippled their population but they seem to have rebounded.'_

"Wait," Suno said, "How long ago is a short time?"

' _Oh, about four hundred years or so.'_ Everyone stared in shock, save for Bulma who was still doing her mental calculations, ' _Eh, s'a short time to me.'_

"Hold on, hold on," Roshi put in and they could almost feel Kaiou's irritation in the back of their minds. "Even if we know where Namek is, how the heck are you supposed to get there?"

"Spaceship," Krillin said flippantly. Goku's nose was starting to itch again.

"A spaceship?!" Bulma snapped. "Are you friggin' kidding me?! Even if we took the biggest rocket engine my dad ever built and slapped it onto the smallest possible ship for maximum thrust, y'wanna know how long it would take us? 4,339 years!"

"Did… did you do all that math in your–" Krillin started to ask. "Never mind. There's _got_ to be a way!"

' _Well–'_ Kaiou began before Suno interrupted.

"Wait," Suno said, "What about the ships the Saiyans came in? That Nappa guy had to have had one. Don't they have like a hyperdrive or something?"

"Raditz had a ship, too," Goku added. "But it's all busted. Gohan broke it." Gohan blushed bashfully like he'd been caught accidentally breaking a plate.

' _I'm trying to–'_

"My dad's team already grabbed Nappa's ship from the sheet of glass that used to be East City," Bulma told them. "They probably have some kind of lightspeed capabilities but it will take them some time to take it apart and reverse-engineer the technology.

' _If you'd just let me–'_ There was a tap at the window. Bulma got up from her chair and was fully prepared to shoo away a bird. What she was not prepared for….

"HOLY SHITJUMPING WHAT THE FUCK!" Bulma screamed as her eyes bugged out and she fell backward against the floor.

"This one would like to come in," Popo said, voice muffled by the glass. He was standing on his flying carpet with his face pressed up against the window. Bulma took a few ragged breaths before she got to her feet and unlocked the window to slide it open.

"Hi, Popo!" Goku called. Popo smiled and nodded at her.

"Hello again, Mr. Popo," Suno added with a respectful bow of her head. Popo smiled and bowed at her as well.

"Hey, Popes," Krillin greeted. Popo did not smile and Krillin swallowed nervously.

"How'd you know to come here?" Goku asked.

' _That's what I was trying to tell you,'_ Kaiou thought between gritted teeth before relaxing. ' _I sent for Popo. He's here to take Ms. Bulma to answer all your problems.'_

"How's that?" Bulma asked trepidatiously. Popo turned to her and smiled. That didn't make her feel any better.

"This one wonders if you would like to see an alien spacecraft." Bulma's eyes lit up like diamond and she was practically trembling with excitement.

"Are you kidding me?!" Bulma asked eagerly and ran for the window, grabbing Popo by the hand. "Let's go!" She jumped onto the carpet and Popo hopped on after her. "How fast does this thieeeeeeeeeeeee–!" Bulma squealed as they streaked out of sight.

' _Korin also wants you to know,'_ Kaiou added, ' _That he'll have more senzu for you in a month.'_

"Y'know," Suno muttered, "When we first visited Korin, he had a giant jar full of senzu. What the heck ever happened to them all?" Suno was pretty sure Kaiou shrugged.

OoOoOoO

Bulma finally finished squealing as they came to a stop in the cloudy and wind-whipped desolate area of Yunzabit Heights: The End of the World. Bulma shivered as she hopped off the carpet and followed Popo deep into a canyon. She gasped aloud as Popo brought her face-to-face with an honest to God alien spaceship. It was large and covered in green moss that was so old it was practically calcified. It was held in the air by four large spikes and had other spikes and spines sticking out of the top. She reached a hand up to scratch at a large bubble on the front of the ship and some of the moss came off to reveal a purple, glass-like substance. Bulma gasped and scratched away at it some more until she could see it was a viewport!

"Oh my god," Bulma breathed excitedly as she brought her hands to her mouth and made little tiny claps. "This is _amaaaaaziiiiing!_ It's a spaceship! How do we open it?!"

"This is where God lived as a child," Popo explained. "God told this one that this ship, his 'home', could not be opened by knobs or keys or numbers. Only by words. The word was… Piccolo." Bulma's eyes narrowed and before she could ask if Popo was being serious, a circle in the bottom of the ship opened up and floated down towards them. The ship, which had seemed dead before, seemed to hum as Bulma and Popo stepped onto the circle. "Piccolo," Popo said again, and the circle lifted up to rejoin the rest of the ship.

"Oh my God," Bulma whispered again, "This… this…" she was too ecstatic to speak. The inside of the ship was pristine and beautiful and more advanced than any technology Bulma had seen or built in her entire life! The walls were smooth and seamless. Bulma couldn't find a single welding point or a screw or anything, it was like the ship had been grown! There was a single seat in the middle of the room and a control panel. Popo was rambling on something about a note left by Kami's parents and that Kami couldn't remember anything and that maybe he'd hit his head like Goku but who cared? _Spaceship!_ Bulma settled down into the chair and grinned as the material seemed to mold to her body. She looked down at the console and… didn't see any buttons. "Right," she muttered, "Language." She sighed and turned to Popo. "So how do I make this thing go?"

"With the word for 'fly'." Popo told her. Bulma rolled her eyes.

"And that would b–" she started to say as her hands rested on the console and her mind came to a halt. She suddenly knew… _everything._ The entire Namekian language, their culture, their architecture and science. She could see _them,_ see the planet, see the drought, see the ship leaving the planet far behind and landing on Earth! Then she was back on Earth, back in the chair and back in her own mind, breathless and wonderstruck. For a moment, it was too much to take and her mind threatened to overload with information. Then she smirked and squeezed the console to control herself. "All right," she declared cockily in Namekian, "Fly me to Jupiter. Let's see what you can do." She let out a squeal of delight as she felt the ship lift off the ground under her feet. The hum grew louder and louder as the moss fell away and the ship glowed bright white, as clean as the day it had landed. There was a deafening "WHIP-CRACK" sound and Bulma looked out of one of the viewports to see the red gas giant right in front of them. "Oh my God," she muttered, "Oh my God oh my God oh my God," she flung herself out of the chair and grabbed Popo's hands in hers, dancing around the ship, "OH MY GOOOOD!" She was still speaking Namekian. Popo laughed and even had a tear in his eye. His God was coming back!

OoOoOoO

While Bulma was gone, Roshi went around the room and did a quick bit of chakra healing like he had done when Suno had fired her first Kamehameha.

"It won't fix you immediately," Roshi told them, "But you'll be back on your feet in about a week." Then he looked down at Goku and peered down his sunglasses. "Except for you. If it wasn't for Korin, you'd be here for four months." Goku grumbled and fidgeted in her body cast.

"Mother," Gohan said suddenly and Suno looked across the room to Gohan where he sat in his hospital bed next to Krillin's. "I… I want to go to Namek." Suno chewed her lip and sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Gohan," she told him, "But I can't let you do that. You need to stay here." Gohan's look of hurt nearly broke her heart.

"But mother," Gohan started to say before Suno cut him off.

"Absolutely not, Gohan," she told him a little more firmly in her teacher voice. "You almost _died_ today. I can't risk that happening again. You're going to stay home and stay with Bulma's family until we get back. You need to start going to school and–"

"No!" Gohan blurted out. Suno stared in shock. She'd never heard her son raise his voice before. "I'm going to Namek! I can fight! I'm not afraid! And…" Gohan sniffled and rubbed at his eye, "And Mr. Piccolo's my friend. He saved me. I want to help bring him back." Suno didn't know what to say to that. Against her better judgment, she turned to Goku.

"Help me out here," Suno mumbled. Goku did her best to shrug.

"If Gohan thinks he can handle it," she said, "I believe in him." Gohan beamed and Suno groaned. Of _course_ Goku would take Gohan's side. She'd been doing dangerous nonsense since she was ten, what did it matter to her that Gohan was _half_ that age? She looked up to see Gohan giving her puppy dog eyes like Goku could do and groaned even louder.

"Alight," Suno sighed in defeat, "Alright. You can come to Namek." Gohan gave a cheer and Suno held up a finger. " _But,"_ she told him, "We're going to start your education on the way there." That didn't do anything to impede Gohan's good mood and Suno couldn't help but smile. He was their son, alright.

OoOoOoO

Nine days passed and, as Roshi had promised, Krillin, Suno, and Gohan were back on their feet. Goku was still pretty heavily wrapped up but now she could scratch her nose. Apparently in a week, she'd developed psychokinesis. Honestly, Suno wasn't terribly surprised. What _had_ been a surprise was when Suno heard a knock at her door on the ninth day. Suno had been in the middle of filling out paperwork to take an extended leave from her job and was filling it with lies, since she doubted she could get the time off if she said "going to space", when the knock brought her a welcome distraction. It, thankfully, wasn't a reporter or anything. Somehow _those_ hadn't shown up yet.

"Oh," Suno said as she looked up in surprise, "Hi, Chi-Chi. Is everything…" she wanted to ask if everything was alright but she as she studied the other woman's pained eyes she knew that was a stupid question. Chi-Chi was going through the same hell she herself had gone through when Goku had died. How could anything be alright? Still, Chi-Chi seemed to be trying to stay pleasant.

"Suno," Chi-Chi said politely, "I just wanted to… to wish you luck for tomorrow." Suno nodded appreciatively. "I-I'm sorry I wasn't there for the fight, I just…" Suno held up a hand and shook her head.

"It's okay," Suno assured her, "You don't have to explain anything to me. If you want, though, you could come with us!"

Chi-Chi shook her head and crossed her arms over her stomach. "I… I can't, Suno. I'm sorry."

"Chi-Chi," Suno said softly, "I know that things were scary when the Saiyans came but we don't even know if there'll be any danger on Namek. But if there is, we need all the help we can get."

"I _can't,"_ Chi-Chi said firmly.

"Why?" Suno asked. Chi-Chi fell silent and chewed her lip for a moment. "Chi-Chi?"

"Outer space is no place for a pregnant woman!" She blurted out. Suno was shocked by that before she looked down to see the slight swell in Chi–Chi's stomach that she had been trying to cover with her arms.

"How far along are you?" Suno asked.

"Two months," Chi-Chi said as she blinked tears from her eyes. "Yamcha and I are usually careful about that sort of thing. We didn't want to try for a child until we both thought we were ready. But I guess with everything that was going on, we sort of… slipped up." She smiled nervously and shrugged. "I was going to tell Yamcha after the fight. I didn't want to give him something extra to worry about but now…" she choked down a sob as the tears flowed freely. "N-now he's dead! A-a-and some part of me feels like if I had been there, I… I could've…" she swallowed and her voice was barely a whisper. "I-it feels like it's my fault!" Suno hopped up into the air to look Chi-Chi eye level and throw her arms around her and pull her close as the other woman sobbed.

"Shhhh," she whispered softly, "Shhh. It's okay, Chi-Chi. It's okay. It's not your fault. We did the best we could. But now we're going to bring him back. I promise." Chi-Chi sniffled and hugged Suno back.

"I'm just scared," Chi-Chi muttered, "What if something happens? What if we're out there for a year and I have my baby in space? What if I breathe in something on an alien planet that hurts the baby? What if I die or if I…"

"It's okay," Suno repeated tenderly, "You don't have to come. Everything's going to work out." Chi-Chi hugged a little tighter before she let out a shaky breath and wiped her eyes.

"You better bring my husband back," she told Suno with a little smile, "Because if I have to raise this baby alone, I will come find you and kick your ass." Suno smiled and gave Chi-Chi another hug.

OoOoOoO

"What do you mean you're going to space?!" Giran asked in a panic as he spoke to Krillin on his cell phone. "Krillin, we're holding emergency parliamentary elections! I _need_ your endorsement! I could become _King!"_ Giran had a pretty good chance of becoming King in the wake of King Furry's death but he had to make it a sure thing which included locking down the human demographic which _needed_ Krillin's endorsement. Space?! Why the hell was going to space?!

"I have to do this, Giran," Krillin told him, "But I'll be back in time for the primaries, I promise. I'll get all my friends to endorse you. We _did_ just save the world, after all. We'll be back before ya know it."

OoOoOoO

The next day, all the preparations had been made for launch and everyone was ready to go. Before going to Capsule Corp, Suno and Gohan stopped by the hospital to check on Goku.

"How are you feeling?" Suno asked as she looked down at Goku. Gohan was standing on tip-toe to peer into the bed.

"I can wiggle my toes and my fingers without it hurting," Goku told her, "But they won't let me out of the cast yet to see if there's anything else I can do." Goku sighed in boredom and frustration. "I wish I was going with you guys." Suno gave her a pat on the cheek.

"I know, honey," she said, "But we don't even know if anyone's going to be on that planet besides the Namekians. Kaiou made them sound pretty peaceful. We might not have to fight anyone." Goku gave a huff of disappointment and Suno giggled before planting a kiss on her lips. "We'll be back before you know it." Gohan leaned over the edge of the bed to wrap his arms around Goku's neck.

"I love you, mama," Gohan whispered and Goku smiled.

"I love you, too," she said before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You guys have fun!"

OoOoOoO

Bulma stood in a Capsule Corp spacesuit in front of a primed and polished Namekian spacecraft on her front lawn and still couldn't believe she was about to fly an alien ship to an alien world. It was so cool! As she was admiring the ship, she saw her father approaching out of the corner of her eye and turned to him.

"Daddy," she started to say, "These past few days have given me a lot to think about. Losing so many people has put things in perspective, I guess. I just… I wanted to say I'm sorry. For the things I did, trying to shove you out of power and everything." To her surprise, Dr. Brief gave a shrug.

"It's fine," he assured her. "You're ambitious like your old man. That's why I gave you that liaison job with the government. Give you a bit of a job with some weight." He chuckled and scratched his cat's head where it rested on his shoulder. "I suppose I should be glad you didn't do anything _to_ me like I did your grandpa."

Bulma blinked in confusion. "But I thought Grandpa had to be taken off the board because he went insane." Dr. Briefs grinned and stroked his mustache. "You _didn't."_

"Two centigrams of lead in his morning coffee and afternoon tea, every day for three years." The pair of them laughed because they were horrible people. Then Dr. Briefs hugged his daughter. "You be safe now, okay?" Bulma hugged him back and squeezed him tight.

"I will, daddy," she promised. She looked up to see three shadows up in the sky in front of her and beamed as Dr. Briefs left. "Alright, are you guys ready to…" her face fell as she saw what they were wearing. "Are you _kidding me?!"_

Krillin was dressed in a white pinstripe suit with a matching wide-brimmed hat and shoes with a red tie and a white belt. Suno and Gohan were in their gi, although Gohan seemed to have made his outfit himself. Bulma _supposed_ it was supposed to look like Piccolo's. They also had three pieces of luggage apiece.

"What?" Suno said defensively. "We wanted to be ready for anything."

"And I wanted to look good," Krillin added. Bulma groaned and gestured to her spacesuit.

"Am I the only one taking this seriously?!" she demanded before shaking her head. "Never mind." She muttered, "Piccolo." Before Gohan could ask what Mr. Piccolo had to do with anything, the bottom of the ship detached from the rest of the ship and lowered down to their feet. They all scrunched up together on the platform and Bulma said "Piccolo" again to raise it. Bulma made her way towards the lone chair in the room as everyone else set down their luggage.

"Where are the other chairs?" Suno asked. Bulma said something in Namekian and three chairs _morphed_ out of the floor for them to sit on. They sat down and Gohan shifted nervously in his seat.

"Are there seat belts?" he asked. Bulma said something else in Namekian and two bands flew across their chests in an X to hold them firmly in their seats.

"Any other questions?" Bulma asked as she turned her her seat and rested her forearm across the back, looking for all the world like a cosmic busdriver. The others shook their heads and Bulma grinned before turning back around. "Alright, ship," she said in Namekian, "Take us to Namek!" The ship roared to life and rocketed off of the Earth. They could see the stars through the viewports suddenly stretch out into a pure blue-white haze as they made the jump to lightspeed. They were in space!

* * *

 _Tales of the Monkey Queen_ Official Battle Power Guide

Pilaf Saga:

Goku – 10

Oozaru Goku – 100

Yamcha – 8

Grandpa Gohan– 70

Ox King– 60

21st Tenkaichi Budoukai:

Goku – 90

Oozaru Goku – 900

Krillin – 80

Jackie Chun – 90

Nam – 70

Yamcha – 70

Ranfan – 50

Bacterian – 50

Giran – 70

Red Ribbon Army Saga:

Goku (Post Korin) – 120

Launch – 60

Tao Pai Pai – 110

General Blue – 60

Suno – 70

Ninja Murasaki – 50

Android #8 – 90

Android #9 – 100

Korin – 190

Fortune Teller Baba Saga:

Krillin – 90

Master Roshi – 100

Yamcha – 80

Launch – 70

Fangs the Vampire – 60

See-through the Invisible Man – 70

Bandages the Mummy – 90

Spike the Devil Man – 100

Gohan – 120

22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai:

Goku – 180

Tenshinhan – 180

Yamcha – 160

Krillin – 150

Launch – 120

Jackie Chun – 139

Master Shen – 120

Chaozu – 100

Suno – 140

Piccolo Daimaou Saga:

Goku (Post Super Water of God) – 260

Suno (Post Super Water of God) – 220

Piccolo Daimaou (Old) – 200

Piccolo Daimaou (Young) – 260

Mr. Popo – 260

Kami-sama – 300

Tambourine – 170

Cymbal – 130

Drum – 190

23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai:

Goku (w/ Weighted Clothing) – 300

Goku (w/o Weighted Clothing) – 372

Cyborg Tao – 210

Chi-Chi – 130

Suno – 280

Krillin – 190

Tenshinhan – 220

Yamcha – 160

Launch – 130

Hero – 270

Piccolo (w/ Weighted Clothing) – 286

Piccolo (w/o Weighted Clothing) – 372

Saiyan Saga:

Goku (w/ Weighted Clothing) – 334

Goku (w/o Weighted Clothing) – 416

Piccolo (w/ Weighted Clothing) – 322

Piccolo (w/o Weighted Clothing) – 408

Raditz – 1,500

King Kai - 2,500

Piccolo (Post Training) – 2,500

Tenshinhan (Pre Training) – 250

Tenshinhan (Post Training) – 1,830

Yamcha (Pre Training) – 187

Yamcha (Post Training) – 1,580

Krillin (Pre Training) – 206

Krillin (Post Training) – 1,770

Gohan – 1,645

Gohan (Rage) – 2,300

Gohan (Oozaru) 16,450

Chaozu – 610

Launch (Pre Training) – 150

Launch (Post Training) – 1,340

Suno (Pre Training) – 310

Suno (Post Training) – 1,950

Saibaman – 1,200

Nappa – 3,000

Vegeta – 9,000

Vegeta (Oozaru) – 90,000

Goku (Post Training) – 4,000

Goku (Kaiouken x2) – 8,000

Goku (Kaiouken x3) – 12,000

Goku (Kaiouken x4) – 16,000


	55. Vegeta's Vow!

Chapter Fifty-five

Vegeta's Vow! Behold the Galactic Patrollers!

When Vegeta's eyes fluttered open, he became acutely aware that he was submerged in some kind of blue liquid. Secondly, he realized that the reason he wasn't drowning was because he had some sort of breathing mask affixed to his face. Thirdly, he was naked. These details together led Vegeta to realize that he was in a PTO-brand healing tank. He began to bang on the glass bubble-like window of the pod until the healing fluids drained out of the bottom of the tank and it began to open. He grabbed the mask off his mouth and ripped it angrily away, coughing and gagging as tubes came out of his throat. He threw the mask away and hacked out a gob of spit before shaking the fluids off of him like an animal.

"Where… where in the nine hells am I?" he gasped out. He walked out of the pod as it hissed open, his first few steps shaky as he grew accustomed to his healed muscles and bones.

"You're on Freeza Medplanet 33," explained a shrewish voice to his left. Vegeta whirled around to see a green reptilian man with a hooked, beak-like mouth in a lab coat that was adjusting his spectacles with clawed fingers. Strangely enough, he seemed to have a poof of bright orange hair. However, as his Saiyan eyes adjusted to the details, Vegeta soon realized that they were not hairs but very thin, very long feathers. "You were in quite a state when your ship crash landed, your lordship. We were surprised you were alive. What happened on that 'Earth'? Who defeated you?" Vegeta scoffed and wrang out his hair.

"I was _not,"_ Vegeta insisted harshly as he put a glowing fingertip against the stump where his tail once was, "Defeated." He let out a singular grunt to register the sting of burning his own flesh before continuing. "The Earthlings exposed a temporary weakness. And Freeza will find that I am harder to kill than most." He didn't even bother with the facade of servitude by addressing Freeza as "Lord".

"Oh, I'm sure his Lordship isn't that upset," the medic quipped as he turned his back to Vegeta and looked at the instruments that cataloged Vegeta's injuries while the naked Saiyan opened a locker to begin dressing himself, "Given that he's headed for Planet Namek right now. He's probably halfway there."

" _This is terrible!"_ Vegeta cried out in horror. The medic whirled around to see Vegeta staring in disgust and dismay at the array of undersuits available. "How do you imbeciles not have blue? It's my best color!" He rummaged through the undersuits, tossing them with cavalier distaste over his shoulder, one after the other. "Red, Black, Yellow, Purple, Green?! What is this nonsense? Who are we working for, Freeza or Cooler?" He let out a groan and began putting on the black. It was the closest to blue so he supposed it would have to do. "Now, what were you saying?"

The medic sighed and shook his head. "I said," he reiterated as he turned back to his devices, "That Lord Freeza is currently headed for Planet Namek and its Dragon Balls." That made Vegeta freeze halfway through putting on his boots. "Word going around the Organization is that he plans to make himself immortal! Won't that be something?" Veget gave a grunt and finished putting on his boots, then his chest armor and his gloves.

"Tell me," Vegeta asked, "Which way to the shipyard?"

"About half a mile west," The medic said with a gesture, his back to Vegeta, "Why?" He turned around to see Vegeta pointing his glowing hand against his beak.

"I wanted to make sure that doing this would damage nothing of value." Then he blasted the medic's head off, as well as the next seven miles or so behind him. He dusted off his hands with a smirk before frowning down at his hands and tugging at the gloves. Of _course_ they didn't fit right. He cast them aside as an alarm blared and made his way out the door. "One size fits all my royal ass," he muttered as he flew towards the shipyard. "Useless PTO garbage."

Vegeta blasted everything between himself and the shipyard to scraps and made sure to turn every machine in the shipyard but one into a flaming wreckage before hopping into the single remaining Space Pod and taking off. Funnily enough, he could somehow _sense_ all the beings on the planet. So he'd picked up Kakarot and her friends' little trick. That could prove useful. Freeza somehow knew about the Dragon Balls and the Namekians _and_ the fact that they could make him immortal, eh? There was a fair chance that Freeze knew this through listening to his conversations with Nappa and Raditz. Which meant that it was more than likely that Freeza knew he was no longer a servant but an enemy.

"Then the game is afoot," Vegeta muttered as the chemically-treated air filled the pod. "The race to immortality." It was a race Vegeta swore he would win.

OoOoOoO

It had been a couple days since Suno, Gohan, Bulma, and Krillin had left for Namek and Goku was _boooooored._ Bulma's dad had come by to tell her that he had a bunch of his science-people working around the clock into making Nappa's ship, who Goku remembered Raditz mentioning and who must have been the other Saiyan Vegeta came with, into a big ship that Goku would be able to fly in. Or something like that. He said it would take about a month. Master Roshi had come by a few times to play cards but even with her psychokinesis, it was tricky to play without hands. Chi-Chi had brought her lunch a few times and they had talked a little bit so that was nice. Now she was all by herself, just watching TV. She couldn't get to the remote.

"The Parliamentary election process rages on," the anchorman was saying from behind his desk, "In the wake of King Furry's death. While his council rules in the interim, Giran of Sector 38 continues to surge ahead as the clear front-runner for the Royal seat. His chief opposition appears to be coming from _outside_ the body of Parliament, however, in the form of world–famous business mogul Bolivar Tang." As he kept talking, Goku wondered if she could change the channel with her psychokinesis. She figure it was worth a shot.

"In this troubled time," a bulbous orangutan-man behind a podium was saying to a crowd, "What we need is law and ord–" Goku extended her mind out to push one of the buttons and the channel changed. She did it!

"-ast Week Tonight," a parrot in a suit and glasses was saying over the applause of a cheering audience, "I'm John Pollyver. Just time for a quick recap of the week–"

"Noooo," Goku protested as she changed the channel. That looked too much like the news.

"What were you saying about my hair, huh?!" A young man in a school uniform with a blue pompadour angrily asked a slightly-older man in a white jacket and matching white hat.

"Heh heh. Launch would like this show." That just made Goku sad. She missed her friends.

"Hold it, Jos–" the older man was saying when Goku changed the channel.

"I am Vengeance! I am the Night! I! AM! "

"Ehhh…" Goku changed the channel again.

"The Laws of Time are _mine!_ And they will obey me!"

"I think Suno said she liked this show…" That just made Goku miss her wife. She changed the channel again and this time there was a man with glasses, short blond hair, and a red apron. He was standing in a fudge shop. Goku was already interested.

"Because if you've got a pot, a thermometer, some basic ingredients and just a _little_ science in your soul, you too can produce fudge that is really, really…"

"Heh heh," Goku chuckled to herself as she hunkered down as best she could in her casts, "Food shows."

OoOoOoO

Several weeks had passed since the enterprising group had begun their trek through the stars on their voyage to Namek, deep in space. Gohan, Suno, and Krillin had filled most of that time with training although Suno made sure to make time for Gohan's studies. Krillin usually filled that time with meditation or stargazing. Well, _kinda_ stargazing. Going through hyperspace stretched out all of the stars into a series of white streaks but he still marvelled at the sight of them. He was sure that they were the only humans who had ever seen them.

Krillin found himself staring at the stretched-out stars again while Suno had Gohan going over participle phrases and other grammar… stuff. He sighed and ran a hand over his stubbly head, scratching at it. It was starting to itch, which only made Krillin once again regret that he had only packed a single pack of razorblades. Just a stupid oversight. So now, Krillin had to conserve what he had, since he doubted there were any convenience stores on Namek. He'd go days without shaving his head his head, which he couldn't remember doing at any point before in his life.

Krillin supposed it could be worse. The ship looked like it didn't have a bathroom or any way to get rid of garbage but Bulma had shown them that it just took a word in Namekian and the bathroom would just… appear. So would a hole in the bottom of the ship that took out the garbage. Krillin had asked Bulma if they were leaving a trail of waste across the cosmos but Bulma had assured him that wasn't the case. When the waste left the safety of the ship, it was caught in the tunnel of hyperspace and had its atoms violently scattered millions of lightyears across space and time. On that sobering thought, Krillin had vowed to never go to the bathroom drunk during this voyage. There wasn't a kitchen, though, so apparently Namekians didn't eat. Krillin guessed it was a good thing Suno had brought some hot plates. How those worked or what she plugged them into, he had no idea.

Krillin's gaze drifted over to Bulma in the pilot's chair in her tank top and sweatpants, her legs resting on the console as she scribbled furiously in a notepad. It was one of several that she had brought for the voyage, to keep track of all her "scientific breakthroughs." This one seemed to be filled with all the things she had learned from the weird mind-meld dealy the ship had done with her and how to reverse-engineer ancient Namekian technology. At least that was what Krillin had gleaned from peeking at it one time over her shoulder. Bulma hadn't liked that.

Sometimes Krillin worried about Bulma now that she had all this Namekian knowledge in her head. He had guessed that the stuff in the book had been about Namek because parts of it were written in a weird arrangement of characters that he guessed was the Namekian language. Sometimes Bulma would lapse into speaking Namekian and wouldn't even notice until someone pointed it out or she tried to say a word that the Namekians didn't have. Bulma assured them it was just a phase and that it would all be back to normal once she adjusted to the knowledge but Krillin wasn't so sure. It wasn't that he didn't believe in Bulma, she was the smartest person he knew and he was comfortable in being honest with himself that she was _way_ smarter than him. Still, he couldn't help but worry. She was his friend, after all.

A flashing red light followed by an alarm blare pulled everyone from their activities. Gohan and Suno put away their books and Bulma brought her legs down from the console as they all crowded around her chair.

"What's going on?" Gohan asked in confusion. He looked out one of the windows and saw… another ship, flying beside them in hyperspace. It was about half as long as their ship and oblong in shape, with an upward curve and a bubble window of its own.

"I… I think we're being hailed," Bulma muttered in astonishment. "Oh, jeez! My first conversation with an alien lifeform! I mean, one that I _know_ is an alien, Goku and Kami and Piccolo don't really count, right?" She was practically bursting with excitement. "What do I say, oh man, what _can_ I say? How do I talk to them? _Can_ I talk to–" Gohan pushed a blinking patch of light on the console.

"This is Galactic Patroller Quantos Vee of Sector 4218." Boomed a deep and authoritative voice in perfect English. The sound seemed to fill the entire ship. "Unknown alien craft, by the authority of the Galactic Federation, I order you to drop out of hyperspace and prepare for questioning." The others looked among themselves and shrugged. What choice did they have? Bulma said something in Namekian and the stars all came to a screeching halt. "Thank you for your cooperation," Quantos continued politely, "Prepare to be boarded."

"So what do we–" Suno began to ask when two tubes of golden light appeared in the room. They spun around to watch as the golden lights quickly took form into two humanoid shapes. One was even shorter than Krillin but still a little taller than Gohan, with a slender build. The other had long arms with enormous shoulders, forearms, and hands as well as two large spikes sticking out of its back and one out of the back of its head and seemed even taller than Piccolo. They both stood with military stillness, their arms behind their backs and their feet firmly planted forward. The light faded and two physical beings stood in front of them.

They were both wearing purple jumpsuits that covered most of their bodies except for their faces, although the larger alien's suit only came up to its neck and its spikes were left uncovered. The shorter alien's purple suit came up around its head, with white metal pieces covering where its ears would be. They also had white gloves, boots, and belts, as well as white vests with slight bumps on the shoulders and stylized "N"s on the front. Each one also had a sidearm on their belt, although the larger alien's was, naturally, larger as well.

The shorter alien had smooth light green skin and large yellow eyes that, upon closer inspection, were actually compound. Tens of thousands of eyes, taking in all the information around him. The larger one, by comparison, was made of stone. Or more accurately, made of crystal. Its lustrous, multifaceted crystalline skin was bright green and its eyes were yellow as well.

"Greetings," the crystalline giant said, "I am Galactic Patrol Captain Quantos Vee." It gestured to the shorter one, "And this is my partner, Officer–"

"Hey," Bulma said excitedly as she climbed out of the chair, "I recognize you! You're the guy from those books my sister Tights wrote! I'm Bulma! You're Jaco, aren't you?" The short alien looked… embarrassed.

"You're talking about my brother," the patrolman muttered, "I'm Geco."

"Geco," Quantos ordered, "Start scanning the crew." Geco gave a salute and began waving a glowing hand over Bulma's body.

"Wait," Bulma said, "I don't understand. What happened to Jaco?"

"He was moved to another sector about twenty years ago," Geco explained with clear admiration in his voice for his brother. "The last I heard, he was working undercover on the black market system of Isos."

"What's that like?" Krillin asked. "I'm Krillin, by the way."

"The system orbits a dead star," Quantos explained. Krillin stifled a chuckle at the concept of a literal black market, what with the total darkness and all. That was a pretty good pun.

"I don't understand," Bulma continued as Geco continued to scan her, "Why was he transferred?"

"He had… issues" Geco admitted reluctantly. "His methods for dealing with Saiyan occupations of planets were… _extreme,_ and he unleashed horrible biological weapons on planets that gave him trouble. He was moved to where the Patrol thought his talents might be more useful."

"I'm frankly amazed he's still alive." Quantos muttered under its breath.

"Oh," Bulma muttered as Geco's glove beeped.

"This one's a Terran," Geco told his boss, "Although she has an _extremely_ advanced brainspace for her species." Bulma smirked proudly as Geco moved on to scan Krillin.

"Hey, hi, Suno here," Suno interjected. "So what's going on here… sir?" Suno asked with a slight edge in her voice. She couldn't help it. These guys _seemed_ like cops but given her past interactions with the Red Ribbon Army, it was hard to shake an inherent distrust for apparent military figures.

"Nothing to worry about," Quantos assured her with a wave of its hand. "We just have to do a routine scan on any ships travelling this way through hyperspace."

"Yeah," Geco added, "Word is that F–" despite having his back to the larger patroler, Geco caught the dirty look from his captain out of one of the corners of one of his compound eyes. "Er… that some strange characters have been headed to Namek."

"That's where we're headed," Krillin said as Geco moved on to Suno. Quantos nodded.

"I assumed as much. Would you mind telling us why, exactly?" Suno was thinking of how much to tell them when Gohan just came right out with the truth.

"Some Saiyans attacked our planet and killed a lot of people, including our friends. We need Namek's Dragon Balls to bring them back." The others couldn't help but smile. It seemed that lies or stories were as useless to Gohan as they were to Goku. Quantos nodded and stroked its large, jagged chin.

"You know," it said, "For a planet-locked species, you all speak Galactic Basic fluently."

"Oh," Suno replied as Geco moved over to Gohan, "That's kinda funny. We were wondering how you guys spoke English so well." Geco and Quantos blinked.

"What is English?" Quantos asked. Suno shrugged. Before anyone could say anything else, a small section of the back of Geco's glove flashed green once he was finished scanning Gohan and his glove pinged out a whistle.

"Captain," he reported, "This one's a hybrid."

"Oh really?" Quantos asked with a raised eyebrow. "What is he?"

"Half Terran," Geco read off of his instruments, "And half… _Saiyan?!"_ Geco and Quantos exchanged a shocked look before turning to the others.

"How many Saiyans are on Terra?" Quantos asked.

"Oh, just one," Suno assured them. The pair seemed visibly relieved. "My wife, Son Goku."

"And is she the boy's mother?" Geco asked. Suno shook her head.

"Nah," she told them, "I am. I mean, Goku's _also_ his mother? But _I_ had Gohan." She put a hand on Gohan's head and ruffled his hair affectionately as Geco and Quantos exchanged another look.

"Didn't know Terrans had that kind of technology," Geco muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Bulma smirked again while Quantos ignored him to do a quick sweep of the vehicle.

"I wasn't aware Terra had these hyperspace capabilities."

"Well, we don't," Bulma admitted. "Not really. This is a Namekian ship. It just happened to be on Earth." Geco's expression showed that he didn't know _what_ to make of Terra.

"This must be pretty old technology," Quantos added, "Since the Namekians are such a hermetic people." It gave another sweep of the ship and it looked at them again, seemingly looking right through them all. "It seems everything here is in order," Quantos concluded as it and Geco began to glow again. "You may return to lightspeed. Although I'd look into getting a permit for this craft. Oh," it added as their glowing bodies turned to tubes of light again, "And I'm a female." Then they popped right out of existence.

"Well," Krillin muttered, "That sure was something." The others nodded as Bulma returned to her seat. "Where the heck are you even gonna get a permit for this thing?"

"We'll worry about that if we run into any more patrolmen," Bulma said as she hunkered down in her seat and grabbed the console again, "Time to get on the road again!" She said the words in Namekian again and they jumped back into hyperspace with a "WHIP-CRACK!"

OoOoOoO

Geco watched the… Terramekian craft zip off to lightspeed from the comfort of his and the Captain's patrol ship and sipped at his carbon cup of caff-soup with troubled thoughts in his mind.

"Should we have told them, Captain?" Geco asked. "About Freeza? Maybe we should have gone with them." Quantos shook her head as she started the ship's thrusters up again and chartered a course for the nearest distress beacon.

"Geco," Quantos began, "Let me explain something to you. If the entire might of the Galactic Patrol, all five hundred thousand of us, threw ourselves at Freeza all by himself and caught him completely off guard, do you know what would happen? The entire Patrol would die." She sighed sullenly and gripped the steering column in both hands as she kept the ship on course. "We cannot oppose Freeza or the might of the Planet Trade Organization. If we do, he'd turn his focus on us and bring untold destruction on the Federation. All we can do is police the parts of the NGQ that falls under our jurisdiction and hope for the best."

"What do we do about them, though?" Geco asked. Quantos shrugged.

"Nothing," she admitted, "Unless we went to Earth to tell their next of kin about their suicide."


	56. Goku on the Move! Namek at Last!

Chapter Fifty-six

Goku on the Move! Namek at Last!

After what seemed an eternity, Freeza's ship finally landed on Planet Namek. In truth, it had been less than a single cycle but it had seemed an eternity to Freeza as being stuck with the inferior rabble that made up his army often did. As Freeza made his way out of the ship and onto the planet's surface, he wondered for half a heartbeat if immortality was worth exposing himself to this tediously, dismally dull speck of a planet.

From the awful green oceans to the dreary green sky to the tedious blue grass, Freeza decided that as soon as his business here was concluded, he'd blow the damn thing up for being an eyesore. He was thankful for his hover chair as it meant he did not have to grant this planet the undeserved boon of being consecrated with his divine feet. He looked up at the three suns and scowled in distaste, wondering how and why one could ever live on a planet where they did not control the passage of night and day. It also appeared, to Freeza's dismay, that the tallest things on this planet were _mountains._ No skyscrapers or communications towers or structures to speak of. If these slugs even had electricity, he might have simultaneously had a coronary in all three of his hearts out of shock. As one of his soldiers affixed his scouter to his ear, he turned his attention to his assembled troops.

"Gentlemen," he began, "We are here today for one simple reason. There are certain artifacts on this planet that shall grant me immortality. We are to ask the locals about the whereabouts of these artifacts, these 'Dragon Balls', and how to use them."

"Your Lordship," one of the soldiers in the crowd asked, "What if the locals will not cooperate?" Freeza chuckled and a wicked grin drew across his lips.

"Convince them," he explained in a voice like steel wrapped with silk. This drew up a laugh from the crowd, though it went silent when Freeza raised a hand. "I have no doubt that at least _some_ of them will oppose us. Some self-styled 'heroes' or 'champions' or such. This makes the objective all the more simple. You are here to kill as many people as it takes until I can no longer die. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Lord Freeza!" Came the cry all at once. The force began to fan out while some stayed behind to guard the ship as Freeza turned his attention to Zarbon and Dodoria, his most trusted generals and his most powerful warriors outside the Ginyu Force.

"As for the two of you," he said, "I highly doubt that I will have need of your strength on this pacifist mudball but I'm willing to bet that Vegeta is headed this way himself and I strongly doubt he intends to bend his knee. If it comes to it, I expect the pair of you to deal with him. Is that clear?"

"As you command, Your Lordship," Zarbon assured him with a low dipping bow, one arm folded behind his back and the other at a diagonal across his chest. Freeza was glad to see that he had picked himself up out of that inexplicable funk he'd been in when that long-haired Saiyan's death had been recorded almost twelve cycles ago. The blue-skinned Jekhydian was the textbook definition of a model soldier. Impeccably groomed, efficient, punctual, and polite. Although he was, Freeza admitted upon further inspection, not without his faults. He did not understand Zarbon's fascination with jewelry or his long braid of green hair. It seemed like it would get in the way, although Freeza supposed he was no authority on the matter, having no hair of his own. He also did not share the man's love of capes though his father had picked up the trend of wearing them from spending time with Zarbon. Lastly, he was _most_ confused by the fact that Zarbon wore both shorts _and_ a pair of leggings. They were all the same color anyway, so… why not wear pants? Was there something particularly evocative in those three inches of bare thigh? Then again, Freeza supposed he was not one to judge on that front, either. He never wore clothes at all.

"Can do, Yer Holiness," Dodoria assured him with a wicked grin on his purple lips as he brought two fingers of his left hand to his temple and flicked them away in a very casual salute. Dodoria was another creature entirely. The Kingleritan's spike-covered carapace was looking especially bright today. He had recently molted and so his shell would not fade to its more normal russet red hue for several weeks. Like most of his crustacean-evolved species, he was a rather rotund individual. He was also crude, often late, boorish, had a particular fondness for the drink, and would often only follow an approximation of the order he had been given. Still, Freeza had to admit there was a use for beasts such as he. The man had an immeasurable love of violence and a talent for cruelty.

"Lord Freeza," Zarbon asked as the trio flew off to the nearest gathering of power levels, "Where is Kiwi?" Freeza brought a hand to his mouth and chuckled wickedly.

"I told him to stay and find my horn polish," he explained. "I assured him it was a task of the utmost importance, as it makes me look fearsome and regal."

Zarbon's face was the picture of puzzlement. "I was not aware that your lordship _owned_ horn polish," he admitted.

Freeza chuckled again, "I don't." The pair of them laughed in a manner most refined.

"Then why didja…" Dodoria began to ask before it dawned on him. The man _had_ always been a tad slow on the uptake. He added his own belly laugh to their tasteful titters as they flew off.

OoOoOoO

The Namekian ship, which Bulma was _really_ thinking needed a name at this point, finally came out of hyperspace after a month, just outside the orbit of planet Namek. The others scrambled to the windows as Bulma carefully guided the ship's descent to the surface.

"Jeez," Suno muttered, "There's as much green down there as there is blue on Earth. It looks all… backwards." She wondered what it would look like on the surface.

"Hey," Krillin added as he pointed out the window, "Does this place have _three_ suns? Guess they don't have much of a nightlife around here." He chuckled at his own joke. He had to. No one else was. Gohan floated up to look over his mother and Krillin's heads.

"This is where Piccolo came from?" Gohan asked in a mystified tone.

"Not exactly," Suno told him, slightly surprised when she turned around and saw that Gohan was actually floating slightly above her. He was getting pretty good at controlling his flight. "The Namekian that Piccolo and Kami used to be came from this planet but that was a long time ago."

"Yeah," Krillin put in as the ship shook lightly when they entered Namek's atmosphere, "It's not like you'll be able to walk down the street and ask who's heard of Piccolo." This got a couple chuckles from Suno and even a giggle from Gohan. "Then again," he muttered as the planet got closer, "It doesn't look like you'll be able to walk down the street, period." There didn't seem to be any structures on the planet at all. Just mountains and islands and sprawling green seas. Definitely nowhere to get a razor blade.

"Okay," Bulma said as she went about putting on her spacesuit, "We don't know what the atmosphere is gonna be like here so, since I'm the only one who brought a suit, I'll go out and make sure the air isn't, like, I dunno… eighty percent cyanide gas or something." She pulled on her helmet as the ship finally touched down and walked to the center of the room. "Piccolo." The section of floor hissed away and she began to descend.

"I brought a suit," Krillin muttered defensively as he adjusted his tie.

Bulma touched down on the planet and took in her surroundings, analyzing and compartmentalizing every piece of data she saw and that her suit's instruments recorded. The atmospheric pressure on Namek was almost identical to Earth's so there was no worry about anyone's eyeballs getting sucked out. She made a few bouncing steps on the dirt and concluded that the ground was of a similar density to that of Earth as well meaning that there was no issue about getting sucked into the ground or breaking a tooth on the dirt. Most importantly, the atmosphere was of a very similar composition to Earth's. Mostly nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor. Although the trace elements were things she'd never heard of. She wondered if she could fill a jar with air to take some home for analysis.

"Okay, guys," she said as she took off her helmet, "Air's good. You can come out now."

"Thanks, Bulma," Suno's voice came from behind her. Bulma spun around to see that they had already come out. In fact, she guessed that they _hadn't waited at all._ Krillin was still wearing his dumb white suit! She groaned and smacked her hand against her forehead.

"How," she muttered in exasperation. "How are you people even _alive?!_ You just wander around an alien planet without even thinking about how the atmosphere might affect you or if you can even _breathe._ What, were you just gonna throw a ki blast at poisonous gasses or–"

Suno interrupted her, "We put up ki barriers inside the ship that trapped some of its atmosphere. We had those up so we could look around for anything dangerous while you took readings of the atmosphere. We can't have our only omnidisciplinary scientist getting killed, now, can we?"

Bulma blinked a few times before groaning and fishing for the Dragon Radar in one of her pockets. "Never mind," she grumbled as she found the pocket with her Dragon Radar in it and started tapping on the button.

"The Dragon Radar's really gonna tell us where this planet's Dragon Balls are?" Krillin asked.

"Hopefully," Bulma muttered. "If these Dragon Balls produce the same energy that the ones on Earth did, at least." She sure hoped they would. Otherwise they'd be hunting blind. Then the Radar pinged and Bulma grinned at the sight of four little orange dots clustered together. "It works!" She cried jubilantly as she thrust the Radar into the air. "There's already four Dragon Balls together!" Krillin, Suno, and Gohan gave a cheer before something suddenly made them freeze in their tracks and stare up at the sky. "Okay," Bulma said wearily as she followed their gaze skyward, "One of you is gonna have to teach me how to sense ki one day because I really don't like being left out of the loop."

Before Bulma could even kick herself in the pants for not bringing that modified Scouter of Raditz's, all four of them watched a silver ball streak across the sky and land somewhere in the distance with a thunderous explosion.

"Was that," Krillin muttered weakly, "A _Saiyan_ ship?" Gohan nodded wordlessly and they all felt a shiver of panic running down their spines.

"Everyone," Suno said quickly, "Get in that cave over there." She jerked her head to indicate a cave in the mountainside on the island they had landed on. They all began to move and when Bulma started to protest, Gohan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along. "Bring your power down," Suno muttered as she suppressed her ki before Krillin and Gohan followed suit, "He might have another scouter on him." They all waited with baited breath as a purple streak tore across the sky.

"I didn't think Vegeta would have healed so quickly," Gohan whispered.

"If Vegeta's here," Bulma put in, "I should go back and get Goku."

Krillin shook his head. "What," he asked sarcastically, "And just wait here for you to get back? No thanks. We should all just go if we're gonna leave."

"You guys," Suno pointed out, "That would take two months. We don't have that kind of time. Do you really want to leave Vegeta alone, on this planet, _by himself_ , with a pacifist species for two months?"

Bulma huffed, not used to having her ideas shot down. "Well if nothing else," she declared stubbornly as she made her way to the ship, "I'm gonna call Roshi and let him know that Vegeta's here. Hopefully that'll get Goku's butt in gear." Before anyone could stop her, Bulma had already Piccolo'd her way into the ship and closed the door on them. Krillin sighed and shook his head.

"That's Bulma," he muttered wearily. Then he looked skyward and squinted up in confusion. "Hey, you guys sense that, right?" He muttered. Suno and Gohan nodded and followed his eyes up as three white streaks flew quickly into view. They were wearing the same armor as Vegeta and Nappa, so for half a second they thought that it might have been more Saiyans. But they certainly didn't _look_ like Vegeta or Nappa.

They were all dressed in black armor with yellow shoulder and thigh pads as well as white gloves and boots. Two were wearing long black tights and the third was wearing black shorts. They were all wearing green scouters. One looked the most human of the three with an orange mullet and muttonchops that connected to a bushy orange mustache, although he had blue skin and two blunt horns coming out of his forehead. The second one had smooth, mottled purple skin and an enormous dorsal-like fin that stuck nearly a foot in the air off her forehead. Where the first was muscular, she was more lean. The third had orange skin and was larger than either of the other two. He was also bald, with a long, equine face, white eyes, and exposed teeth as if he wore a permanent snarl. For the sake of convenience, the three shall henceforth be respectively known as Chops, Fin, and… Bill.

"I'm not reading anything," Fin muttered as she swept the area with her Scouter, "And it's not like power levels in the thousands like that could just disappear. Maybe the Scouters are just on the fritz."

" _Everyone's_ Scouters?" Chops asked her sarcastically. "All of 'em? At the same time? Besides, even if it were true, you wanna tell Freeza that he has faulty tech? Let's just do a quick scope and tell Freeza we couldn't find nothin'."

"Speak not so lightly," Bill objected as he struck a dramatic pose and stuck out his chest, "For if there are foes to Lord Freeza here, we must root them out! Yea and verily, good comrades of mine, we cannot allow ourselves to falter! It is our duty as the fist of the Organization to be ever vigilant!" Bill continued to prattle on and wax poetic while Chops and Fin floated back in bemused irritation.

"Jeez, this guy loves to hear himself talk," Chops muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Overachiever of the century over here."

"Yeah," Fin added, "The way this nut acts, he'll worm his way onto the Ginyus in another three cycles. I mean, I know we're all contractually obligated to love Lord Freeza but I think this guy actually _believes_ it."

"Zounds," Bill cried as he gestured down to the Namekian craft, "What is this, oh friends? T'is not a craft of the great and proud Organization! It must belong to an enemy!" He raised one hand high overhead and the three on the ground watched in confusion that turned into surprise and mild discomfort as the skin of Bill's forearm rippled and twisted before his arm transformed into a monstrous flesh cannon. "Then by my troth, I shall see it destroyed!" The barrel of the cannon began to glow menacingly and that was enough for Gohan.

The redheaded Half-Saiyan flew out of the cave and slammed into Bill with both fists, sending the pair of them careening through the air. Bill's blast went wild and it ripped a hole across the top of the ship, where before it might have gone straight through. Bill rolled through the air before shoving Gohan off of him and stared at the boy in shock as his cannon turned back into a fist.

"Away, child," he warned as he tapped his scouter. "Thou dost have courage. but thou lackest the strength to stand against mine fists!" Gohan snarled wordlessly and flew at Bill again with a fist cocked back, catching Bill on the chin in surprise and sending him smashing into the ground. Bill flew up to meet Gohan fist-to-fist with aplomb and abandon. "Come then, young lad!" he bellowed in challenge. "Have at thee!" They met in an explosion of punches and kicks, Gohan giving as good as he got despite Bill's superior size.

While this was going on, a somewhat-resigned Krillin and Suno flew out after him to attack Fin and Chops respectively. Krillin grabbed Fin around the middle and dragged her down into the ocean but she just laughed at him.

"I've got gills, you moron!" She told him in a mocking tone as she held up a glowing palm. "I dunno what kinda weird–ass alien you are or what's with those weird clothes but you'll be dead before I–" Krillin punched her in the throat, crushing her windpipe. Fin gave a single gurgle before floating to the surface belly-up. Krillin burst up out of the green ocean to see Suno grabbing Chops by his horns and smashing his face down onto her knee. Chops groaned and was already starting to fall to the ground when Suno put a foot on the back of his neck and brought Chops down to the ground below with a sickening "CRACK!" Krillin flew down to meet her and gave Suno a thumbs up.

"Nice work," he told her. "Guess these guys aren't so tough."

"Yeah," Suno agreed, "And our training's definitely paid off. What the heck _are_ these guys, though? They have the same armor that Vegeta was wearing but they don't look anything like him."

Krillin shrugged. "Some kinda friends of his, maybe?" Suno shot him a sarcastic look.

"You really think Vegeta has _friends?_ Ones that he doesn't blow up, anyway?" Suno sighed and shook her head before she realized something. "Hey, where's Gohan?" They stared at each other before racing off in the direction where Gohan had flown off with Bill.

The horse-faced warrior staggered wearily to his feet and balled his fists, trying fruitlessly to raise them. To his frustration, the boy looked not so much as scuffed. He let out a weary chuckle and lowered his eyes.

"Well met, young one," he told Gohan. "Thou hast bested me, to be sure." He sighed and shook his head. "But I shall not waver from this battle nor turn in fear. Come then and strike a final blow. So that this soldier of Freeza will have been said to died a warrior's death." Gohan nodded at him and brought his hands high overhead, yellow energy crackling between them.

"Masenko!" he cried and the blast flew true to punch a hole right through Bill's chest. He fell backwards slowly and collapsed to the ground, his white eyes staring blankly up at the sky. Gohan sighed and let his arms drop again as Suno and Krillin approached.

"Gohan!" Suno called as she threw her arms around her son. "Are you okay?" Gohan nodded and gave his mother a quick hug.

"I'm fine, mother," he assured her before pushing his way out of her arms gently. If things were going to be dangerous then there was no time for coddling. Just like Mr. Piccolo would say.

"You took this guy out by yourself?" Krillin asked, clearly impressed. "Not bad, buddy." He held out a fist and Gohan smiled and bumped his against it before the three flew back towards the ship. Gohan spared one last look over his shoulder at the body of the warrior whose name he never knew. Even though he was one of the bad guys, he had still been an enemy most… worthy.

The trio returned to the ship to find the swath Bill had cut through the roof was still smoking. They also found Bulma out in front of the ship, her arms folded in front of her with an expression that could only be described as fuming. She tapped her foot impatiently as the trio floated down and Suno wondered if this was what her students felt like on the business end of her stern glares.

"Are you alright, Bulma?" Gohan asked nervously. The sound that came out of Bulma's nose was similar to a teakettle whistling as her face turned steadily redder with each second.

"I'm fine, Gohan," she assured him in a strained voice. He was, after all, the first one who had attacked and had saved the ship, and her, from potentially disastrous damage. "You know what's _not_ fine, though?" She asked, and even took a rhetorical pause. "THE SHIP!" Bulma screamed as she jabbed an angry finger up at the still-smoking Namekian craft. "How am I supposed to go into space with a giant–" the next several words were completely indecipherable and they assumed she was swearing in Namekian. There were a handful of English words they could pick out, however, including "Hole", "Stupid", "Morons", "Incompetent", and the phrase "Why does everything happen to me?" Bulma took a few seething minutes to compose herself and allowing her face to return to its normal and agreeable peach shade. "On the plus side," she muttered, "I did manage to get Roshi before I was shot at. I told him to tell Goku to come here just as soon as she could. Hopefully my dad's done with that ship by now."

Suno winced as she looked up at the ship again, "In the meantime," she muttered weakly, "We're… stuck here. A jillion lightyears from home."

"Hey, wait," Krillin put in, "Maybe there's some Namekians that might be able to help fix it! I mean, this is _their_ technology, right?" Then he turned to Bulma with an almost pleading look on his face. "Could we have the Dragon Radar so we can go find one of their villages?" Bulma huffed and handed Krillin the Radar before she started taking off her spacesuit. Underneath that she wore a black jumpsuit with a yellow vest and a pair of orange boots.

"Thanks, Bulma!" The trio called out in some form or another before flying off and leaving Bulma alone with her thoughts. She stared up at the ship and climbed back inside, wondering if there was something in her brain that would tell her how to fix this junkheap.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta slipped down into the water just before he got to Freeza's ship and swam around the island, using his Battle Power-sensing abilities to detect how many soldiers Freeza had guarding the craft and how powerful they were. He was still getting used to the power but he had to admit that it was far more useful than a scouter. His quick reconnaissance done, he returned to the point he'd entered the water and came back out, chuckling to himself that Freeza's soldiers could be so idiotic. Then he felt a somewhat-familiar power level approaching and couldn't stifle the shudder of revulsion passing through him. Before Vegeta could even ask himself _how_ he knew it was familiar…

"Oy, Vegeta!" Greeted a voice from behind him. Vegeta slowly turned and saw Kiwi, one of Freeza's professional bootlickers. He was covered in tiny purple scales with whisker-like antennae hanging off his lips and a pair of ridiculous tubes sticking off of his head. What _were_ they? A second set of ears? His nostrils? Sex organs? Vegeta didn't know. He didn't _want_ to know.

"Kiwi," Vegeta grumbled, "I thought I smelled your foul stench the minute I set foot on this planet." He crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. "What are you doing? You're usually not far from Freeza's tail. Did he send you away for scuffing his chair?"

Kiwi stuck out his chest proudly and held up a strange cannister in one hand. "I was findin' 'is Lordship's horn polish!" Kiwi was so painfully oblivious of his own cretinship that it would have been hilarious if Kiwi was worth the effort to laugh at. "What brings ya to Namek, eh? Ya wouldn't be tryna to oppose Freeza and become immortal yerself, wouldja?" Kiwi laughed and Vegeta tried to push his way past but Kiwi blocked his path. "Ya despise me, dontcha?"

"If I gave you any thought, I suppose I might," Vegeta shot as he again tried to fly around the worthless cur.

"I know exactly why," Kiwi taunted. "Fer all yer heritage, all yer titles and yer breedin' an' all yer talk about the might of the Saiyan race an' yer perfect warrior blood and blah, blah, blah… we're equals, you an' me. Ya know it." _That_ was too much. It was too ridiculous. Vegeta simply _had_ to laugh. So he did, throwing back his head and letting out an uproarious guffaw.

"E-e-equals?!" Vegeta gasped out before laughing again, "You might as well suggest that the shit from the lowest form of life on the most backwater, underevolved primordial cesspool at the edge of the universe was equal to a Star!" Kiwi growled and drew back his fist, punching Vegeta right in the face. All he managed to do was fracture his hand own wrist.

Kiwi cried out in pain and clutched his wrist as he stared in horror. "Wh-what?! How?!" He and Vegeta had always been equal strength. They were rivals! What had happened? _How_ had it happened?

"Don't be alarmed," Vegeta told him as he backpedaled through the air in panic, "This is simply the universe righting itself. Every moment of your life, from the second your species evolved to the point where you might be asexually reproduced, to the day your mutation unlocked that justified your wasted existence, every single second right up until this point in time, has been through sheer, cosmic, staggeringly good luck." Kiwi through a desperate jab and it phased right through Vegeta. "We have never been equals. Not in intellect, not in dignity, not in wit or pride or looks. All you ever had was power. And now? Not even that."

"B-but I don't unnerstand!" Kiwi cried out in fear as he desperately tried to think of a plan, "Howdja get stronger than me? S'not fair!"

Vegeta chuckled cruelly and cracked his knuckles. "Because unlike the cowardly races of the universe," he explained, "We Saiyans are fire-forged. Battling, suffering, struggling, being brought to the edge of death, makes us stronger. Where species like yours cower in fear of adversity, Saiyans relish in it." His Battle Aura flared around his body and he grinned evilly. "And now, you die." He blinked when he realized that Kiwi was staring over his shoulder and bristled with anger. Really, one should listen to the person about to kill them before they died. It was just plain rude.

"Ah," Kiwi cried in relief, "Lord Freeza!" Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise and Kiwi struck, laughing triumphantly as he unleashed a barrage of ki blasts at Vegeta. He blasted for nearly a minute, a cloud of exploding ki blasts completely obscuring Vegeta from sight. He laughed and laughed until he felt Vegeta's hand grabbing him by the back of the neck.

"You know," he said, "That sort of trick works best when the other person _actually looks."_ Kiwi seemed fit to stammer out more terrified confusion and, honestly, that was more than Vegeta could stand. "I also learned how to sense energy while I was on Earth." He explained bluntly. With that he threw Kiwi into the air with enough force to snap the tubes of his endoskeleton and watched the repugnant worm sail into the air while pointing his finger-gun at his body and he squeezed one eye shut.

"Bang." Kiwi's body exploded into a shower of gore and viscera and Vegeta held his arms out with his head tilted back, basking in the glory of effortless slaughter. It was just what he needed after the frustration that was his trip to Earth. "Gods," he whispered, "I am _absolutely fantastic."_

OoOoOoO

"Hey, Roshi. Ya there?"

When Muten Roshi picked up his phone, the actual, literal, last person he had expected to be on the other end was Bulma. Yet that was the voice on the other end.

"Uh, y-yes," Roshi stammered as he picked himself up off the floor after he'd fallen out of his armchair in shock, "I'm, uh, I'm here. How am I _hearing_ you, though?"

"I built this special phone that goes across space and bounces off the gravity of stars to pick up a signal, but that's not super important right–" Then there was a tremendous explosion and Bulma screamed.

"Bulma!" Roshi cried in shock, "Are you alright? What's happening?!"

"Call Goku!" Bulma screamed. Roshi could hear the sounds of fighting in the background. "Tell her Vegeta's on Namek! Then call my dad and make sure the ship is ready!" She hung up and Roshi immediately called the hospital, then waited several torturous minutes to be connected to Goku's room.

OoOoOoO

"If your dish doesn't cut it," the man on the TV was saying, "You will be–" the last word was drowned out by the phone to Goku's room ringing and she picked it up off the table to answer it. She'd healed pretty fast and she could use one of her arms, although the other was still in a cast _and_ a sling, and her legs were in casts from the knee down.

"Hiya," she said cheerily, "This is Goku!"

"Goku," came Master Roshi's voice urgently, "It's Roshi. Ya gotta–" Goku was immediately distracted by the sight of a familiar white cat on the windowsill.

"Oh, hang on, Master Roshi," she cut in politely, "Korin's at the window!" She used her psychokinesis to open the window and Korin hopped inside. "Hiya, Korin," she greeted cheerfully, "Have you got the senzu?"

Korin nodded and held up a pouch. "Try not to get this one trampled by any giant monkeys, okay?" Goku laughed as Korin flicked one into her mouth and chewed while Roshi was talking.

"Goku, listen to me!" Roshi urged, "I just got a call from Bulma! Vegeta's on Namek and it sounds like things are bad! You gotta move your butt over to Capsule Corp right now!" Goku grinned and flexed out of her casts, laughing as the plaster went flying.

"No problem," she told him, "I'm on the way!" Goku quickly stripped out of her hospital gown and changed into the spare gi Suno had left her before waving goodbye to Korin and flying out the open window. Korin was all set to leave before he realized that Goku hadn't eaten her dessert. And he _did_ love lime gelatin…

OoOoOoO

Dr. Brief was thrilled to show Goku the Capsule Corp ship his crew had spent the last month working on. It was an enormous spheroid ship with several bubble windows and "CAPSULE CORP" in letters across the front as large as a house. Goku could hardly believe that it used to be a ship like the one she had come to Earth in as a baby. It was _huge!_

"The ship is equipped," Dr. Brief explained, "With a hyperdrive engine that we built from the ground up to go ten times faster than it was previously capable. It also has an autopilot already programmed for Namek's coordinates so you just have to push the big red button. There's also a bathroom and a gravity generator that goes up to 100 times the Earth's gravity." Goku grinned and went starry-eyed while Dr. Brief took out a tiny pack of cigarettes and gave a tiny cigarette to his cat Scratch, who was nestled in his pocket.

"Wait," Goku said "What about food?" Dr. Brief chuckled as he lit his own normal-sized cigarette and then Scratch's tiny one.

"We installed a couple of experimental food replicators, one for food and one for drink. It can generate any food you want by repurposing dark matter particles." Goku's smile widened and she clapped excitedly. "Now," Dr. Brief warned, "Like I said, it's experimental. You could wind up with bratwursts that taste like tin."

"Does it make muffins?" Goku asked.

" _Any_ food," Dr. Brief reiterated, "Literally any kind." He took a second to straighten his jacket and look down at Scratch. "Now if you hit an electromagnetic storm that takes out the autopilot, what you wanna do is–" But in the second he'd looked away, Goku was already gone and the ship had taken off.

OoOoOoO

Goku stared down at the Earth as it quickly vanished from view before she walked over to the gravity controls.

"One hundred times, huh?" That was ten times higher than the gravity on Kaiou's planet! She'd tell Suno about that and Suno would be _so_ impressed that Goku remembered the multiplication stuff she'd explained. Goku grinned and cracked her knuckles before cranking the gravity up to 20 times Earth's. "Look out, Vegeta," she said as the ship shot into hyperspace, "Time for round two!"


	57. The Hunt Begins! Dodoria the Terrible!

Chapter Fifty-seven

The Hunt Begins! Dodoria the Terrible!

Kaiou was enjoying a peaceful and relaxing day on his little world. It was one of those rare days where he didn't miss when his planet was much larger and had a bigger racetrack. When he didn't wish he could go back in time and tell himself that the God of Destruction was a sore loser and a big baby. Kaiou sat in his lawnchair and stared out at the endless fields of yellow clouds as he prepared to enjoy a fine lunch of dim sum when he thought he might check in on the group that had headed to Namek. He _had_ told them to go there, after all. He closed his eyes and stretched out his godly perceptions as his antennae dipped and flicked at the air.

It took him only a matter of moments to find the energy signatures of Son Suno, Son Gohan, and Krillin on the Planet Namek. They'd made the journey safely enough, it seemed. Before Kaiou had any time to further analyze their situation, a great and terrible power came screaming to the forefront of his mind and gave him a chill so fierce it seeped instantly into his bones.

"Oh no," Kaiou murmured softly before frantically reaching out with his consciousness to find Son Goku. He _had_ to tell her. She _had_ to know!

OoOoOoO

It had only been a few minutes but Goku was already getting accustomed to the times twenty gravity and was about to bump it up to times thirty when she heard a voice in her head.

' _Goku!'_ Kaiou's thought screamed. Goku smiled as she stood in front of the gravity controls.

"Hey, Kaiou!" she said aloud. Something seemed to be bothering him, she noticed. "Is everything alright?"

' _No,'_ Kaiou thought nervously, ' _Everything is_ not _alright! Are you headed for Namek?'_

"Yup!" Goku told him. "I'm gonna train really hard 'cause I know Vegeta's gonna be there. If he's anything like me, getting beat up just made him stronger."

' _Listen to me,'_ Kaiou told her, ' _As soon as you find your friends, you grab them, leave Namek, and_ never, ever go back.'

"But Kaiou," Goku protested, "I _know_ I can beat Vegeta if I train!" She had to make up for the way their fight had ended. She'd just been sitting around like a couch potato while everyone else finished the fight. That was okay, though. She'd just try that much harder!

' _This has nothing to do with Vegeta,'_ Kaiou thought firmly, ' _This is about_ Freeza!' That name sounded familiar to Goku for some reason. ' _He is the single-most powerful being in the universe. He's_ hundreds _of times stronger than Vegeta!'_

Goku couldn't stop herself from grinning. That sounded like a _great_ challenge! "Then I guess I'll just have to train really hard," she told Kaiou excitedly.

' _NO!'_ Kaiou insisted. ' _You can't beat him! No matter how hard you train, he will be beyond you! He wiped out the entire Saiyan race as easily as you wipe out a bag of peanuts!'_ Goku _did_ like peanuts…

"But Kaiou," Goku said again, "If he killed my race, don't I _have_ to fight him?" Not that Goku really cared about the Saiyans. If Raditz and Vegeta were anything to go by, they had all been a buncha jerks! But she couldn't just let Freeza get away with killing all those people.

' _No,'_ Kaiou thought tersely, ' _You're not listening. You_ can't _beat him! No one can! There are exactly_ four _beings in the universe powerful enough to stop Freeza and not a single one of them is going to help you!'_

"That's good," Goku shot back, "Because I don't _want_ any help! And I don't want to be told what I can't do! Now I've got to get back to training!" Goku summoned all her mental power and forcibly shoved Kaiou out of her mind. Then she turned her focus back to the controls and grinned. "So, a guy even stronger than Vegeta, huh?" She turned the dial up to fifty times gravity… and barely stopped herself from going face-first through the floor.

OoOoOoO

Kaiou sat in shock, sprawled across his lawn. He'd been sent tumbling back from the sheer _physical_ force of Goku pushing him out of her mind and blocking him out. No one had ever done that to him before. Not in his millions of years of life! He wasn't even aware that someone could _do_ that. It was like… hanging up on him!

"Of all the ungrateful…" he muttered as he dusted himself off and walked back to his chair. Kaiou let out a groan of dismay as he looked down at his dim sum scatter across the grass. Just _fantastic._ His lunch was ruined! He kicked it off his planet in a fit of frustration and watched as it sailed off to fall into the clouds before he stomped over into his lawnchair and sat down in a huff. He'd be seeing Goku again in less than a month, he just _knew_ it. And when she got here, he was going to make her run laps for a _century._ He'd borrow those hundred-ton weights from South Kaiou. Maybe the guy would even give him back his lawnmower.

He probably wouldn't give him back his lawnmower.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta touched down on the outskirt of a Namekian village, the first one he'd seen so far that hadn't already been ransacked by Freeza's forces, and used the time it took him to walk to the village to try and force himself to look less fearsome. Which took some doing, as it went against literally every instinct he had cultivated in his life, which was to always look _more_ fearsome. But he knew that the locals would be unwilling to hand over the Dragon Ball if he attempted to take it by force and, while he could easily just _kill_ all of them, then none of them would tell him where the Dragon Ball was. They might have it hidden somewhere that he would never find it. Or worse, he'd destroy the damn thing in the process of looking.

Which would deprive Freeza of immortality, which was good. It would also deprive _him_ of immortality, which was bad.

Vegeta sauntered into the village with a fake smile plastered almost painfully on his face and sought out the village elder. If rule of thumb had taught him anything in his twenty-odd years of travelling the cosmos, it was that on planets like this, the person in charge was often the oldest, fattest, wrinkliest bastard in eyeshot. He found such a bastard walking through what he could only assume was some kind of garden, talking to the other Namekians and using a cane to walk. Vegeta wondered what in the world they could even be growing since their species subsisted entirely on water.

"Excuse me," Vegeta began, forcing amicability into his voice as he felt the wary eyes of the villagers on him, "Might I trouble you for something?" The Elder eyed him suspiciously and leaned on his cane.

"What is it you want, outsider?" the Elder asked in a voice that sounded as old as he looked. Which was quite old. Vegeta kept that frozen smile on his face and held out his hand.

"I have travelled from afar to your… _beautiful_ planet because I have heard legends of your Dragon Balls and what they are capable of. You see, my father was killed when I was a child. I will not lie, the loss has hardened me. If I could only see him again, I am sure that I might become a better person with that weight off my soul." The Elder stared at Vegeta for a long moment and holding the smile became physically painful.

"Very well," he said calmly as he wandered towards one of the alabaster huts. "Who am I to deny so noble a request?" He returned a short while later with the ball and Vegeta's expression of astonishment was the first genuine emotion he'd shown since he came to the village. It was _enormous!_ The damn thing was bigger than his head! The Elder smiled and handed the Ball to Vegeta who smiled right back.

"You are very kind," Vegeta told him. "It is even more beautiful than I imagined. I simply cannot wait until I have the other six. I certainly hope that the other villages will be as amicable as you were." Then, without another word he casually chucked the Dragon Ball into the air and made a sweeping motion with his hand. Before any of the Namekians even had a chance to wonder what the gesture meant, their heads burst like over-ripened fruit. Vegeta smirked as the ball fell into his outstretched palm and let out a long, guttural sound. He was already starting to come around to this place.

OoOoOoO

The trio flew as quickly as they dared while suppressing their power levels to avoid detection as they followed the signal of the Dragon Radar to what they figured would be a Namekian village. They only hoped that the village hadn't been attacked yet by those Planet Trade Organization guys who'd attacked their ship.

"Hey," Krillin whispered nervously as they flew closer, "You guys feel that, right?" Gohan and Suno nodded wordlessly, apparently neither one trusting themselves to speak. The "that" which Krillin was referring to was the three large kis they were flying toward. All three were larger than Vegeta's when he'd attacked Earth and one power in particular was so monstrously large and implacably evil that, if they focused on it too long, they would curl up in a ball and just give up. The three of them dropped down onto a hill overlooking a village and crawled across the ground to peek over the edge of the hill down onto the village itself.

' _Oh,'_ Suno thought sarcastically, ' _Wonderful.'_ There were about a dozen more aliens in Saiyan armor of various shapes, sizes, and species pointing their weapons at a mixture of old, young, and fully grown Namekians. Not even counting the two other guys wearing Saiyan armor who had the two power levels they had sensed before; a skinny blue guy and a big pink guy. The big guy had one Dragon Ball and the skinny guy had two. The Balls had one, two, and seven stars. And they were _gigantic!_

' _Holy crap!'_ Krillin thought in surprise. ' _Those Dragon Balls are bigger than Gohan!'_ The skinny guy and the big guy stood at the sides of a small, horned, and seemingly-naked alien sitting in some kind of floating chair and talking to one of the Namekians. He was an older Namekian by the look of him, with another older Namekian beside him and two children hiding behind his legs. As luck would have it, _the little guy_ had the terrifyingly huge power level.

' _Really?'_ Suno thought suspiciously. 'That's _what he looks like?'_

' _Hey!'_ Krillin thought defensively. ' _What's_ that _supposed to mean?'_

' _Shh!'_ Gohan thought with a glower before they could get into too big of a mental argument. The small pink man was the one doing the talking and he seemed to be switching languages every few sentences as the older Namekian he was talking to didn't respond. He was growing more agitated with every new language. Finally, he started to speak English.

OoOoOoO

Freeza let out an aggravated sigh and clenched his fists irritably. If it weren't for the bony protrusion surrounding his skull, there would have been a vein clearly throbbing with anger at his forehead.

"Now listen here, good sir," he said, forcing himself to stay calm and keeping up in the stylings of a gentleman. Even so, he grew more and more furious with every syllable, "I am Freeza the Divine. You have already frustrated me and wasted my time by forcing me to speak inferior languages, worst of all Galactic Basic. So you had better pray to whatever filthy slug god you believe in that you can understand me right now, or I will…" Freeza paused and cleared his throat and his voice was calm and measured when he spoke again. "Or things will get _unpleasant_ for you."

"My name is Moori," the Elder Namekian said calmly despite the threat hanging over his head, "And I understand you. But I do not understand why you are here."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Freeza asked rhetorically. "We are here for the Dragon Balls, my good man." He gestured to Zarbon and Dodoria, who hefted their Balls to show. "As you can see, we're already most of the way there. However, I do so sincerely hope that we can reach the transaction more amicably than the last four villages did."

Moori frowned as he let his arms drop to his sides and his hands spasmed for a moment, as if he were going to ball them into fists before he changed his mind. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "What happened to the other villages?" Freeza lifted a hand to his mouth to cover his chuckles.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's a rather unpleasant business. I couldn't tell you." Then he turned to Zarbon with a smirk. "Zarbon, do tell the good man about the unpleasant business." Zarbon gave a chuckle of his own and a toss of his head to hang his green braid over one shoulder.

In a flash, he was gone, then he was beside the taller, leaner Namekian at Moori's side, hanging in the air. His leg flew out and smashed into the Namekian's neck. There was a horrible _snap_ and the Namekian fell dead to the ground. Moori watched in horror as he tried to shield the two children, Dende and Cargo, with just his hands as another villager screamed in fury and fired a blast of ki from his palm at Zarbon. He tossed one of his Dragon Balls into the air and vanished again, the blast hitting one of Freeza's regular soldiers, who shrieked with the pain of death and whose scouter exploded before he collapsed to the ground a charred corpse. Freeza watched the Namekians search for Zarbon in a panic before he drolly pointed upwards. The Namekians looked up with terror in their eyes to see Zarbon high above with one hand overhead, deadly light radiating from his outstretched fingertips before he swung his hand down and blasted the attacking Namekian into oblivion. He landed at Freeza's side and held up his hand for the Dragon Ball to land in perfectly. The soldiers gave a cheer and Moori's face turned purple with rage.

"You would _murder_ my people and our brothers in other villages," he snarled through gritted teeth, "And you expect me to hand you our Dragon Ball?"

"I most certainly do expect that," Freeza replied, "Otherwise, you will die. Really, isn't that a lot of trouble just for my eternal life?" Moori's eyes went wide with horror and his jowls shook with restrained rage at the idea of a creature so awful becoming immortal.

"You listen to me, you filth," he growled despite his terror. "You will _never_ have our Dragon Ball! I would sooner die than see it in your hands!" Freeza rolled his eyes.

"How _noble,"_ he muttered sarcastically as he slowly raised one hand. "So _your_ life isn't worth my immortality… but what about the children's, I wonder?" Cargo and Dende cried out in terror and huddled against Moori's legs.

"You… you would kill _children?!"_ He asked in horror struck disbelief. Freeza only laughed at him.

"You could fill a _planet_ with the children I've murdered," he replied. "Several, actually." Then he blinked after lingering on that thought for a moment. "Come to think of it…" he murmured and dropped his hand back into his chair to begin counting. If he assumed that an average planet could hold an average of five billion people… Only accounting for the people _he_ had personally killed… If he factored for the percentage of the populations that were made up of children…

OoOoOoO

' _Mom, Krillin,'_ Gohan thought, ' _We have to do something!'_

' _What_ can _we do, Gohan?'_ Krillin asked. ' _You can sense those guys' ki! We're outmatched.'_

' _But…'_

' _He's right, Gohan,'_ Suno thought reluctantly. ' _I know it's awful, but we just have to wait for them to leave.'_

OoOoOoO

"Hey!" cried a voice from above that, frustratingly, tore Freeza out of his calculations. It was going to be bugging him _all day_ and it would just be sitting at the back of his mind no matter what he did. He turned his eyes skyward to see a trio of Namekians that, judging by the relieved and delighted expressions on the villagers' faces, must have been some sort of champions or heroes. He tapped his scouter and stifled the urge to chuckle. If these _were_ heroes, this was going to be _hilarious._

As the Namekians landed, Freeza got a better look at them. They all had on the same frilly white collars that the rest of their species seemed to be required by law to wear. The tallest and most traditionally "heroic" looking wore a white cape and dark blue pants with a yellow belt. The second-tallest had on an orange vest and red pants and the shortest, stockiest, and jowliest of the three wore a billowing purple shirt and lavender pants. Normally, Freeza would commit all of these details to his superior eidetic memory, but they would all be dead in a minute or three, so it didn't matter.

"So it's true," the jowly Namekian said. "Some outsiders _have_ been terrorizing our citizens and stealing the Dragon Balls!"

"You…" the caped Namekian growled as he and the other two looked at the dead Namekians with mounting righteous indignation. "We're going to make you pay for what you've done, you monsters!" Freeza laughed.

"Monsters?" he repeated mockingly. "I say, I believe that's the most polite insult I've had used against me in _years."_ He laughed again before the mirth disappeared instantly. " _Kill them."_ The soldiers charged forward and screamed with bloodlust, their arms transforming into cannons that filled the air with blaster fire. The Namekian heroes dashed easily through the blasters and dispatched the dozen Freeza shoulders with ease. Freeza blinked with mild curiosity as his men fell dead around him.

"That don't make no goldang sense," Dodoria muttered as he tapped at his scouter. Moori watched as they used the devices at their ears and he quickly pieced things together.

"Indeed," Zarbon agreed while he tapped his as well, "Their Power Levels don't seem nearly high enough to–" Moori was suddenly struck by inspiration and flew up into the air. He thrust his hands out and ten blasts fired out from his fingertips, precisely striking every scouter, on the living and the dead.

' _If they cannot sense our life energy,'_ Moori thought, ' _Then they cannot find the other Dragon Balls!'_ Dodoria dropped his Dragon Bal and rubbed at his face with growing fury before he launched himself up into the sky at Moori. The elder Namekian saw the beast rushing up towards him and prepared for death.

' _No good goldang stupid green fuckin' bastard,'_ Dodoria thought with his hands outstretched, ' _When Ah get mah hands on him Ah'm gonna–'_

"Dodoria!" Freeza snapped in a scolding tone and the Kinglerian came to a dead stop in midair at his master's call. "Did I _tell_ you to kill him?"

"N-no," Dodoria muttered before he hung his head in embarrassment and let his arms drop to his sides.

"If he dies, how will he learn the price for his defiance?" Freeza asked before jerking a thumb at the three Hero Namekians. "Kill them first so that he shall suffer!" Dodoria flew down eagerly at the promise of murder, landing in front of the three Namekians with a "BOOM!"

"You think you can take us on by yourself?" the Caped Namekian asked. "You're outnumbered, can't you see?" Dodoria chuckled.

"Only thing Ah see," he told them, "Is dead men." Freeza chuckled. Dodoria could be almost eloquent when he chose to be. The three Namekians charged at Dodoria. Then they were all dead, scattered across the village. It was over so fast that it seemed like time had almost skipped in that moment. Dodoria dusted off his hands and looked proud of himself as Moori landed in front of him in dumbfounded terror. What sort of _monsters_ were these? How could they be so powerful?! "Mah boss'll be havin' that Dragon Ball now," Dodoria said. "If'n it ain't too much trouble. Ya did go and break our shit so Ah figure it's only fair." Moori growled wordlessly and Dodoria cracked his knuckles. "Y'know, Ah ain't killed a kid in almost a week. Startin' to forget how it feels. Sure would be a shame if Ah had to use them boys to refresh mah memory."

Moori's face paled and he dropped his head in defeat. "Very well," he said weakly. "I will give you the Dragon Ball. Just leave the children alone."

"Finally," Freeza said amicably, "You're listening to reason!" Moori disappeared into a hut and returned a moment later with the four-star Dragon Ball. He held it out with his head hung in shame and Freeza plucked it out of his hand with his psychokinesis and handed it off to Dodoria. "Just one more thing, my fine friend, and we'll leave you to… bury your dead or burn them at sea or eat them. Whatever it is you savages do." Moori seethed wordlessly as Freeza folded his hands in his lap. "You see, now that you've destroyed our scouters, it will be a shade more difficult to find the other three the villages. Would you be a friend and tell us where they are?"

Moori swallowed nervously and pushed down his fear. He would never do that. He had sullied his honor enough today by kneeling before this tyrant but he would _never_ betray his people and send doom upon them.

"Children!" Moori shouted over his shoulder as he flung up his arms protectively, "Run!" Cargo and Dende broke into a mad dash while Freeza groaned and massaged his temples.

"Oh," he muttered ponderously, "So we're back to the 'I'll die first' rubbish, are we?" Then he shrugged. "Dodoria!" Dodoria grinned before he opened his mouth and a yellow beam of energy shot out of his mouth and whizzed past Moori's shoulder. Moori barely had time to turn his head and watch as Cargo was struck dead by the blast and fell into a crumpled heap. Dende came to a stop and looked down tearfully at his brother in terror.

"C-Cargo…" he whimpered. Moori let out a scream of grief and rage but Dodoria was already on him, his huge arms wrapped around Moori's neck.

' _Porunga,'_ he thought solemnly, ' _Protect our people.'_ Then Dodoria twisted his arms and Moori died with a horrifying snap of his neck. He let Moori's body drop to the ground and turned his attention on Dende with a malicious chuckle.

OoOoOoO

' _I can't watch any more of this,'_ Suno thought as she started to move. ' _We've got to do something!'_

' _Don't worry,'_ Krillin thought, ' _I think I have a plan.'_

Gohan was already gone.

OoOoOoO

Dodoria lifted one huge arm as he loomed over Dende who was frozen in fear but, before he could do anything, he was hit by something with the force of a space pod dropping out of orbit. The hit sent him careening through one of the Namekian huts while Freeza and Zarbon stared in shock at a small, pale-skinned, red-haired humanoid who floated down beside the little Namekian boy. Apparently he'd _kicked_ Dodoria.

Dodoria groaned and pulled himself out of the destroyed hut, rubbing a hand against a crack in his shell.

"What in the hell're you, boy?" Dodoria asked in a mixture of amusement, curiosity, and anger.

"Someone who'll stand up to jerks like you that thinks murdering kids makes them tough!" the boy shot back. Freeza let out a single laugh of surprise. The boy certainly had guts. Guts that Dodoria was about to spill all over the grass but guts nonetheless.

Before Dodoria could rip the child limb from limb, however, two more of the strange humanoids- a short, bald one and a tall one with long, red hair- flew in from out of nowhere and uppercut Dodoria off his feet.

"Grab the kid!" the bald one said before he and the first one flew off. The tall one flew after them with the Namekian child bundled up in its arms. Dodoria grumbled as he picked himself up and rubbed at the back of his head. Somehow the attack from the two seemed to do less damage than an attack from the one. Curious.

"They're getting away, Dodoria," Freeza pointed out.

"Mmhmm," Dodoria muttered as he ran a claw along the crack in his shell with some concern.

"What do you think you should do about that?" he asked. Dodoria blinked stupidly. He did _everything_ stupidly. "KILL THEM, YOU HALF-MEASURE OF A HALFWIT!" Freeza screamed. "Well, no," he corrected himself, "Kill _two_ of them. Bring me back one for questioning. I don't trust any alien I don't own." Dodoria was still standing there. "NOW!" Dodoria flew off obediently and Freeza went back to his thinking. Starting with Planet Vegeta…


	58. Another One Bites the Dust!

Chapter Fifty-eight

Another One Bites the Dust! Journey to the Great Elder!

"I swear to God, Gohan," Suno scolded her son as they flew for their lives, "If we get off this planet alive, you will _never_ have been more grounded before in your life!" The Namekian child in her arms was like a dead weight, too shocked and confused to offer much resistance.

"I'm not sorry," Gohan told her defiantly. "I _had_ to do something!" Suno let out a frustrated groan. _Why_ did her and Goku have to make such a heroic baby?

"Can we save the disciplinary hearings until _after_ we escape the jaws of death?!" Krillin screamed in a frustrated panic. Suno nodded and looked cautiously over her shoulder to see a very big, very angry purple-and-pink ball rocketing towards them.

"Hey, Krillin," Suno asked nervously, "How flexible is that plan of yours? Because he's _kind of right behind us."_

"You two go on ahead," Krillin told them, "I've got this!" Suno blinked. Had he gone _crazy?!_ Was Krillin trying to get himself _killed?_

" _How?"_ Suno asked incredulously. "He's stronger than Vegeta! How have you 'got this'?"

"Just trust me!" Krillin told her while already coming to a stop and putting his back to them. Suno looked at Gohan and nodded, the pair of them putting on an extra burst of speed and quickly shooting off toward the horizon.

Krillin swallowed nervously and pulled off his tie while he waited for Dodoria to get closer. Every fiber of his body screamed at him to run away but he stayed put. He just had to hold on for a few seconds longer. He had to make sure he would get this just right… Dodoria rushed up in front of him, so close he could see the purple Namekian blood still dripping off the spikes on his head.

"Taiyoken!" Krillin cried out as he flung his hands up in front of his face. Dodoria screamed in pain and clutched at his eyes, which made Krillin smirk just a tiny bit. ' _When we wish Ten back, I really gotta thank him for showing that to me.'_ Then he raised one hand overhead to finish Dodoria off. "Kienz–" Before he could strike, however, a black, white, and yellow blur knocked Dodoria high into the sky. That blur, Krillin realized, had a _very_ familiar ki signature. He swallowed nervously and decided that, no, Vegeta was _not_ on their side and immediately flew off to catch up with Suno and Gohan.

OoOoOoO

Dodoria didn't know what in the hell was goin' on. The little bastard blinded him an' then started screamin' somethin', an' now he was gettin' kicked an' smacked around through the air like some kinda rookie chump. He got knocked into the ground and came up angrier than a Borgnak with one of its heads on fire, swingin' wildly as he tried to blink the spots from his eyes.

"Stupid, no-good, sawed-off little son of a used-up, cheap, lousy–" Dodoria came to a stop when he felt two fingers pressing against his throat.

"Careful now," a familiar voice said. "That's the Queen Mother you're talking about." Dodoria's vision finally cleared and he found himself staring at…

"Vegeta," he spat. The Saiyan smirked as he looked up at Dodoria, his fingers still at Dodoria's throat.

"Dodoria," he said smugly. "The second-biggest lapdog in Freeza's army. Although now that I have killed Kiwi, I suppose that promotes you to lapdog first class. You should thank me." Dodoria snarled and balled up his fists.

OoOoOoO

Gohan had landed with his mother and the Namekian child on a mountaintop once they felt they had put enough distance between themselves and Dodoria to try and catch their breath. Before they could do anything else, though, Krillin caught up to them.

"Krillin!" Gohan greeted eagerly as the former monk touched down. His mother looked a little bit surprised.

"Wow," she muttered, "How'd you get out of that one?" Krillin grinned and scratched at his almost-invisible nose.

"Oh, ye of little faith," he said playfully. "I blasted him with the old Taiyoken." Suno grinned.

"And then you cut him in half with the Kienzan, right?" Krillin's smile faded and he rubbed nervously at the back of his head.

"Not… exactly," he admitted reluctantly. "I mean, I was gonna. Then Vegeta showed up."

"Vegeta?" Gohan asked suspiciously, with no small measure of fear. He was _not_ looking forward to fighting him again. He knew that the other Saiyan was here but if he had gotten that close to Krillin, now _he_ knew that _they_ were here.

"Yeah," Krillin replied, "I didn't wanna take the chance that he was on our side, so I got outta there."

"Wait," Suno interjected, "So you're telling me that now Vegeta is strong enough to beat up that big guy?" Krillin winced and a tremor of terror seemed to shoot through his body. Clearly, Gohan realized, Krillin hadn't thought about that.

"I mean… I dunno?" he offered weakly. "Maybe Vegeta just got in a cheap shot and now he's totally super dead."

OoOoOoO

"So," Vegeta said mockingly, his arms crossed over his chest, "Someone broke your scouter, eh? Gods, that must be troublesome. I am glad that I no longer require such a crutch." Dodoria wasn't even sure what that could mean so he wasn't going to address it.

"What in the hell're you doin' here, Vegeta? You helpin' out them weird aliens?" he asked. Vegeta chuckled and Dodoria was starting to get _really_ pissed off.

"Well I have no intentions of helping _Freeza_ become immortal," he quipped. Dodoria ground his teeth as Vegeta seemed to completely ignore him and begin thinking out loud. "So, the Earthlings are here? I am not surprised. It seems my lot in life has now become to suffer their indignities as long as they live. Well, as soon as I become immortal, they shall be the third thing to go. First comes Freeza, and then Cooler. Then again, there _is_ the father as well. So I suppose I shall kill them… fourth?" Dodoria bellowed with rage and took a swing at Vegeta… who wasn't there anymore. Dodoria looked around wildly before he heard Vegeta call from behind. "Back here, you doddering oaf!" Dodoria spun around and lunged, only for Vegeta to disappear again and appear on a cliff face off to his left. "Are you as slow physically as you are mentally?" What the hell was going on?!

OoOoOoO

"You really think so?" Suno asked sarcastically. "With _our_ luck?" Krillin gave a weak shrug.

"Yeah, he's probably stronger now," he admitted reluctantly. While all this was going on, Gohan turned his attention to the Namekian.

"Hello," he said as he held out his hand. "I'm Son Gohan. This is my mother, Suno, and our friend Krillin." The Namekian looked down at his hand in confusion. "Some people shake hands on Earth when they say hello." He nodded slowly and took Gohan's hand in his.

"Hello," he said softly as they shook hands. "I am Dende." Then he looked up at Suno and Krillin. "Thank you all for saving me," he said politely. Suno smiled and gave a dismissive wave.

"Eh, thank Gohan," she told him. "He was the one brave enough to run out and help you." Then she narrowed her eyes at him. "Even though he's _really_ pushing his luck and will be in a _lot_ of trouble when we get home." Gohan let out a nervous laugh before Krillin changed the subject.

"We need to regroup," he said. "Let's head back to the ship and find Bulma. Then we'll try and grab the three Dragon Balls they don't have." Krillin turned his attention to Dende. "Can you fly, little buddy?" Dende nodded.

"Yes," he said, "But my name is not Buddy. It is Dende." Krillin sighed and reminded himself that he was talking to an alien life form and that pretty much every idiom and turn of phrase would be lost on him.

"Let's get moving," Suno said and they began to lift off. "And keep your powers down. We don't want Vegeta or anyone else bumping into us again."

"I have a question," Dende began. "What is a mother?"

OoOoOoO

Dodoria was surrounded in a ring of Vegeta afterimages, all laughing at him with their arms folded over their chests. He roared in rage and blasted them all away with a death beam from his mouth. That _had_ to hit the real one. He _had_ to be dead! Then there was a whistle from above and Dodoria looked up to see Vegeta _standing on his head_.

"Get down from there!" He snapped as he swung his hands up to grab Vegeta. Before his hands were even at shoulder height, though, Vegeta had already moved.

"I suppose it _was_ somewhat dangerous to stay up there," Vegeta said with the grin he'd been wearing since the start of the conflict. "Your empty head could have collapsed under my weight and I might have twisted an ankle." Dodoria lunged forward in a headbutt and Vegeta met him with one of his own. Normally, headbutting someone whose head was covered in spikes would be a terrible idea but Vegeta was clearly the exception as he was unharmed while Dodoria's shell cracked and his spikes broke off and shattered. Dodoria cried out in pain and clutched at his skull as if trying to hold it together while Vegeta laughed again. "I once believed that your spikes were the only parts of you that _weren't_ dull. Clearly I was wrong. Is any aspect of you not a tremendous disappointment?"

Dodoria growled and balled his hands into fists. "Why dontcha just give up?!" he demanded. "Freeza's already got four Balls! You'll never get the last three 'fore him! Even if ya do, yer never gonna get the four we already got! So what're ya even fightin' for, ya dumb little bastard?"

Vegeta cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. "Twenty-four years of servitude," Vegeta said calmly. "That is why I am fighting." He took a step forward and something in Vegeta's eyes made Dodoria stumble back. "Twenty four years of grovelling, of false worship and hollow praise. A murdered father, a murdered mother, a murdered _people,_ a destroyed _planet,_ a throne and a birthright and a destiny that was _stolen from me. That_ is what I am fighting for, you piece of garbage!" Dodoria, who had swam in oceans of blood and crushed the heads of crying infants in front of their weeping mothers, who had slaughtered whole planets and who had wiped out half of his own race to prove himself to Freeza, shrank back in fear.

"Y-y-you," he stammered out in terror, "You _knew?!"_ Vegeta drove a fist into Dodoria's gut and he felt armor and shell crack and fall apart.

"Of course I knew," Vegeta spat as Dodoria doubled over in pain. "Why do you think I've been plotting against him for half a decade?" Before Dodoria could even attempt to answer, Vegeta grabbed Dodoria's head in his hands and jabbed his thumbs into Dodoria's eyes. "Now listen to me," Vegeta bellowed over Dodoria's screams of agony, "You worthless, cowardly, impertinent cur! Unlike you and all the other trash in Freeza's army, I am no bootlicker! I am no whimpering fool grateful for scraps! I am a _King!_ And I shall take what is mine by rights! I shall have a King's vengeance! Take this with you to the nine Hells, Kinglerian! Burn this image into your soul! I will rip out Freeza's hearts one by one and eat them in front of his eyes! I will see Cold and Cooler driven and broken before me, I will hear the lamentations of Arcosian women as I rip apart their empire with my bare hands and bring _them_ to extinction! This I swear," Vegeta's grip on Dodoria's head tightened and he twisted, " _ **I, VEGETA!"**_ He ripped Dodoria's head off his shoulders and lifted it high overhead before blasting it to dust between both hands. He threw back his head and roared triumphantly, the sound echoing across all Namek.

OoOoOoO

Freeza sighed, long since finished with his calculations. He'd counted exactly and decided that all of the children he'd murdered could fit on five planets, each with its own moon. Those moons, of course, would also be full of dead children. He'd been starting to doze off when Vegeta's echo caught his attention and made him sit up in his chair.

"Zarbon," he muttered as he rubbed at one of his eyes with his tail, "Dodoria's probably dead by now. I'm going to take the Dragon Balls and head back to the ship. I'm entrusting you to round up the men and find the last three."

"Of course, my Lord," Zarbon assured him with a bow, the height of courtesy and refinement.

"Vegeta did him in, no doubt," Freeza went on, "So if you find him, be a good man and kill him."

"Of course, my Lord," Zarbon said again. Freeza gave him a nod and flew off, carrying the Dragon Balls with his psychokinesis. Once he was sure Freeza was out of earshot, Zarbon huffed and rolled his eyes, his shoulders slouching as he made a face. "Be a good man and kill him," he echoed sarcastically under his breath, "As if I'm just another step in the bloody food chain." He blew up an irritated breath to move an errant lock of green hair out of his eyes and flew off. "How the hell am I supposed to even find anyone without my bloody scouter?" He grumbled to himself. "Stupid old alien. Stupid Freeza. Why does _he_ get the wish? What if _I_ wanted to be young and beautiful forever, hmm?" He grumbled to himself and groused as he continued to fly.

OoOoOoO

After a good two minutes of heavy breathing, Vegeta had calmed down enough to take stock of things. First he ate Dodoria's arms and legs. He had not eaten since before going to Earth, but he had been too busy sleeping, fighting, or nearly dying to notice until now. Besides, he did enjoy shellfish. Once he'd had his fill, he reflected on the only useful thing Dodoria had said. Freeza already had four Dragon Balls. Which meant that, not counting the one he had already taken, there were only two left. He took off into the sky, searching for the collections of Power Levels that would represent Namekian villages. He supposed there would only be two of those left as well.

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Suno said as they flew closer and closer to the site of the ship, "We're almost–" Suno froze up as she sensed another power level racing up behind them. "Down!" She urged, already dropping, "Everybody down!" Gohan, Dende, and Krillin quickly followed behind her and landed on an island, scrambling for cover behind a massive boulder.

"What's going on?" Dende whispered. Gohan held a finger up to his lips for silence as Vegeta rocketed into view.

"Where are you?" Vegeta demanded as he turned in a slow circle. "I know you're around here!"

' _What the Hell,'_ Krillin thought. ' _How can Vegeta sense ki? He doesn't even know what it is!'_

' _Well, technically, he does,'_ Gohan put in. ' _He just calls it something else.'_

' _Both of you pipe down and keep your powers down!'_ Suno instructed sharply. ' _With our luck, he's telepathic now, too.'_ Gohan, Suno, and Krillin suppressed their power levels and didn't even risk breathing while Vegeta hovered above them. Vegeta stopped and stared. Right. At. Them.

' _Oh no!'_ Gohan realized as he looked over at Dende who was trembling nervously, ' _Dende doesn't know how to suppress his ki! That's what Vegeta can sense!'_ Vegeta began to move slowly closer and closer towards the island and Gohan was steeling himself for the possibility of a fight.

Then an enormous crustacean burst out of the ocean and reached for Vegeta with one of its monstrous claws. Vegeta scowled and grabbed the creature, ripping it viciously in half and letting the corpse sink back into the water, the green oceans turning murky with blood.

"That must have been what I sensed," Vegeta muttered before he flew off again. The quartet let out a collective sigh of relief and waited in silence for a minute before flying off again.

Almost twenty minutes later, having flown as quickly as they dared, the four returned to the Namekian ship. Dende gawked up at it in wonder as they got closer.

"I've never seen one of these before," he whispered with the same kind of reverence humans would use for an ancient ship or a castle. "It must have been built before the Cataclysm!"

"Bulma's not here," Suno muttered as she looked around. "Let's check the cave." They walked toward the cave they had first hidden in while Gohan turned his interest on Dende, very intrigued.

"What was the Cataclysm?" Gohan asked. "What were things like before?" He wanted to know about Mr. Piccolo's people.

"Long ago," Dende explained, "There was a great drought that nearly wiped out our entire race. Only Guru, the Great Elder, had the power to wish for an end to the drought on the Dragon Balls." Before Dende could go on, however, the group came to a stop in front of a giant Capsule House that took up more than half the cave.

"Anybody home in there?" Krillin called out, his hands cupped around his mouth. Suno snickered as Bulma finally opened the door and Krillin smiled a little. Finally, someone else found one of his jokes funny.

"Hey guys," Bulma greeted cheerily before she noticed Dende. Her first reaction was to freak out and rave with excitement at an actual live alien being right in front of her face but she saw the shocked look in his eyes and the discomfort in his body language and thought better of it. "Hello, little one," she said in a friendly tone as she dropped into a crouch to be on eye level with Dende. "I am called Bulma. What is your name?" The others stared at her. She was speaking Namekian again.

"I am Dende," he said politely in Namekian, if slightly confused by someone who wasn't his species speaking his language. He looked back and forth between Bulma and Suno. "I am confused," he asked in basic. "What are you?"

"Oh yeah," Suno said, "I kinda noticed that the village only had males. Bulma and I are females." Dende nodded but he didn't look any less confused.

"But," he went on, "What are _you?"_ he asked, gesturing to the group as a whole and grew more and more panicked and desperate with each subsequent question. "Why are you here? Where are you from? How do you know about the Dragon Balls? Why do you want them?" He took a deep breath before he asked in a small voice, "Can… can you save my world?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Krillin said as he held up his hands, "Take it easy. That's a lot to unpack. Well, first off…" Then he turned to Gohan and ruffled the boy's hair. "You wanna tell him, Gohan? He seems to like you." Gohan's face took on a slightly pinkish hue before he nodded and turned to Dende.

It was a bit of a tale to tell. First and foremost, Gohan told Dende about Earth and that they were Earthlings. Then he had to tell him who Kami was which would explain why they knew about Dragon Balls. Then there was the fight with the Saiyans and Mr. Piccolo's death, which meant that they had to come here. Finally…

"Yes," Gohan assured him as the group sat around Bulma's Capsule House kitchen, "We will do whatever it takes to save your planet." Krillin took everyone's plates and stacked them up in the sink as Gohan finished talking.

"So," Suno said, "If this Freeza guy already has four Dragon Balls and Vegeta's looking for them, too…"

"Oh!" Bulma interrupted excitedly. "I almost forgot! My dad called while you guys were out. Goku is on her way! She should be here in six days!" The others gave a cheer while Dende looked confused.

"Who is Goku?" he asked. Suno smiled proudly as she picked up Gohan excitedly and gave him a quick hug before setting him down.

"My wife," she explained, "And the strongest fighter I know. She'll be able to take on Vegeta, I'm sure of it. Heck, the way she trains? I bet she can take on Freeza!"

"So all we have to do," Krillin said, "Is hold onto at least _one_ ball for six days. That way, Freeza and Vegeta can't become immortal and then Goku will get back here and kick their butts!"

"If these people are searching for the Dragon Balls," Dende explained, "Then Elder Guru is in danger! Please, let me take you to him!"

"Hold on," Bulma interjected, "Who's Guru?"

"The Grand Elder of our people," Dende explained. "He is the wisest and oldest among us, the one who leads us and who we turn to in times of trouble." Like the village chief, Suno thought to herself. "He is the only one who survived the Cataclysm. He is the one who birthed the entire planet's population. I am Guru's one hundred eighth son." Suno winced.

"Wait," Bulma interrupted again, "If there's only males, how did Guru have you all?"

"Namekians reproduce by spitting out large eggs," Dende explained nonchalantly. The others stared at him. "...How does your species reproduce?"

"Nooooot important right now," Krillin said quickly. "So why do we need to go to Guru?"

"He has one of the Dragon Balls," Dende explained. "If what you're saying is true, he is in great peril!"

"Suno and I'll go," Krillin decided. "All of us together will be too much power. Vegeta or _someone'll_ notice."

Suno nodded as she turned her attention to Gohan. "That means you stay back here and protect Bulma," she told him. "I'm counting on you to stay out of trouble." Then she turned to Bulma, "And I'm counting on _you_ to keep an eye on him."

"No problem," Bulma assured her with the tip of an imaginary hat.

"I'll do my best, mother," Gohan promised. Suno smiled and gave Gohan a peck on the forehead before following Krillin and Dende out of the cave.

"So how long'll it take to get there on foot?" Krillin asked.

"Thirty days," Dende replied.

"Crap," Krillin muttered, "We haven't got that kinda time." He gave a resigned sigh. "Guess we're flyin' anyway." Then he and Suno flew off, letting Dende take the lead.

OoOoOoO

Raspberry surveyed the damage he, Blueberry, and the others had done, the village laid to waste and dead Namekians surrounding them. They'd heard about the other groups getting wiped out by warrior Namekians but their troupe had survived.

"The day is ours!" Raspberry declared triumphantly as he held up the three-star Dragon Ball. The others gave up a cheer and they pressed their fists together in a circle. Until Vegeta landed behind them, a Dragon Ball under one arm.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," he said calmly. They turned to face him and were overcome with dread. With his black undersuit and the malevolent glint in his eye, he looked like Death itself. "Would that be one of the Dragon Balls? I've got the seven-star already, as you can see. Would you mind handing it over?" Raspberry slowly raised his shaking arm and, before he could turn it into a cannon, Vegeta punched him so hard in the face that his head flew off and hit the woman behind him with such force that their heads exploded. "Anyone else want to try?" The others quickly pointed their cannons at Vegeta and he smirked. "Good answer."

OoOoOoO

Krillin flew behind Dende, his whole body buzzing with tension. Dende had said it would take five hours to get to Guru's hut at this pace and Krillin didn't like being out in the open for that long. But flying any faster would raise their power levels enough for Vegeta to find them.

"This is bad," Krillin muttered to himself, "This is really bad. Ohhh, I just _know_ we're gonna get caught." He found himself wishing he could find time to change into his gi. If he was gonna die again, he didn't wanna mess up his good suit.

"Krillin," Suno muttered beside him, "Would you give it a rest? We've been flying for almost twenty minutes and we haven't seen–" Suno frozen she saw a flash of purple out of the corner of her eye and knew Vegeta would be on top of them in a second.

"You were saying?" Krillin mumbled in an odd mixture of dread and "I-told-you-so" smugness. Vegeta already knew about the Taiyoken _and_ the Kienzan so Krillin was fresh out of tricks. Still, Suno thought, maybe Krillin could throw a few desperation Kienzan before Vegeta could get close enough to rip their legs off.

It would never come to that, thankfully, because Vegeta suddenly took a sharp turn and rocketed off to the east before he ever saw them. Krillin didn't know _what_ Vegeta had seen or sensed and he really didn't care.

"Come on, Dende," he said as he grabbed the little Namekian's wrist, "This is our chance! Hold on!" Then Krillin and Suno flew for all they were worth, flying through the sky like their lives depended on it. Which, they knew, they did.

OoOoOoO

Zarbon had been flying around for _hours_ and was just about to go back to the ship and tell Freeza that the search would have to wait until they could acquire new scouters when something strange caught his attention. He paused over a Namekian village and slowly descended down onto it when he noticed that, among the Namekian corpses, there were corpses of their own soldiers. He couldn't remember their names, obviously, but he recognized the armor. That was about all there was _to_ recognize. Many were dismembered or had holes punched through them. Some had been blasted to bits! Whoever caused this nonsense, he supposed it was his job to clean up the mess.

Owing to his reptilian ancestry, Zarbon closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue to taste the air for blood. It wasn't an especially refined ability of his and required a bit of his focus but it was the next best thing without his scouter. He slowly drifted up into the air and followed the trail for several minutes before he lost the scent completely. He opened his eyes and let out a weary groan. Now he was _hopelessly_ lost! Before Zarbon could turn around and try to find his way back to the ship, however, Vegeta was on him in the blink of an eye.

"V-Vegeta!" Zarbon stammered in shock. The Saiyan King rubbed his hands together eagerly and chuckled.

"Zarbon," he greeted with malicious courtesy. "So good to see you again. After my encounters with Kiwi and Dodoria, I've yet to be defeated by Freeza's special toadies." There was a malevolent glint in Vegeta's eye as he grinned. "Care to try your luck?"


	59. The Beauty is a Beast!

Chapter Fifty-nine

The Beauty is a Beast! Goku Catches Up With Friends!

After wiping out Freeza's force and taking the Dragon Ball for himself, Vegeta had reflected that there were no more collections of power levels left on the planet. He supposed that meant that the Namekian race was almost entirely extinct. Even though he could only take partial credit, it felt good to do a bit of genocide again.

After this little revelation, Vegeta had begun to search out some place to stash his Dragon Balls. Which was not easy, as he would need to put them some place where he could easily find them again, and every square inch of this awfully, damnably dull planet looked exactly the same! Eventually, Vegeta had decided to make his own landmark and blew a mountain half to hell, dropping his Dragon Balls in the water off the coast of the ruined mountain. Vegeta had been focusing on his power level sensing abilities, searching for where the last free Dragon Ball might be and growing accustomed to this strange new ability that made him uncomfortably open to the life energy of other beings when he felt a familiar power level flicker across his mind.

"What the hell," he had muttered to himself. "I have the time." There were only four other people looking for Dragon Balls on the entire planet, after all. Plenty of time for murder. He had taken off into the sky and was vaguely aware that at some point that he had flown past the bald bastard and Kakarot's broodmare but decided he'd get back to them later. He had more pressing concerns.

OoOoOoO

Goku let out a grunt as she pushed herself up off the floor of the ship. She'd been doing pushups under fifty times Earth's gravity for about an hour now and she'd passed the point where her arms had been burning a while ago. Now she couldn't really feel anything in her arms. She hit the ground with a thud and groaned as she rolled over onto her back. She was gonna need a senzu. After she did her crunches, of course!

' _Goku,'_ came Kaiou's voice in her head, ' _Goku, are you there?'_

"Yeah," Goku said aloud as she started on her crunches. "What's up, Kaiou? Are you gonna try and talk me out of fighting Freeza again?"

' _Oh no,'_ Kaiou muttered dismissively. ' _I've accepted that you're an idiot and that I'll be seeing you again in about a week.'_

"Thanks for the confidence," Goku grumbled in a rare moment of sarcasm. "So why are you calling me, then?"

' _I just thought you'd like to know that I've had five new arrivals,'_ Kaiou thought playfully, ' _And they beat the heck out of your time. You know them pretty well, actually!'_ That was enough to make Goku stop her crunches and beam.

"You don't mean…?"

' _Hey, Goku!'_ Yamcha's voice suddenly rang in her head, ' _How ya been?'_

"Yamcha!" Goku beamed. She hadn't heard from her friend in over a year! "It's so great to hear from you! Are you guys training, too?" Yamcha chuckled back on Kaiou's planet, his hand on the strange deity's shoulder.

"Yeah," he said as he looked back at Launch, Chaozu, Ten, and Piccolo. "I wish the circumstances could be a little better but it's good to hear you, too, Goku. The gravity here's a little intense but we'll figure it out." They were all sweating just from the effort of standing under ten times the Earth's gravity. Even Yamcha was feeling it and he'd built his body up to withstand three times the Earth's gravity.

"Yeah," Goku agreed, "It takes a little while to get used to. But now I'm training under even stronger gravity!" She smiled and returned to her crunches as she spoke. "So it's you," she said, "Ten, Launch, Piccolo, and… is the fifth one Kami?" she asked. Yamcha shook his head.

"Nah, it's Chaozu," he told her. Chaozu winced.

"Don't sound too disappointed," he muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Yamcha ignored him.

"Kami gave me, Chaozu, and Launch our bodies back but, after that, we don't know where he went." Piccolo suddenly walked over to Kaiou and put his hand on his other shoulder.

"Don't get any ideas," Piccolo told her. "I'm not doing this to help you all out or because I'm a 'good guy'," his voice was dripping with sarcasm at the insinuation. "I just can't stand the fact that you've surpassed me and I intend to catch up to you." There wasn't much venom in that statement, however. Damn her and her son. Maybe he _was_ going soft.

"That's great, Piccolo," Goku told him with a genuinely encouraging tone that made him furious. "I gotta go, though. I need to focus on getting stronger. I've gotta beat up some jerk named Freeza. Bye, guys!" Goku hung up on Kaiou again and went back to her crunches. She had a lot of work ahead of her and only a few days!

"So," Launch asked as Yamcha and Piccolo walked away from Kaiou, "When do we start training?" Ten was already thinking about how he might best use the training.

' _I won't be able to catch up with Goku,'_ he admitted to himself, ' _But I might be able to combine whatever Kaiou shows us with my own techniques. If I put my own spin on it, I might be able to make the difference less embarrassing.'_

"Well, hold on a second," Kaiou said as he held up his hands. "If you expect to get any training, you'll have to do something to prove you've got what it takes." He pulled down his sunglasses and fixed them with a serious stare. "Make. Me. Laugh." Yamcha, Launch and Chaozu stared in disbelief while Tenshinhan and Piccolo, the physical incarnations of serious stoicism, were awash with dread.

OoOoOoO

"V-Vegeta," Zarbon stammered out as he ran a hand over his face to keep the hair out of his eyes, "You're… looking well." He wasn't _afraid_ of Vegeta, of course. He just hadn't expected to actually run into the bastard. It was an awfully large planet, after all, and neither of them seemed to have scouters.

Vegeta smiled smugly and crossed his arms while… was… was he _flexing?_ "Thank you," he replied. "I'm glad to see you've managed to pull yourself together. Word was you went all to pieces after Raditz's death." His Battle Aura flared and he cracked his knuckles. "Not to worry," he assured Zarbon. "You shall be seeing him in hell soon enough."

"Wait," Zarbon cut in and held up a finger in confusion, "How are you so certain Raditz is in hell? Why am _I_ going to hell?" Vegeta's aura dissipated and he stared at Zarbon incredulously. He groaned and ran his hand over his face once he realized what Zarbon was implying.

"You and Raditz have killed… _how_ many people for Freeza?" he asked wearily. Zarbon blinked with understanding.

"Oh," he said, "Then… why aren't _you_ going to hell?"

"Oh, I'm _absolutely_ going to hell," Vegeta assured him, "The ninth hell. Then I'm kicking Inehoozuki out of my throne."

"Ohhhh," Zarbon nodded, "Alright. I understand. Yes, that would… yes, of course. I thought you meant–"

"I _know_ what you meant," Vegeta cut him off impatiently, "This is precisely why I was not looking forward to this fight. I _knew_ that you were going to make this about–"

"You're right," Zarbon said as he held up his hands apologetically, "You're right. I made things awkward."

"You did."

There was a painfully awkward silence.

"Can we just get to the part where we start punching one another?"

"Oh _gods,_ please."

Zarbon lunged at Vegeta in a blur and was shocked when his fist went straight into Vegeta's palm. Vegeta smirked and yanked Zarbon forward into a headbutt, Zarbon's jewelry snapping and flying down into the sea below as Vegeta kneed Zarbon hard in the stomach and followed up with a backhand blow that sent him reeling through the air. Zarbon snarled and righted himself before letting loose with a barrage of energy bolts that, to his frustration, Vegeta effortlessly weaved and dodged through before driving his feet into Zarbon's beautiful face with a dropkick. Zarbon let out an irritated snarl and flew away to create some distance between himself and Vegeta, raising one hand high overhead as he flew further away. He thrust his glowing hand forward, his other hand gripping his elbow to keep his aim true.

"Elegant Blaster!" He cried out. He could swear he saw Vegeta _roll his eyes_ as the blast rushed towards him. As if 'Galick Gun' was so much better. Vegeta languidly raised one hand and fired back a purple beam of his own to counter the Elegant Blaster. The clash lit up the horizon in a burst of yellow and purple and Zarbon smirked at Vegeta's arrogance. As if a blast of such weakness could possibly hold up against his attack. Only, Zarbon realized with horror, he wasn't just holding up. Vegeta's blast was _pushing Zarbon back._ Where was Vegeta getting this power?!

OoOoOoO

Suno looked over her shoulder at the purple-yellow explosion of light off in the distance in a mixture of awe and dread. It was beautiful, in its own way, but she also knew it was bad news, whatever it was. She blinked sweat out of her eyes and caught back up with Krillin and Dende. She had forgotten how exhausting flight could be.

' _Is it too much to ask,'_ Suno wondered to herself, ' _For Vegeta and whoever he's fighting to kill_ each other _?'_

OoOoOoO

Zarbon had ducked away at the last moment to avoid Vegeta's blast overwhelming him. He could feel the heat of the blast against his back as it zipped overhead. Before he could come up with a plan, however, Vegeta was on him, battering Zarbon with lefts and rights, punishing body blows and hooks and crosses and jabs to the face. He finished his combination with a bone-shaking uppercut that sent Zarbon tumbling up into the sky. Vegeta grabbed Zarbon's cape before he could get away and spun him around and around, faster and faster until they were a blur and Zarbon was _certain_ he was going to be sick. The cape ripped and Zarbon was sent rocketing away, his beautiful and perfect form smashing through a mountaintop before he came to a skidding stop on one of the islands. He let out a groan as he rolled onto his back and waited for the world to stop spinning.

"I will not lie to you," Vegeta told him mockingly as he descended, "I had hoped you would put up more of a fight before you died. Even Dodoria took a few swings and tried to headbutt me. You are such a disappointing little ponce." Despite the mockery, Zarbon… laughed.

"Oh, you think so?" Zarbon asked as he got to his feet. His clothes were torn, he'd lost his cape and his jewelry, his hair was a mess and he was covered in dirt. What did his beauty matter at this stage? "You don't know _how_ wrong you are."

"Have I missed some great trick?" Vegeta asked. "Or was your plan for me to break my hands upon your face? You haven't got a chance, Zarbon. Now lie down and die like a good boy. I still have Freeza to kill." Zarbon hocked out a mouthful of blue blood and laughed again.

"You honestly think you have a chance against Freeza?" He asked as he ran a hand through his hair to undo the braid. He shook his head wildly from side to side to fan his hair out, a wicked glint in his yellow eyes. "You couldn't even _begin_ to measure up to Lord Freeza's power. Or even to mine." Now Vegeta looked genuinely puzzled. "You see, Freeza can transform to increase his power, as can I. Although, unlike Freeza, I tend not to transform because it's a rather… _ugly_ business." Vegeta smirked and, to Zarbon's surprise, _clapped._

"Good show, Zarbon," he quipped with sarcastic praise. "You've managed to one-up Dodoria for 'most useful information given before death'." He smirked and flared up his Battle Aura again. "Very well, let us see this _great and terrible_ power of yours." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and contempt, which only made Zarbon grin wider.

" _With pleasure."_

Zarbon grit his teeth and snarled. In truth, this transformation was never a pleasant undertaking. But for a miserable cur like Vegeta? It was more than worth it. He groaned as his muscles expanded and his very bones began to change their shape. He grew half a foot taller and his arms, legs, and chest bulged in size. This ripped his already-torn leggings and arm sleeves to shreds but he no longer cared. His immaculately-maintained black fingernails stretched and sharpened into a set of deadly claws. He grimaced and snarled as his nose fused down into his mouth and the whole thing stretched out into a terrifying muzzle. He opened his mouth and let out a bestial roar as his teeth turned sharp and he developed a set of fangs. He chuckled in a deepened and distorted voice as Vegeta stepped away, eyes wide with shock.

"Now then," he growled, "Let us see who's the disappointment, little prince."

OoOoOoO

Krillin felt a bolt of panic run through him as the Power Level that wasn't Vegeta's surged even higher, eclipsing the Saiyan's. He clutched Dende's hand tighter in his grip and tried to ignore his mounting weariness.

"You felt that, right?" he asked as he turned his head to Suno. She nodded and looked as worn as he felt.

"Puttin' on speed?"

"Puttin' on speed." With whatever else they might be holding back, the pair flew with all their strength, Dende exhausted as he fought to keep up.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta gawked in disbelief at Zarbon's strange and horrid transformation. What in all the gods was he looking at? He balled his fists and pushed away his... confusion, maybe, but certainly not fear, and charged. He swung out with all his strength to deck Zarbon on the chin. Only, his hand never found Zarbon's chin. It landed in Zarbon's palm and disappeared once Zarbon's fist closed around it. Zarbon chuckled as Vegeta tried to pull his hand away before Zarbon headbutted him.

When Vegeta regained consciousness a few moments later, he was flying through the air and the world was spinning. He tried desperately to right himself as Zarbon loomed over him and let loose with a barrage of energy bolts that Zarbon took square in the face without flinching. Zarbon's claws were out in a flash, slicing through the much-vaunted PTO armor that Vegeta had long since decided was made more of _bullshit_ than any material worth a piss. Zarbon's claws came away bloody before he swatted Vegeta down into the ground. The sight of his own blood filled Vegeta with rage and he burst out of the hole he'd been punched into before he let out a roar of defiance and flew at Zarbon with both fists. To his frustration, the monster avoided his attack and smashed his knee into Vegeta's gut, _right into the godsdamned wound._ Vegeta heaved with pain as Zarbon grabbed his head in both hands, claws digging into the sides of his face as Zarbon hauled him back up and headbutted him again. Vegeta blinked stars from his eyes and willed himself to stay conscious despite his blinding pain.

"Got any little jokes now?" Zarbon asked mockingly while still holding onto Vegeta's face. "Come on, then. You were talking such a good game before. Let's have something." Vegeta scowled at him with contempt. "No? How about an apology, then?" Vegeta, King of the Saiyans, Last of his Name, the Saiyan of Destiny, apologized for nothing. Apologies were words of cowards, the language of the shamed and the pitiful. Instead, Vegeta opened his mouth and hacked out a phlegmy glob of bloody spit in Zarbon's eye. Zarbon growled in frustration and took one hand off of Vegeta's face to rub at his eye. Just the moment Vegeta had been waiting for.

Vegeta pushed off Zarbon's chest with both feet and wrenched out of his monstrous grip, ignoring the claws slicing into his skin as he made his escape. A more shrewd man might have taken this moment to escape, to lie low and recuperate his strength. After all, Zarbon had no way to detect him and was vain enough to turn back into his "beautiful" form once the fight was over. Even injured, Vegeta could have broken his neck.

Vegeta was many things. Shrewd was not one of them. He slammed one shoulder into Zarbon's gut with his remaining strength to send the Jekhydian tumbling through the air before gathering his power in both hands overhead and swung forward, firing at Zarbon with an enormous purple blast that hit Zarbon squarely. Surely, now, he was dead. The arrogant, prancing, preening little…

When the smoke cleared, however, Zarbon had brought up his arms in a crossguard to defend himself, Vegeta's blast having done nothing more than burned his forearms and messed his hair. Vegeta gawked, so furious that he was struck immobile. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair! Freeza being stronger than him, he could understand. Freeza was the most powerful being in the universe. He would be able to defeat Freeza once he was immortal. And the Super Saiyan. The Ginyu Force being stronger, he could tolerate. They were Freeza's most powerful warriors. Even Kakarot, the contemptible cow, at least she was a Saiyan! Who was Zarbon? A lickspittle, a fop, a dandy, nothing more than a servant. By what right was he stronger than the greatest warrior ever born?

While Vegeta was pondering this, Zarbon flew towards him and spun him around. Before Vegeta could do anything to fight back or defend himself, Zarbon turned upside-down and rocketed into the sea. Namek shook with their impact and the oceans rocked with tremendous waves. Once the green seas settled, Zarbon rose from the water. Alone.

"Well," he muttered as he dusted his hands and shook the water from his body, "That's that." He gave a grunt and happily returned to his true and beautiful self. "Now…" Zarbon paused to wring the water out of his hair and put it back in its braid, "How the hell to get back to Freeza?" He looked around and shrugged before flying off in a random direction. In the water down below, a faint trail of bubbles floated to the surface.

OoOoOoO

Suno noticed the two power levels drop and, against her better judgement, came to a stop.

"Krillin," she called ahead, "Wait up!" Krillin came to a stop, still holding Dende by the wrist, the little Namekian struggling to stay airborne. "Maybe we…" Suno paused to catch her breath and wipe sweat from her forehead, "Maybe we should take a break." Krillin nodded and looked down at the ground below.

"Y-yeah," he stammered out wearily, "That sounds like a good idea." As they descended toward one of the islands far below, Krillin put in, "Y'know, I never realized how hard flying was until I had to fly for my life." Suno nodded wordlessly as they found shade in the shadow of a mountain and leaned against it. The trio was out cold in a matter of seconds.

OoOoOoO

Gohan sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the capsule house while sitting at the kitchen table. He'd long since finished his workbooks and he hated just sitting around. He should be helping! He should be doing something. Who knew who else was suffering while he was just hiding like some little kid? He looked at the Dragon Radar on the table and frowned down at the seven blinking orange dots on the green screen. He could see one dot by itself, that was the one Dende was taking Krillin and his mother to. The other four were Freeza's, he knew that. But there were two by themselves. He tapped at his chin and a plan started to form in his head.

"Bulma," Gohan called as he pushed his chair back and got up from the table, "I'm going out for a little bit." He picked up the Dragon Radar and walked out the door. He was shocked that actually worked.

"Be careful, Gohan!" Bulma called from her room while she scribbled out sketches and designs for a suit of powered armor in one of her notebooks. Like any great genius, she had to plan for every eventuality. In this case, the eventuality was that after they got the hell off this planet, that this Freeza guy or whoever else all those other aliens worked for would come after them on Earth. As strong as Bulma knew her friends to be, there were only… ten of them. One of whom was six. Honestly, she didn't trust Piccolo all that much, either.

Her dad had once offhandedly mentioned his old college roommate Archimedes Gero and his explorations into the fields of human-cyborg modification. Dad had called it "ludicrous" and "inhumane" and said that "the sun would turn into a black lump of coal and dissolve into its individual particles before Gero got federal funding." Once Bulma had seen some of Gero's sketches and blueprints that her dad had nicked back in college, she could understand why. The invasiveness of the procedures was just… _barbaric._ She still could see the benefits of Gero's designs, though. The body modifications that amplified strength and speed and, if Bulma remembered correctly, Gero even seemed to have a rudimentary understanding of ki. Or maybe they were just plasma blasters fused into the ulna and radius bones and repulsors in the femurs. Bulma would do it better, of course. Because she was smarter. By putting the modifications _outside_ of the body with a suit of armor, she would easily get royal funding, on top of her own family's money, and she'd be able to perfect the design. Because she was so smart.

Bulma was so busy patting herself on the back about how smart she was that it took her almost a full minute to realize Gohan _shouldn't be allowed to leave._ Bulma shot out of her chair like a rocket and bolted for the door, sprinting out of the cave and staring wildly around for anything.

"Gohan!" She called out frantically, not worrying in her panic about someone else overhearing her. "Gohan?! Come on! Where are you?!" But there was nothing. No speck on the horizon. No contrails. No footprints. He was just… gone. "...Shit," Bulma muttered, "Suno's gonna kill me…"

OoOoOoO

Zarbon finally found his way back to Freeza's ship and took a moment to remember his postures and smiles before stepping inside. He found Freeza talking to Captain Ginyu on one of his enormous screens and waited for the call to end.

"I trust you shall bring the newest model of scouter?" Freeza asked. Ginyu nodded, standing sharply at attention and saluting precisely.

"You can count on the Force, your Lordship. Ginyu out." Zarbon had heard others talk of how polite and punctual and proper he was but compared to the Captain, Zarbon had more in common with Dodoria! The screen winked out and Freeza slowly turned his hover chair around to face Zarbon, fixing him with a look.

"Well?" Freeza asked. Zarbon bowed politely and yet he couldn't fight the ungentlemanly smile that came to his lips.

"Vegeta is dead, my Lord," he announced. Freeza nodded yet the sound of his fingers strumming on the side of the chair sent a spasm of terror through Zarbon and he looked up to see that Freeza's gaze had cooled significantly. "M-my Lord?"

"I notice," Freeza pointed out calmly, "That you do not have any more Dragon Balls. Do you suppose Vegeta might have some?"

Zarbon broke out in a cold sweat as he realized the implication. "I-I… I suppose that is a possibility." Freeza's eyes narrowed and Zarbon was almost certain he was about to die.

"And if Vegeta is dead then we will never know where those are," Freeza mused. "Did you _see_ him die?" Zarbon was gone before Freeza could even make the request.

"Don't be dead," Zarbon growled through gritted teeth, "Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead!"

OoOoOoO

Suno awoke with a start from her nap, whipping her head around in a panic before she managed to calm herself down. Well, as calm as one could be on an alien planet, billions of lightyears from home. When you were sharing a planet with hostile aliens. One of whom tried to murder you, your wife, and your son. And was also much stronger now. And there are two other hostile aliens that are, apparently, much stronger than him.

Suno turned to see Krillin still snoring and sighed, gingerly shaking him. "Hey, Krillin." She upgraded to more serious shaking when he was not roused. "Krillin!" Krillin sat up quickly and went through the same panic phase as she had done.

"Whosah? Whatsah? Huh?" While Krillin muttered to himself, Suno looked up at the suns and tried to figure out how much time had passed.

As Suno was used to a planet that only had one sun, she had no idea what she was looking for. She turned to Dende to ask for help but the little boy seemed to be looking a thousand miles away. He looked a little bit like Gohan, she realized. They were about the same age, weren't they? She tried to imagine her son with the same lonely, hopeless expression and her heart nearly broke.

"Dende," she asked softly, "What is it?"

"Gone," he whimpered out. "I… I can't feel anyone." He slumped forward and hugged his knees, rocking back and forth. "All the Namekians. All the other villagers…" Krillin moved quickly over to Dende and put his arm around him.

"Hey, hey," he said softly, "Don't give up! We've got a chance as long as we get to Guru and get his Dragon Ball! Come on, Dende. We promised we'd help, right?" Dende sniffled and wiped his eyes before letting Krillin help him to his feet. "Come on, let's get going." With renewed energy and purpose, the three took off into the sky again.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta gurgled and growled as he pulled himself out of the ocean and halfway onto the shore. He took a few desperate, gasping breaths as he filled his lungs with sweet, sweet air. As adaptable as Saiyans were, he hadn't been able to grow _gills._ Still, he was alive. A pair of brown little loafers quickly filled Vegeta's vision and he wished he had stayed in the ocean.

"Oh good," Zarbon breathed out in relief, "I don't have to resuscitate you." Vegeta scowled and spat on his foot. Zarbon gave a "Tsk" before stomping on Vegeta's face, rendering him unconscious again. Then he hoisted Vegeta up over one shoulder and flew back to Freeza's craft.

OoOoOoO

Krillin couldn't believe it when they finally made it to Guru's hut. The hut was _gigantic,_ it was twice the size of any of the other structures they'd seen on Namek. On top of that, it was sitting on top of a giant earthen spire that was so tall that Krillin couldn't even _begin_ to guess how it had come into existence in nature. Or how you could even reach Guru without being able to fly.

Before Krillin could ask Dende, another Namekian flew out to meet them. The sight of him made Suno and Krillin come to a dead stop. He looked _so much_ like Piccolo! All of the Namekians looked a little similar to Piccolo, an observation that Krillin hoped wasn't racist, but this new guy looked _exactly_ like Piccolo. Even the way he was dressed was similar to Piccolo in some ways. He had the same blue belt as Piccolo and the same kind of pants, although his were white where Piccolo's were purple. He had the same ruffled collar as the other Namekians and a blue vest that came down to his knees. As Dende and the big Namekian spoke in their native language, Krillin reflected that there was no anger in his eyes like Piccolo. He wondered if this was what Piccolo might have looked like if he had always lived on his home planet.

Which didn't make much sense, when Krillin thought about it. Because that would mean that Kami never left Namek. Which meant that Kami would never have needed to separate his good and evil halves, which meant Kami would never have existed. Which also meant that the Dragon Balls would never have existed on Earth and oh, yup, Krillin just went cross-eyed.

"Greetings," the Namekian said, snapping Krillin out of his dazed confusion, "I am called Nail. Dende tells me how you saved his life and that you seek an audience with the Great Elder." He smiled and rested his hand on top of Dende's head. "Any friend of Dende's is a friend of mine. Please, come inside." Nail floated back into the hut with Dende trailing behind like a puppy. Krillin turned to Suno and she shrugged before the pair followed them inside as well.

Guru.

Was huge.

The ancient Namekian was the largest person Krillin had ever seen. He was bigger than the Ox King, bigger than the chainsaw robot he and Goku had fought as children. Krillin was _reasonably_ certain that he was bigger than the Kame house. He was so massive that he almost completely filled the room, to the point where Krillin wondered if the hut had been built _around_ him. Guru was seated in an equally-enormous white chair with the Dragon Ball literally over his head. Every breath seemed to take half a minute and it looked like it was a struggle just for Guru to _be._

"Hello my child," he murmured in a low rumble. "It is good to see that you are alright, little one." Suno and Krillin stopped gawking long enough to notice Nail and Dende were on their knees and, not wanting to offend, did the same.

"Elder Guru," Dende said with his voice echoing off the walls, "These Earthlings have promised to help our people and protect you. They say they require your Dragon Ball." Guru slowly, oh so slowly, turned his head towards Krillin and Suno. While he never opened his eyes, Krillin still felt a _little_ nervous.

"How do _you_ know of out Dragon Balls, strange ones?" he asked softly. "Tell me your tale. Tell it all and tell it truly."

OoOoOoO

Apple stared at Vegeta's unconscious body inside the healing tank and smirked. He didn't look so tough now that he was knocked out. He wondered how Zarbon had been able to do it, though. After all, Vegeta had apparently killed Kiwi and Dodoria with no problem.

"Not that it matters," Apple muttered aloud. "Once he wakes up, Freeza will find out where he hid those Dragon Balls and then that'll be the end of him!" He chuckled to himself and tapped on the glass. "King of all Saiyans, big whoo–"

Vegeta opened his eyes.

* * *

SSV/N: Hey, guys! If you like Pokemon, I'd like to take this opportunity to give a cheap plug to co-author/editor Zelenal's Pokemon Fanfic, "When Two Become One". You can check it out here! s/12106293/1/When-Two-Become-One


	60. Vegeta's Rage! Time for the Ginyu Force!

Chapter Sixty

Vegeta's Rage! Time for the Ginyu Force!

Krillin had barely began to speak when Guru held up a hand for silence. Krillin blinked in confusion until Guru beckoned him forward. Maybe the old guy was hard of hearing. Krillin shrugged and moved to stand beside the giant chair in the shadow of the aged Namekian. Krillin started to talk again before Guru held up his hand again. Now Krillin was starting to get irritated.

"Hey," he asked indignantly, "Do you want me to tell you or–" he felt Nail's glare at his back and whatever sarcastic remark Krillin had been cooking up died in his throat. "Uh… I mean… what do you need?"

"There is no time for speech," Guru muttered, "For my life is like the hourglass. I shall simply look within." Before Krillin could ask what the heck that meant, Guru rested a hand on Krillin's head and Krillin's eyes went wide and his jaw went slack. It felt like his mind was a book and Guru was leafing through the pages. His entire life, every memory and thought, took Guru maybe thirty seconds. "I see," Guru murmured calmly. "So the last of the Dragon Clan escaped to Earth. That explains how you know of the Dragon Balls. I can see your intent is pure and you have fought many times for justice and peace." Guru slowly reached up his other massive arm and plucked the Dragon Ball up from behind his head before handing it to Krillin. "I sense that I may trust you with this." Krillin took the Ball from Guru's hand and- holy cow it was heavy! Krillin held the ball in his hands while Guru inclined his head toward Suno at a glacial pace. "I sense that the pair of you have sleeping power deep within you. Come and I shall use my powers to draw it out of you." Suno nodded awkwardly and, not sure what was going to happen, walked over to the other side of Guru's chair, suppressing a slight "Eep!" as Guru's giant hand rested atop her head.

For a moment, Suno and Krillin wait awkwardly, not sure what was going to happen. Then a surge of white light raced down Guru's arms and into Krillin and Suno's bodies, surging into their bodies and making their eyes go wide. The energy raced through them like lightning and it was as if they'd plunged into icy water, their bodies were tingling with energy and they suddenly felt wide awake, as if they'd been in that sleepy pre-coffee haze for months.

"W-wow," Suno whispered as Guru lifted his hands off their heads, "That… I feel… holy cow."

"Y-yeah," Krillin stammered as he staggered back from Guru's chair. He felt stronger, faster, he felt… better than he had been before. He was actually looking _forward_ to fighting Vegeta! He could take him on! Yeah! "Thank you, Guru! Thank you so much!"

"Hey," Suno said with a sudden idea, "Mr… Elder Guru, sir, does doing that… hurt you? Does it shorten your lifespan, I mean?" Guru shook his head and Suno let out a little relieved sigh. "Then would you be able to do this for one more person?" Guru nodded slowly and Suno beamed. "Great! We'll send them right over!" Then she turned to Krillin eagerly. "Come on," she told him while already racing to the door, "Let's go get Gohan!" The pair rocketed out of the building and into the sky, faster than they had been flying when they were running for their lives but without straining themselves at all. This was great!

OoOoOoO

Speaking of Gohan, the young boy had been following the Dragon Radar's signal to the two Dragon Balls. He had been wondering how he was going to find where Vegeta might have hidden them when he found a destroyed mountain and one corner of his mouth quirked up. Vegeta sure had made the Balls easy to find. Gohan dove into the water and emerged a few seconds later with a Dragon Ball under each arm. This was great!

OoOoOoO

Zarbon and Freeza were suddenly ripped away from their conversation (Zarbon had been asking how King Cold liked his cape) by a tremendous explosion that nearly took them both off their feet. Well, Zarbon was nearly taken off his feet. For a supreme being and consummate gentleman like Freeza, it merely took the slightest psychokinetic effort to keep his feet firmly rooted to the ground.

"Th-that must have come from the medical wing!" Zarbon stammered out before breaking into a sprint. Freeza followed after him, keenly aware that this meant Vegeta had recovered faster than they'd expected. He hadn't even settled on how he was going to torture the information out of the Saiyan. He'd been torn between either ripping off his epidermal layer by layer, or making him eat himself. Starting with his toes, probably. Or maybe the eyes. Servant and master entered the medical wing to find it a smoking ruin of mangled corpses and destroyed machinery.

"Goodness," Freeza muttered, "He works fast, doesn't he?" Then he looked up at Zarbon who was still gawking at the destruction and slapped him in the back of the head. "What are you waiting for?! Find him, you fool!" Zarbon stammered out an affirmative and flew out of the ship. Freeza swore that if he didn't know any better, no one under his employ would know how to _breathe_ if he didn't tell them what to do.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta chuckled to himself from behind a corridor as he looked out a viewport as Zarbon stupidly circled around the ship, around and around, floating through the air. He supposed it was good that they thought he was a mindless brute. Otherwise, they might actually think to look _in_ the ship. He dashed down the hall in a burst of flight, making sure his feet never touched the ground until he found Freeza's personal chambers. He laughed to himself as he looked down at the four star-covered spheres on the floor in front of him. Perfect! Of course Freeza wouldn't trust the Dragon Balls to be under anyone's eyes but his own.

Then again, Vegeta supposed that he would do the same thing.

Not wanting to contemplate on the idea that he and Freeza were in any way alike for too long, Vegeta pressed forward with his plan. After all, he couldn't just bundle the Balls under his arms and saunter out the door. He backed up to the door and charged energy into one of his hands. He'd have to act fast for this to work. He'd only have _moments_ to act after he gave himself away. Now, if Vegeta remembered correctly from the handful of times he'd been on the ship when he had bent the knee, the engine room would be…

OoOoOoO

"In here, you prancing jackanape!" Zarbon whipped his head around when he heard Vegeta's voice coming from _inside_ the ship. His eyes narrowed with fury as he lunged for Freeza's craft. He was going to rip out his stupid eyes for daring to mock him yet agai– and whatever Zarbon had been thinking was cut off as a massive fireball ripped through the top of the ship and blinded him.

Inside the ship, Freeza had surrounded himself in a bubble of psychic energy, not because of fear that he might be damaged but because the smoke would sting his divine eyes. He maintained the bubble as he walked through the flames, the fire and smoke ebbing in his presence before Zarbon dropped out of the sky to take the lead.

"I wonder," Freeza muttered, "Why go through all that trouble just to damage the ship? He could have done that from outside, why would he still be ins–" Freeza came to a screeching halt as the gears turned in his mind. "Zarbon! My chambers! Now!"

OoOoOoO

' _Now!'_ Vegeta thought as he raced back into the center of the room, firing another blast that tore through Freeza's viewport. He grabbed one of the Dragon Balls and threw it with all his might, watching with satisfaction as the ball skimmed across the waves. Then he flung the other three, as hard as he could, with perfect aim and accuracy. Still laughing triumphantly to himself, Vegeta hopped out of the window and plunged down into the water in a smooth and effortless dive. _Gods,_ he was great. He streaked along under the water until he resurfaced about a mile away, popping out of the water to land on an island and found all four Dragon Balls perfectly clustered together. Everything was going perfectly. Vegeta suddenly felt a flicker of ki and looked up to see the bald one and the wench flying overhead. He saw a glint of orange in the bald one's hands and grinned. Oh, Gods, was there something _better_ than perfect?

Oh, wait, Vegeta realized as he raced after them, there _was_ something better than perfect.

Himself.

OoOoOoO

Freeza looked down at the spot in his chambers where four Dragon Balls had once been. He balled up his fists and let out a long, irritated sigh. A spasm of terror went through Zarbon's body and he screwed his eyes shut tight. This was it. He was dead. He was so _incredibly_ dead.

"One hour," Freeza muttered in a voice trembling with rage. Zarbon slowly opened his eyes and blinked, his body still tense with fear.

"Y-your Lordship?" he asked in confusion. Why wasn't he dead yet?

"You have one hour to find my Dragon Balls," Freeza explained, "Or I will discover the most painful way that any being has ever died in the history of the universe. And your death shall be more painful still." He never raised his voice and barely spoke above a whisper yet the look in Freeza's eyes filled Zarbon with such bright terror that he took off through the hole Vegeta had put in the ship without another word. Freeza sighed and stared glumly at the ruin of his ship. Now he'd have to share a Space Pod with one of the Ginyus. Or he could just kill one and claim the pod for himself. Guldo, probably.

OoOoOoO

"Bulma!" Krillin called out as he and Suno touched down outside of the cave. "Hey, Bulma, get out here! We got the last Dragon Ball!" Bulma slowly made her way out of the cave and wore a somewhat forced smile on her face.

"Hey," she said over eagerly, "That's great! Awesome, guys, really!"

Krillin nodded and grinned. "Hey," he said, "Where's Gohan? We gotta take him to that Guru guy, he'll make Gohan _way_ stronger!" At the mention of Gohan's name, the color drained from Bulma's face.

"Bulma," Suno said icily, "Where's Gohan?" Bulma didn't say anything. " _Where's_ _my son, Bulma?"_ Bulma looked down at the ground and chewed on her lip.

"He… uh… he kinda… went out." she murmured.

"OUT?!" Suno asked, her eyes wide with fury and her face turning red.

"He… uh…" Bulma swallowed and started to back away from the two of them, holding up her hands as a meager kind of shield, "He took the Dragon Radar so I think he was looking for the other two Dragon B–" The distance between Suno and Bulma was maybe a hundred feet. Still, Suno covered that distance before Krillin could blink, her hand around Bulma's throat as she hauled the other woman up off of her feet.

"Are you telling me," Suno seethed with rage between clenched teeth, "That my baby is out there, _ALONE?!_ Vegeta could find him! Or one of the other two aliens _EVEN STRONGER THAN VEGETA!"_ Bulma kicked frantically as her face began to turn blue and Krillin dashed to her aid, dropping the Dragon Ball to grab Suno's arm in both hands and physically yank her hand off of Bulma's throat.

"Suno!" he snapped at her. "Get it together! Call me crazy but I don't think strangling Bulma is going to solve anything!" Suno now turned her eyes on Krillin and he knew he had to say something fast before she directed her fury at him. "L-look, I know you're worried, I am too! But Gohan's a smart kid. He's tough and he's strong and he'll be safe. He can look after himself. Besides, we can sense his ki, so we'll know if something bad's going to happen. And _nothing bad is going to happen."_ Suno sighed and seemed to calm down. Before Suno could apologize to Bulma, however, things got worse.

"Oh," called a very familiar voice from above, "I would not go around saying things like that if I were you." The three of them looked up and watched in horror as Vegeta slowly descended towards them. Bulma was, by far, the most terrified. This was, after all, the first time she'd actually seen Vegeta in person. "After all," Vegeta continued, "Something very, _very_ bad might happen to you if you do not hand me that Dragon Ball." Suno got into her guard and prepared to fight but Krillin was moving to pick up the Dragon Ball. Before anyone could do anything, however, someone else joined the party.

"The only person things are about to go badly for," said a posh voice that dripped contempt and sarcasm like a wet cloth, "Is _you,_ your _majesty."_ Zarbon descended to stand, ridiculously enough, between Vegeta and the Earthlings. Zarbon looked over his shoulder at them and smirked. "Ah, yes! You're the strange ones who saved that little Namekian boy! Where's the little… well, the _littlest_ one, the one who kicked Dodoria in the face? God, I'm going to be laughing about that for quite a while." Despite her terror, Bulma couldn't fight the blush that crept across her cheeks when the handsome blue-skinned gentleman looked at her. After all, she hadn't actually seen any of the horrible things Zarbon had done so, as far as she could tell, he was like a handsome prince who'd come to save them! His face, his hair, his _ass._ He was gorgeous! Zarbon noticed where Bulma's eyes were going and smirked again as he winked at her. Suno and Krillin groaned and rolled their eyes and Bulma giggled before Vegeta spoke up again.

"I'm afraid," he said as he stepped up to Zarbon, "That you're going to have a very _short_ while to be doing much of anything." Zarbon smirked and stepped closer, peering down at Vegeta, their faces inches apart. Come to think of it, Bulma thought as she got a better look at the Saiyan, Vegeta was pretty hot too. In that crazy, violent, ex-con bad boy sort of way.

"Make a move, little man," Zarbon taunted, "If you want the same beating as last time, that is."

"You first," Vegeta shot back with a smirk of his own. They stared into one another's eyes, the air palpable with tension as one waited for the other to take the initiative.

' _Please make out,'_ Bulma thought to herself while chewing on her thumbnail. ' _Please make out, please make out, please make–'_ Zarbon roared as he transformed in a flash into his monstrous form and just like that, Bulma's fantasies were dead. Vegeta headbutted Zarbon in the snout before reaching up and grabbing a fistful of Zarbon's hair, yanking his face down as Vegeta jumped and brought his knee up, face and knee meeting in a violent collision before Vegeta swung Zarbon by his hair towards the sea and blistered him with a barrage of ki blasts before following him into the sea.

"Let's get outta here!" Suno muttered as she grabbed Krillin's hand and Krillin grabbed Bulma's, "This is our best chance!" No sooner had Suno's teeth made that last "Ss" sound than Vegeta was right in front of them, bursting out of the water.

"Oh, I think not," he warned them. "I think you'll find it in your best interest to stay right h–" Zarbon came roaring out of the sea, figuratively and literally, tackling Vegeta and slamming him through the cave. The trio stood frozen in suspense and watched as Zarbon did his damnedest to try and kill Vegeta with his fists and his claws and his ki blasts, even his _teeth!_ Once Zarbon started throwing rocks, however, it was clear that he would settle for just _hitting_ Vegeta. Unfortunately for Zarbon, it would be Vegeta that hit him, driving his fist into Zarbon's chest. Zarbon gawked and sputtered in pain as blood leaked around Vegeta's fist and came up out of Zarbon's mouth.

"V-Vegeta," he stammered weakly, "Please–"

"Shut up," Vegeta spat as Zarbon began to feel a terrible heat spreading through his chest, "I've no use for cowards and beggars. Say hello to Raditz for me, would you?" With that, he sent a blast of ki through Zarbon's body, blowing a hole through his back. The Jekhydian slumped forward before Vegeta shoved him off contemptuously. Vegeta looked down at his bloody hand and grinned. He was starting to wonder why he ever wore gloves. The feel of blood on his hands, the rush from feeling another being's heartbeat stop in your grip, Gods, it was exhilarating! In a final, cruel irony, Zarbon reverted to his normal form as the light faded from his eyes. He had gotten what he always wanted. To be beautiful forever.

Vegeta stepped over Zarbon's corpse and made his way back to the others, holding out his bloody hand. "The Dragon Ball, if you please." Suno had a smart remark all prepared before Krillin wordlessly handed the Ball over. Vegeta laughed and tucked it under his arm before flying away. He felt so triumphant that he hummed a little song to himself, a traditional Saiyan anthem about pride, power, and ambition. "I shall become a mighty king, so enemies beware…"

"Krillin," Suno asked in confusion once Vegeta had disappeared, "Why the hell did you give him our Dragon Ball?"

"Gohan's out there, remember?" Krillin explained. "As long as he gets at least _one_ of the balls, Vegeta can't have them all. We just gotta have faith in him." Suno chewed her lip and looked up at the sky, worry still on her face.

"You're right," she muttered. "He can handle himself. He's not a baby." ' _But he's_ my _baby.'_

OoOoOoO

Gohan smiled to himself as he flew back to the cave, a Dragon Ball under each arm. Soon they'd have three Dragon Balls and all they'd have to do is wait for mom to arrive! Gohan was so pleased with himself that he started to hum a song to himself, even singing a few snatches of it.

"Ain't no passin' craaaze! Hmm hmm hmm hmmhmm, for the rest of your d-" Gohan's good mood came crashing down as he sensed Vegeta's ki coming towards him and he immediately dropped out of the sky to the ground below. He quickly dug a couple holes in the ground to hide his Dragon Balls and pressed himself flat to a rocky outcropping, trying to make himself as invisible as possible while suppressing his ki as much as he could. Within seconds, Vegeta was hovering less than a mile above him.

"I know you're down there, abomination!" Vegeta roared. "If you think that hiding will save you then you are sadly mistaken! I'll give you to the count of ten before I blast this entire area into oblivion." For half a second, Gohan was going to stay in hiding. Let Vegeta blow him up and destroy the Dragon Balls. Then neither he nor Freeza could use them. But he'd be dead. And none of their friends could be wished back. Defeated, Gohan took out the Dragon Radar before he raised his ki and flew up to stand on top of the outcropping. Vegeta smirked, descending to meet him. "Well hello there," Vegeta greeted with mock civility, "And what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Gohan didn't have a good lie so he just kept his mouth shut. "What's that thing you're holding, boy?" Vegeta asked when he saw the Dragon Radar.

"J-just a watch," Gohan stammered out. Vegeta chuckled to himself and rolled his eyes.

"Typical Terran garbage. Of course you're too stupid to make them any smaller." Gohan was extremely thankful that Vegeta could be so easily distracted by his own arrogance. "Tell me, boy, is your mother here?"

"Which one?" Gohan asked, trying to be bravely sarcastic. Vegeta promptly slapped him across the mouth. To Vegeta's surprise, Gohan kept his gaze level with Vegeta rather than dropping his eyes. "No," he said calmly, "My mom Goku isn't here yet. But she will be soon. And she'll beat you up!" Vegeta smirked as he rested a hand on the back of Gohan's head, making Gohan extremely uncomfortable.

"Then you're a lucky boy," Vegeta taunted, "Because I don't plan on killing you until she arrives. By then, I'll be immortal, and killing you should put her in a heat." On that horrifying note, Vegeta drove his knee into Gohan's gut. He laughed as Gohan doubled over in pain and flew away to the site where he _thought_ his Dragon Balls would be. Gohan waited until he was gone before he staggered back to his feet and dug up the Dragon Balls, flying away and trying to drive the words "Mom" and "heat" away from his mind forever.

"It's our problem free," he muttered weakly, still smiling to himself, "Philosophy, hmmhmmhmm hmmhmmhmm!"

Gohan returned to the cave a little while later and was almost immediately tackled by his mother.

"Gohan!" Suno cried jubilantly as she wrapped her arms around and lifted him off the ground, pelting his face with kisses as the Dragon Balls slipped out of his arms and fell to the ground. "Oh my gosh, you had me so worried!" Gohan managed to peel himself away from Suno, his face bright crimson with embarrassment as he put his feet back on the ground.

"I think he's okay, Suno," Krillin told her with a laugh. "Although you might be about to kill him with embarrassment." Krillin laughed again as Gohan's face turned even redder. Once the moment passed, however, Gohan noticed something very different about his mother and Krillin.

"Hey," Gohan pointed out, "Your ki are much larger! What happened?" Krillin smiled as he picked up the Dragon Balls and handed one to Suno, who raised her eyebrows in surprise at the weight of it.

"That Elder Guru guy did something to us. He pulled out our latent power and made us _way_ stronger. Come on, we'll take you to him. We need all the help we can get!" Gohan smiled before Bulma chimed in.

"Wait a sec," she protested, "Are you just gonna leave me here by myself?!"

Krillin rubbed his chin in thought. "I guess one of us _could_ stay back and keep watch. Hey, Suno, y'wanna hang back?" Before Suno could respond one way or the other, Bulma interjected.

"No, no, nonono, it's fine!" she assured them, "I'll be fine back here by myself. Just gonna… y'know. Keeeep workin' on my sketches." She gave a nervous giggle and Krillin shrugged.

"Alright, I guess we're good, then. C'mon!" Suno, Gohan, and Krillin took off into the sky while Bulma let out a sigh of relief.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta smirked as he flew back to the island that he'd hidden his Dragon Balls off the coast off and was pleased as punch with himself. All he had to do was take these three Dragon Balls back to the four Dragon Balls he'd stolen from Freeza and he'd be as good as immortal. The idea of immortality, of being that much closer to the ultimate power that was his destiny and avenging his race by exterminating Freeza's own was such a powerful sensation of pleasantness that Vegeta barely recognized it as he submerged under the water. He was truly and sincerely happy for the first time in a long time.

It took approximately thirty seconds before his joy dissolved into ash. Vegeta stared at the spot where the Dragon Balls had been… where they _no longer were._ The current wasn't powerful enough to pull them away. There weren't any other destroyed mountains in the area. This was _exactly_ where they were supposed to be. So why weren't they?

' _The boy…'_ Vegeta thought with a growl. That little half-breed, that little _abomination_ had tricked him! Deceived him! Out… out _smarted_ him. That watch wasn't a watch! It was some sort of Dragon Ball locating device! That little brat… that little brat _took his Dragon Balls!_

From above, the waters looked completely still and calm. Then, without warning, the mountain that was blown halfway to hell was blown the rest of the way there, as well as the island it had been on top of. The very oceans were shoved apart by the power of Vegeta's Battle Aura and in seconds he was standing in the open air as he threw his head back and screamed with rage. His screams of fury only grew louder as he blasted off into the sky, the sand beneath him blasting apart into a massive crater from the violent force of his ascent. Vegeta tore through the sky, a trail of purple energy following him and making him look like a hellish comet as he kept screaming, eyes wide and bloodshot with mind-rending rage.

OoOoOoO

Suno, Gohan, and Krillin were only about a few hundred feet from Guru's hut when they heard Vegeta's scream in the distance.

"H-hey," Krillin stammered as he broke out in a cold sweat of terror, "You guys hear that, right?"

"Krillin," Suno muttered, "I _feel_ that." Then she looked over her shoulder at Gohan and hoped she didn't look as afraid as she felt. "Gohan," she urged as gently as possible, " _Go._ We'll hold him off."

"But mother–" Gohan started to say.

"Gohan," Suno cut him off a little more harshly than she meant, "If you want to fight Vegeta, you'll have to go get stronger. Now go!" Gohan nodded and flew off as fast as he could while Suno and Krillin got into their guard. "So," Suno said nervously as she gave Krillin a glance, "Got any plans?"

"N-nope," Krillin admitted with a nervous chuckle, "Was kinda hopin' you had a plan."

"Think we can convince him to stand there and wait for a few more days?"

"Heh. Nah, not really."

"Eh heh. Me either." With that, the two friends waited nervously while the bone-chilling scream grew louder and louder and the purple flash on the horizon grew larger and larger.

OoOoOoO

Goku smiled proudly to herself as she stretched and sprinted easily across the room under one hundred times the Earth's gravity. She was feeling great! And she still had another four senzu left in her bag! She ran to the gravity machine and turned the dial back down to Earth's neutral gravity before bursting into an uncontrollable fit of giggles at how light she felt now! She dashed effortlessly around in a blur of movement, bouncing off the walls and doing cartwheels and handsprings before coming to an acrobat's stop, sticking the landing and throwing her hands high in the air. This was great!

After that, Goku took a long, hot bath and made herself a big sandwich before settling in for a nap. Wouldn't the others be surprised to see how strong she'd gotten?

OoOoOoO

Well outside the orbit of planet Namek, five pinpricks of light signaled five Space Pods coming out of hyperspace and streaking towards the planet. Each one was immaculately maintained and perfectly polished, without a speck of entry burn soot or scuffs or scratches from the effort of landing or the debris of space. The five pods flew through the stars in perfect synchronicity. Their light would be lost in the blinding glare of Namek's three suns, yet these five ships heralded doom.

Technicolor, fantastic, flamboyant doom.


	61. The Mighty Posin' Ginyu Force!

Chapter Sixty-one

The Enemy of My Enemy is Still a Jerk! The Mighty Posin' Ginyu Force!

"Elder Guru," Nail said as he made his way for the door, "I can sense someone approaching. I'll go out and check. Dende, you stay with the Elder." Guru listened to the padding of Nail's feet as he made his way to the door and flew off. Guru wondered what his son looked like. He had never seen his face. In fact, Guru had lost his sight nearly half a century ago. Not long after his muscles failed him and he was permanently confined to the chair he now sat in, in truth. It seemed that the seventh century was when a Namekian's body began to break down. None of his sons seemed to notice, which was surprising. After all, he never opened his eyes. He supposed that it did not make a difference, since with his ki sensing and his naturally-heightened Namekian hearing, he could still paint a fair picture of the world. Of course, now his hearing was starting to go as well. Guru knew that he was not long for this world. And as this _second_ cataclysm seemed to grip his people, Guru felt every single one of his eight hundred years.

"So you're the one that the other two Earthlings mentioned?" Guru heard Nail ask someone. "Very well. Come inside and be quick about it." There was a second set of footsteps with Nail's, a lighter set, perhaps the same size as Dende's.

"Gohan!" Dende cried excitedly and he heard his youngest rush across the room, the thud of a soft collision perhaps implying a rather energetic embrace. There was an exchange of bright, young laughter before the new voice gasped. Apparently, this Gohan had finally noticed him.

"H-hello, sir," the boy stammered out politely, "My name is Son Gohan. My mother and our friend Krillin told me to come to you. They said you could make me stronger." Guru focused his ki sensing on the new energy in the room as it approached him and just barely lifted his ancient eyebrows. This was as much expression as Guru had made in about two hundred years. This child...

Guru was not completely blind. His other senses and his ki sensing created the world around him in shades of light. Nail and Dende burned brightly like candle flames while the rest of the space around him only let off a faint glow, creating an outline. This Gohan, however… the boy was a fountain of light.

"Come beside me, child," Guru said slowly as he lifted his hand, "And I shall unlock the sleeping power within you." Guru heard the child's feet as he walked towards them and was surprised to hear how much the boy's footsteps sounded like their own. The other creatures' footsteps had a strange clunking sound, as if they wore shells on their feet. Guru settled his hand on the boy's head and, once again, had a moment of disturbed confusion at the strange growths he felt where smooth skin and antennae should be. Such strange creatures, these outsiders. He wondered what they looked like. When Guru opened the connection between the boy's ki and his own, he was shocked at the untapped power the boy had hidden inside. To unlock it all would take… quite a bit of time and would be far greater than a boy of his age would be able to handle. Perhaps only a sliver.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Krillin continued to wait for Vegeta to come to them. Their best shot, they decided as he came rushing towards them, was a quick and powerful blast before he had a chance to make his own attack and then press the advantage while he was off-guard. No sooner had this idea come to them than Vegeta was right in front of them. His purple aura of ki rolled off of his body like flames and the snarling, wide-eyed expression on his face gave them both a momentary pang of reflexive terror. The expression was, they realized, identical to the one he'd worn when he had nearly killed them all.

"Dragon Balls," Vegeta demanded, moving his jaw as little as possible as he held out his hands. " _Now."_

"D-Dragon Ball?" Krillin stammered nervously. Before the words even left his mouth, Krillin knew the next sentence was going to get him killed. "W-what're those? Never heard of 'em." Vegeta let out a howl of rage through his clenched teeth and drew back one of his hands while balling it into a fist with murderous intent before a sudden flash across their minds brought everyone to a screeching halt and seemed to pull Vegeta out of his rage.

"That power…" Suno whispered. That _couldn't_ be Gohan. Could it? There was no way!

"Kakarot?" Vegeta muttered. Could she be here? The boy probably lied to him about that as well yet, if so, why hadn't he sensed her before? Vegeta shoved past the Earthlings and flew toward the hut on top of the Earthen spire with the pair of them trailing behind him. "Come on out, Kakarot," he demanded. "I can sense you in there!" Instead, to Vegeta's surprise, a Namekian came out to stand between him and the hut. It seemed that they weren't extinct, after all. On top of that, this one was the first he had met who hadn't been a cringing craven or a doddering old man. This one, who looked almost identical to the one he'd killed on Earth, had the look of a warrior about him. "Out of my way, green man," Vegeta demanded as he looked up at the Namekian with a scowl. "I have business in there."

"No," the Namekian said firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You do _not."_ Before Vegeta could make him eat his own antennae, he was shocked to see the abomination walk past the Namekian out of the hut and glare up at him. Either Vegeta was going mad or that power was actually coming from the boy!

"You… what… how…" Vegeta stammered furiously as he tried to look over the Namekian's shoulder. "Where is Kakarot?!"

Gohan's mouth quirked up in a little smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest. Had Vegeta actually mistaken Gohan's ki for his mom's? He hadn't realized how powerful the Elder Guru must have made him! "She's not here," Gohan told him firmly, "But if she was, you'd be in trouble."

"I mean," Krillin put in as he and Suno caught up to Vegeta, "I think you're in trouble already. You're kinda outnumbered." Nail gave a slight nod and cracked his neck like Piccolo would as Vegeta scowled and Suno put on a smirk of her own.

"So," she said as she held out a hand in a gesture that mocked Vegeta's own from earlier, "How about _you_ give us _your_ Dragon Balls?" Vegeta's face contorted into a sneer of rage and disgust. Before Vegeta could even contemplate the order he would kill them in, he heard a voice come from inside the hut.

"Nail!" a young voice called as a small Namekian ran out of the door.

"Dende," Nail told the boy while still eyeing Vegeta, "You should be inside with Elder Guru. This could get dangerous."

"B-but Nail," Dende stammered out in a panic, "Elder Guru has sensed a great ki coming towards the planet!" Vegeta's stomach twisted into a cold knot before he lifted his gaze skyward as he, too, sensed the power level. Not the brother, surely. Not on top of everything else! However, Vegeta soon realized that it was not a single power level but _five._ No sooner had Vegeta made this revelation before he saw five twinkling stars dropping towards the planet.

"Oh no," he muttered as the color drained from his face. "No no no no no."

"Jeez," Suno muttered with her own fear running through her veins like ice, "Those are… those are some _serious_ ki."

"We can handle them, though, right?" Krillin asked, not believing the words even as he said them. "We just gotta work together." Vegeta groaned and had to choke down the revulsion that came with the sudden realization that the bald man's words were horrifyingly true.

"He is right," Vegeta admitted as he looked at them. Every word was a struggle comparable to pulling the planet out of its orbit with his bare hands. "If any of us fancies living to see tomorrow… we shall have to work together. First, and most importantly, I must become immortal."

"Go fuck yourself!" Suno snapped at him before bringing her hands over her mouth, realizing she'd swore in front of her son.

"We came all this way," Gohan added despite the redness in his cheeks from his mother's foul language, "After all we've lost, all because of _you,_ and you honestly think that we'd waste our wish giving you what you want?!"

"Porunga gives three wishes," Nail pointed out helpfully, "So you would still have two more to use for yourselves." While he did not want to work with such an obviously evil creature, he too could sense the five power levels. They were… unnerving.

"Still," Krillin said while he jabbed a finger at Vegeta, "I can't think of anything I'd want to wish for _less_ than for _you_ to live forever." The Saiyan King rolled his eyes.

"Listen to me," Vegeta told them, his voice tight with restrained obscenities and threats, "Either _I_ live foreve, or we all die and _Freeza_ lives forever. I can assure you, whatever sort of monster you think I am, Freeza is a thousand times worse." That implication seemed to give the Earthlings some pause before Suno let out a huff.

"Fine," she relented angrily. "Let's go back to the camp and get our Dragon Ball." The four of them flew off, Vegeta looking smug while the Earthlings all looked agitated and wary.

"So Vegeta," Krillin asked, "Who the heck are these guys?"

"Only Freeza's deadliest and most powerful warriors. His secret weapon, his trump card. The most fearsome quintet in the Northern Galactic Quadrant: The Ginyu Force."

OoOoOoO

Freeza sat on the roof of the pile of useless scrap that was once the pride of his fleet and watched as the five Space Pods streaked down from the sky and crashed into the ground in front of him. He honestly had _no_ idea how the Ginyu Force kept their pods so clean, although he supposed it was due in part to the Captain's discipline. The pods popped open, not even hissing like regular pods. Could Captain Ginyu whip _inanimate objects_ into shape? Five blurs of movement flicked out of the pods and landed on the roof in front of him.

"Company," The Captain barked as his Force snapped to attention, "Present!" It always gave Freeza a moment's pause when he saw Ginyu in this new body, even if he _had_ been using it for years. With his purple skin; bald, veiny head; and polished black horns, the man was a far sight different from the woman he had initially employed all those years ago. Freeza watched in bizarre fascination as the Ginyu Force pumped their arms and stamped their feet in perfect synchronicity.

"Guldo!" called out the bulbous little four-eyed green man as he brought one hand up under his chin and tucked the other arm under his elbow.

"Jeice!" sounded the red-skinned, white-haired tall youth as he leaned his body to the left and threw up his right arm with a tight fist.

"Burter!" cried the blue-scaled, red-eyed giant lizardman as he stood on one foot behind Jeice and spread his arms wide.

"Recoome!" bellowed the redheaded giantess, adding her voice to theirs as she turned her back to Freeza and turned her head to look over her shoulder, pointing one arm out and curling the other to accentuate her bicep.

"Captain Ginyu!" Ginyu put himself front and center even as he crouched to make sure he did not obscure Jeice or Guldo from view.

"Together," they crowed in united triumph, "We are the symbol of excellence! The force for order! The Fist of the PTO! We! Are! The Ginyu Force!" Freeza stared at them for a long moment as they continued to hold that pose. Somehow, he always managed to forget that this was a thing that they did. _How_ did he always forget? And, more importantly, _why did they do it?_ Still, he supposed it barely mattered. They were effective and that was what was most important. He gave a quick and polite clap which was enough to make the Ginyu Force drop out of their poses and stood with their feet apart and their hands behind their backs.

"Yes, yes," Freeza said dryly, "Very good. Tell me, did you remember the scouters as well?" Burter dashed back to his pod and returned moments later with a briefcase before opening it and presenting it to Freeza. Well, "dashed" was a generous term. It was _ponderously_ slow for Freeza. Still, the blue man fancied himself "The fastest in the universe" for whatever daft reason, so Freeza smiled and acted surprised and let him carry on his little charade. "Ah! Thank you, Burter." He smiled graciously and slipped one of the scouters onto his ear with his psychokinesis as Burter bowed his head appreciatively. "That takes care of that bit of business," he told them while using his hands to adjust the scouter comfortably. "Now, there is still the matter of the Dragon Balls and Vegeta and these other strangers he's associated himself with. I need you to find the Dragon Balls and bring them back here and then kill those fools. Their crime was being stupid enough to oppose me."

"You can count on us, Lord Freeza," Ginyu assured him with a smart salute before he clicked his heels together and spun around to face his men. "Ginyu Force! Move out!" The quintet flew off and as Freeza watched them fly away, he wondered how they changed the color of their battle auras. It was a nice little trick and made them so color-coordinated. They vanished soon enough and Freeza was left alone again with his thoughts.

"...How many planets' worth of elderly people have I killed?"

OoOoOoO

Bulma heard footsteps from outside the Capsule House and rushed out to meet the others, mostly because she needed someone to talk to. She _really_ should have built a radio that could work on other planets to go with her phone.

"Hey guys," she greeted eagerly as she ran up to them. "What's going…" Bulma stopped and stared at the company that Gohan, Suno, and Krillin had brought with them. "Why the hell is Vegeta here?!" Bulma asked in a mixture of confusion, anger, and fear.

"It's a long story," Suno mumbled wearily. "We need the Dragon Ball." Bulma went quickly into the Capsule House and returned with the Dragon Ball a little more slowly, hefting it into Gohan's hands with a heaving breath of effort. She was more than a little miffed that Gohan barely registered the weight of the stupid thing. She needed to start going to a gym.

"Wait," Bulma said warily as she pointed a finger at Vegeta, "You're not _helping_ him, are you?!"

"Point that finger at me again, wench," Vegeta snapped, "And I'll make you eat it." Bulma shrugged and even smirked a little.

"No big deal," she shot back. "When I get home I'll just build a new finger. Y'know why? 'Cause I'm a fuckin' genius."

Vegeta furrowed his brow at her and she could see the veins twitch in his neck, visible for just a moment. "Speak to me that way again," he warned her coldly, "And I shall see what a genius' brains look like." Bulma stuck her tongue out at Vegeta and he gave her the smallest chuckle. She certainly had spirit.

"Come on," Krillin told them, already lifting into the air, "We're wasting time! Just take us to the rest of the Dragon Balls!" The five flew off and left Bulma alone again. She sighed and went back inside. Maybe there were some parts in the toaster she could use to start on that radio.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta finally led them to the area where the six Dragon Balls were, one of which still had a horrifying blue handprint of Zarbon's blood on it.

"Okay," Krillin said as they touched down in front of the Dragon Balls, "Now we just need to–"

"Hand those over," quipped a voice in a precise and sonorous baritone. "Then you will be able to die a humane and painless death." The four gawked at the multi-colored humanoids standing in front of them. They had just… _appeared!_ "Captain Ginyu of the Ginyu Force, pleasure to make your acquaintance. This is Recoome, Burter, Jeice, and Guldo." The horned one gave a polite bow of his head and pointed at each of his allies in turn.

"Why am I always last?" Guldo, apparently, grumbled. Not sure what else to do, Gohan, Suno and Krillin gave awkward waves in response. Vegeta groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Eh, Cap'n," Jeice muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Weren't we s'posed ta do a pose r'somethin'?" Captain Ginyu scoffed.

"Don't be preposterous, Jeice," he told his red-skinned compatriot as he tucked two Dragon Balls under each arm and kicked one up with his foot to rest on his head between his horns. "This rabble isn't worth the effort of a pose. Just look at them!"

"I have to ask, Ginyu," Vegeta asked, "Can those scouters find the Dragon Balls?"

"No," Ginyu told him, "We followed your Power Levels. Why do you a–" Vegeta ripped the last Dragon Ball out of Gohan's hands and hurled it to the horizon with all his might. Vegeta looked back down at them smugly… where the Dragon Ball was in Burter's hand.

"W-what?!" Vegeta stammered out in shock, "But you… how?!" He'd heard stories of Burter's speed, but this was preposterous! Burter smirked and jabbed a thumb proudly against his chest.

"You can't beat my speed," he boasted, "I'm the fastest in the universe!" Jeice muttered something under his breath and Burter shot him a look. Before they could argue about anything, however, Suno whispered out a "Shinsoku Odori!" and then the Dragon Ball was in _her_ hand.

"You may be the fastest in the universe," she quipped, "But, unless your speed defies the reasoning of God, I'll always be faster!" She knew she was pretty lucky, though. Judging by his power level, if Burter's attention had been on her, they could have had trouble. No sooner had she thought that then the Dragon Ball was suddenly in Ginyu's hand! He had three Balls under each arm as well as the one carefully balanced between his horns.

"You all have fun," he told his Force. "I'm taking these back to Lord Freeza. I'll be back in an hour and I swear, if these lot are still alive when I get back, there shall be no space sodas for any of you!" Then he was just… gone. Completely vanished!

"How soon did you say Kakarot would get here, boy?" Vegeta muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"I-I don't know," Gohan admitted. "I just hope it's soon." Vegeta was forced to agree as the Ginyu Force huddled amongst themselves. Krillin listened to what they were chanting and strained to listen more carefully. It _sounded_ like they were playing… no, no, that would be insane. How would that game even reach outer space?!

"Ro! Sham! Bo! Ro! Sham! Bo! Ro! Sham! Bo!" The huddle burst apart and Guldo pumped his fists triumphantly into the air.

"I win!" Guldo cried out with a whooping laugh and the excitement of a man who was not used to winning anything. Ever.

"Guldo," Recoome warned him with a tone of mock severity, "You better not have been holding your breath!" What, Krillin wondered, did _that_ mean? Guldo chuckled to himself as he advanced toward them. Recoome watched her comrade eagerly while Burter and Jeice stood off by themselves and argued in a language that Krillin couldn't even begin to understand.

"I hope you're ready, weirdos," said the short, squat, green-skinned alien with two extra eyes that came out of his temples, "Because now you're gonna tangle with Guldo of the Ginyu Force!"

OoOoOoO

Goku was startled awake from her nap by the tinkling of a sing-song alarm that echoed through the ship's speakers. She yawned and stretched as the ship spoke to her.

"Attention," it said, "We will be arriving on planet Namek within the next twenty minutes." As Goku got dressed in a fresh gi, she thought it was kinda funny that the ship sounded just like the robot woman in the game Krillin liked with the blue and orange gun. Goku did a few more stretches and tied the senzu pouch to her belt before she walked to one of the windows and looked down at the planet below. Vegeta, Freeza, and who knew what else was down there on that planet. But Goku wasn't scared one little bit. This was the hardest she'd ever trained and she couldn't wait to see how it paid off.

"Look out, Piccolo town," she called down eagerly, "Here I come!"


	62. Recoome Shifts Into Turbo!

Chapter Sixty-two

The Strange Power of Guldo's Mystic Force! Recoome Shifts Into Turbo!

"Look," Burter grumbled to Jeice in his native language while Guldo dealt with the pink weirdos, "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

"Y'know what's bothering me," Jeice muttered without meeting Burter's eyes.

Burter rolled his eyes and groaned. "If I _knew_ what it was," he pointed out sarcastically, "Why would I be asking?"

"Oh you know bloody well what I meant, ya tosser!"

"Sweet Merciful Serpentine gods, _just use your words!_ What did I do, huh?!" While this was going on, the short one, the bald one, and the redhead charged up their power levels, making the Ginyus' scouters ping and notice the climbing number.

"Huh," Recoome said thoughtfully, "They might be stronger than Guldo. That's… a little surprising." Then again, Guldo had never been on the Force for his power as much as for his _powers_.

"I'll just let you three handle this," Vegeta said dryly as he took a step back and leaned against a rock.

"What happened to working together?" Suno asked out of the corner of her eye as they waited to see what Guldo was going to do. His ki didn't _seem_ that strong but he might just be suppressing it like the Earthlings themselves had often done.

"I'll do it for one of the ones worth the effort," Vegeta shot back. Suno shrugged as she, Krillin, and Gohan charged at Guldo. She barely had time to wonder why he wasn't attacking or trying to defend himself when suddenly she was punching Gohan and Krillin was kicking her in the face while Gohan punched Krillin in the chest. The three went flying in opposite directions as Guldo snickered to himself.

"Krillin!" Suno snapped. "What the hell was that?"

"Don't look at me," Krillin shot back as he rubbed painfully at his chest. "Why're you punching your son?"

Suno realized that Krillin was correct and she had, in fact, punched Gohan in the stomach and ran to check on him. "Oh, Gohan," she said as her son had already gotten to his feet, "I don't know how that happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Gohan assured her. "It didn't really hurt that much." Well _that_ hurt her pride, at the very least. Suno looked back at Guldo as he stood there smugly with his arms across his chest. She tried to communicate telepathically to Krillin and Gohan to come up with a plan but something seemed to be… boxing her inside her own mind. She looked at Guldo again and he was still smug but now there was a single bead of sweat slowly trickling down his forehead.

Suno's first instinct was to say "Son of a bitch," but there was one problem. Her mouth wasn't opening. She was able to move her eyes from side to side and saw that Krillin and Gohan were struck still, too. Guldo might not be strong, Suno realized, but he had _serious_ telekinetic powers. Not to mention whatever he did to make them hit each other. Some kind of time distortion? That would make sense based on what that big woman Recoome had said. It also had something do, Suno knew, with his breathing. She watched as Guldo raised his arms and rocks lifted up out of the ground with bits of dirt and moss breaking off of them as they rose over his head, so maybe a good three feet off the ground? Guldo thrust his hands forward and the rocks hurtled at them with terminal velocity. However, as soon as the rocks began to move, Suno felt whatever it was that had been holding her in place slip and she, Krillin, and Gohan darted out of the way. Guldo stared in dumb shock before he finally opened his mouth for a big gulp of air.

"Seriously," Krillin asked. "Rocks? That was your big attack? Do you know how long ago I stopped being afraid of rocks? I think my incense burns were still clearly visible." He pointed at the faded white skin on his forehead as Guldo growled in irritation. Before they even had a chance to blink, Krillin had been crushed under a giant rock. "Okay," he muttered in muffled pain from underneath, "That hurts just a little bit!"

"Gohan," Suno said to her son out of the corner of her eye as she watched Guldo gasp and heave for air, "Give Krillin a hand. I think I've got this figured out. You see-"

"He can freeze time by holding his breath!" Vegeta blurted out to cut her off. Suno felt a vein in her forehead pulse as she whipped around and turned her fury on him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT IN THE TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE THEY GOT HERE?!" She demanded. Vegeta shrugged the shrug of a man who knew he couldn't actually be hurt.

"Because it amused me to watch and because it amuses me even more to take that little victory from you." He explained with a smirk, "Honestly, I was half-tempted to kick his head off just now."

"I'm right here!" Guldo snapped, clearly aggravated that no one took him seriously. Suno could take a shot in the dark that no one had _ever_ taken him seriously.

"You're right," Suno told him as she got into her guard, "You're right there, so here I come!" She watched Guldo open his mouth to take a breath and... "Shinsoku Odori!" she lunged forward in a burst of accelerated speed with two fist-sized ki balls in each hand and flung them at Guldo. In an instant, he was gone and somewhere else on the battlefield but she rebounded off one of the earthen walls and was right on top of him again, flinging four more balls of ki. Again, Guldo would move and again she would be right there with another volley.

"Hey," Gohan pointed out as he pulled the rock off of Krillin with one hand, "Her attacks are just… floating there." Gohan was right. More than three dozen orbs of yellow light were hanging in deadly beauty, completely still in a crisscrossing pattern as Guldo did everything in his power to avoid them and Suno did everything in her power to surround him. Guldo would go to the water's edge, she'd come out of the water. He would fly into the sky, she'd already be overhead. Guldo took one last deep breath… and realized he was surrounded.

The quadriclops looked in every direction, his four eyes flitting nervously this way and that as his chest began to ache. There was no window. No pocket. Nowhere to go. As his lungs burned and the air began to slip past his lips, Suno slowly snapped her fingers at a glacial pace and spoke.

"Ki Ami!" she cried out. "Twenty meter radius!" The ki edged toward Guldo at a gradually-increasing pace, starting at the rate by which the universe was approaching its heat death and steadily growing faster. His eyes watered and his skin began to turn aquamarine from lack of oxygen as he reflected on every bad choice that had led him to this moment. As he felt the heat of the ki on his skin, Guldo realized with painful finality that _every_ choice he'd ever made had led him here. Every single decision in his life… had been the wrong one.

As time finally moved at its proper pace and Guldo was obliterated in a glorious fireball, Suno landed in a crouch in front of Gohan and Krillin with the explosion at her back and her arms crossed at her chest.

"Holy crap, Suno!" Krillin exclaimed in astonishment. "That was amazing!" Gohan nodded enthusiastically with his mom's starry look in his eyes.

"You're awesome, mother!" Suno grinned and flicked a finger across her nose.

"Yeah," she said, "I _am_ pretty great, aren't I?" Vegeta rolled his eyes.

OoOoOoO

"Look," Jeice huffed wearily, "I know y'like to brag about bein' the fastest thing in the universe an' all, but do we always have to rush everythin'? Can't we just, I dunno, take things easy and relax once inna while?"

"What," Burter asked indignantly as he puffed out his chest, "Just because I'm old, you expect me to be slow?" Jeice blinked in bewilderment.

"When did I… how does that…" his face, if possible, turned _even redder_ , "You weren't listenin' to a bleedin' think I said, were ya, you stupid wanker!"

Recoome cleared her throat. "Uh, guys," she muttered politely, "I don't mean to interrupt, but they _diiiid_ just kinda kill Guldo." Jeice and Burter looked at her and shrugged. "Oh, yeah, totally, I mean, it's just _Guldo._ I'm just saying, one of us needs to step in now, so y'wanna…" she patted one fist against her other open palm to imply Ro Sham Bo time.

Jeice sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Recoome," he grumbled, "We're kinna in the middle of somethin' here, so… can you just go ahead and take your turn?"

"Oh, yeah," Recoome said as her eyes widened slightly with understanding. "Hey, no problem. You guys take care of your thing, I'll be over here doin' our job." As Recoome turned around to look back at the Earthlings and Vegeta, she hoped that didn't sound too snippy. It was just that they _were_ brought here to do a job, y'know?

"Uh oh," Krillin muttered, "We're fightin' the big gal." Big was definitely the word that came to mind as Recoome came closer to them, putting one hand across her chest while she rotated her shoulder. Chi-Chi was the tallest woman Krillin had ever met and this lady still had another foot on her, maybe a foot and a half. Not to mention the fact that she was about two Chi-Chis wide. Vegeta got into a fighting stance alongside them so apparently that meant he thought she was "worth the effort." Krillin wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

"Hey," she said amiably, "My friends are kinda goin' through a thing right now, so I'll be the one fighting you guys. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Gohan replied as he looked up at her. Well, up at her stomach. Recoome looked down at Gohan and his mom and grinned.

"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed, "I can't believe it! I finally bumped into more of me!"

"What," Suno asked curiously, "Humans?" She did look a _lot_ like a human, come to think of it. Just really, _really_ big.

"Nah," Recoome told her with a dismissive wave, "Those are all over the place! I meant redheads! I've barely seen another one in the whole Northern Quadrant!"

"Y'know," Suno said thoughtfully, "You've kinda got a point. You're the only other redhead I think I've ever met. Everyone else back on our planet is varying shades of orange."

"Tell me about it," Recoome told her with the weariness of a kindred spirit. "I almost don't wanna kill you guys now. But, I mean, y'know, I gotta. Captain's orders. Well, _Freeza's_ orders more importantly. But seriously, another redhead! Those are about as rare as Saiyans these days, isn't that right Vege–" she had turned to address the Saiyan who had decided to word his reply in the form of a headbutt, launching himself forward in a glowing purple blur to smash against the bridge of Recoome's nose and send her hurtling end over end. Recoome managed to right herself and skid to a stop on all fours before reaching a hand up to wipe the smallest trickle of blood from her nose.

"Fear not, you enormous cow," Vegeta called as he rushed her with both fists out, "Once I've finished beating every drop of blood out of your body, your corpse will look enough like Jeice's race that you may actually be able to find friends!" He emphasized the last word by smashing up under Recoome's chin in a two-handed blow that snapped her head back before he followed with a series of right and left hooks to make her head twist this way and that before Recoome threw out a hand with shocking speed and caught Vegeta's wrist. His entire arm up to the elbow vanished in her grip.

"Heh," Recoome chuckled as Vegeta looked down at his arm, "Didn't think this one through, did ya?" She swung Vegeta over her head and flew down to the ground, flinging him forward to smash down and make a crater in the ground, before stomping down on him with both feet to make the crater even larger. Vegeta snarled as he burst forth from the ground and fired a barrage of ki blasts straight at Recoome but, with surprising agility, Recoome effortlessly spun to avoid the blasts before grabbing Vegeta by an ankle and twisting her hip to fling him through the hillside. Vegeta roared as he flew out again, this time soaring up into the sky before firing down an even larger volley at Recoome. She smirked and bent down into a runner stance as a pink aura flared around her. "Recoooome…" she said as she charged her attack before flying upwards, "Knee!" The ki blasts bounced off of her aura as she smashed a knee into Vegeta's face.

The trio from Earth looked up in astonishment as they watched Recoome completely overwhelm Vegeta. After the terror he'd inspired on Earth, they would have _never_ expected to watch him get beaten so thoroughly.

"Hey," Krillin asked, "Shouldn't we go help him?"

"Ehhh," Suno muttered with a halfhearted shrug as Recoome slugged Vegeta across the jaw, "Give it a minute. I think he's got this under control." Part of Suno knew that if Recoome beat Vegeta to death, then the three of them wouldn't stand a chance. On the other hand, holy crap, this was cathartic. Gohan huffed and flew up towards Recoome and Vegeta while her back was to them. "Aw, come on, Gohan! I was only kidding!" Suno groaned as she and Krillin gave chase. That boy was going to give her a heart attack…

Gohan slammed his elbow into the small of Recoome's back, sending her forward and stunning her long enough for Vegeta to bash the side of her head with a two-handed blow that sent her tumbling to the ground where Krillin and Suno met her with a double flying kick to knock her flying until she dug a trench into the earth.

"You're… actually helping me?" Vegeta asked as he wiped blood from his busted lip. He looked genuinely astonished.

"I guess backstabbing doesn't come to humans as easy as it does to Saiyans," Gohan shot back as he glared at Vegeta. "Besides, for what you did to my moms and for what you did to Mr. Piccolo, no one's killing you before I get the chance." Gohan turned and flew back to the fight as Recoome pulled herself out of the dirt. Vegeta was… impressed.

"Huh," Vegeta muttered with the barest hint of admiration as he followed. "Perhaps the boy has some Saiyan in him after all." The pair of Saiyans returned to the fray as Recoome advanced on Suno and Krillin, descending from the sky to smash their knees down onto her from above, staggering her forward into a pair of ki blasts that made Recoome clutch at her face in pain. Krillin and Suno each threw out a kick that caught Recoome in her knee and made her collapse onto them before Gohan and Vegeta hit her under the chin with dual uppercuts which made her sail up into the air before crashing down.

"Huh," Krillin remarked with a nervous smile, "Look at the four of us, working like a te-AGH!" Recoome had recovered and launched herself forward in a blur, smashing into Krillin like a battering ram with enough force to practically send him hurtling over the horizon. She grabbed Gohan by the face and flung him into Vegeta to send the both of them flying away.

"Soooo," Recoome said as she cracked her neck and looked down at Suno with an expression like… oh God, was she trying to look _flirty?_ "On the off chance I don't kill ya, what're you doing later?"

"Being married," Suno told her dryly. Recoome's face fell and she frowned slightly.

"Okay, see, now I don't feel as bad for killing you." Suno rolled her eyes and dove down to slide between Recoome's legs and come up behind her, hitting the giantess in the back with a spin kick. As Recoome staggered forward, however, the stabbing pain through Suno's leg made her realize that, as she should have known from watching Vegeta, fighting Recoome by herself was a _terrible_ idea. Recoome's fist came at her with the speed and force of a freight train and Suno barely twisted out of the way in time, the blow still catching her on the shoulder and sending her skidding across the ground. As she lay on her back with the wind knocked out of her and Recoome lunging forward, Suno brought her knees up to her chest and pointed her feet up.

' _I really hope this is as easy as Goku made it sound,'_ she thought nervously. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and forced her energy down into her feet, pushing it out and blasting Recoome in the chest. She had also, regrettably, blasted holes in her shoes and dug herself even further into the dirt but at least she'd bought herself some breathing room. She groaned as she pulled herself out of the dirt while Recoome took a knee and raised both hands over her head.

"Recoooome," she bellowed as her mouth began to blow with pink light. Suno decided that the woman definitely wasn't the most creative of fighters. "Eraser G-URK!" The move was most certainly not called the Eraser GURK but Krillin coming from above and Gohan swooping in from below to slam her mouth shut as Vegeta drove an elbow into her gut forcibly changed her pronunciation. The shockwave of the contained blast sent them all sprawling backward as Recoome fell face first into the dirt with smoke trailing out of her mouth. The quartet wondered for half a second if that had been enough to do it when Recoome popped back up onto her hands and knees. "Owwww," she groaned, "That really hurt!" Suno winced at the sight of her and had to agree. Along with burning her upper lip pretty badly, the poor woman had also had about half her teeth blasted off. "Jeeeice!" she called. "Do I still look okay?"

"Y'like lovely, Recoome!" Jeice assured her from a distance. She huffed and furrowed her brow at him.

"You didn't even loo–" Suno took advantage of her distraction to sprint forward and throw a punt as hard as she could into Recoome's ribcage. The other woman stopped her, however, by throwing out one of her monstrous arms and completely enveloping her face in it with enough force to slam Suno violently into the ground and bury her in the dirt up to her shoulders. While Suno struggled to pull herself out, Recoome staggered to her feet and Gohan charged her.

"Don't you treat my mother like that!" Gohan snapped as he leaped forward and tucked himself into a ball, spinning as he came toward Recoome and smashed into her collarbone like a cannonball. He bounced off of her chest and leaped forward to fire a ferocious and lightning-fast volley of ki blasts with Krillin and Vegeta following suit to keep Recoome off-balance. She snarled and threw out her hands to blast Krillin and Vegeta away with beams of pink ki before focusing her attention on Gohan.

"All right small fry," she taunted before spitting out a mouthful of blood, "Let's see what you've got." She patronizingly got into her guard as Gohan got into his own. Gohan charged forward and bravely attacked, leaping into the air to bring a rain of punches and kicks down on Recoome. The problem for Gohan was, unfortunately, that Recoome's giant arms made it easy for her to shield herself against his assault before grabbing him by the back of the neck and ramming him down into her upraised knee. Gohan coughed and heaved as the wind was knocked out of him. Recoome smashed her knee into his entire torso again as he was stunned and this time he coughed up a mouthful of bloody spittle. As if on instinct, Suno burst out of the ground and drove a hail of rapid–fire kicks into Recoome's back while Krillin and Vegeta rushed back into the attack. Krillin blasted Recoome's chest with a blistering series of palm slaps in time with Suno's kicks while Vegeta flew high above and put his hands together, crackling with purple energy.

"GET OUT OF THE DAMN WAY!" he screamed. Suno leaped back and Krillin grabbed Gohan while the boy was still stunned to avoid the blast zone. "Eat this! _Galick Gun, fire!"_ He thrust his hands forward and fired the blast straight down at Recoome, who looked up just in time to see the mauve malevolence slam down onto her face and blast a massive crater into the ground, blasting apart the clouds and frothing the sea. The sky flashed with a purple glow as arcs of purple lightning ripped through the air.

OoOoOoO

Nail watched the purple flash on the horizon with growing disquiet as he stood in the doorway of the Elder Guru's hut. He felt his whole body burning with energy. He was a warrior Namekian and there was a battle going on. He could feel it! He could hear the song of it humming through the air! This was what he was _meant_ for! What he had been _born_ for! He wanted to run off and join the fray, to show them the strength of the Namekian people! Yet he knew that he could not leave Elder Guru unguarded. If Guru were to be attacked while Nail was away, he would have no one to guard him but Dende and the Dragon Balls would surely be lost. Nail chewed his bottom lip furiously and dug his feet into the ground as he clenched and unclenched his hands.

"Nail!" Guru beckoned. Nail spun on his heels and dropped to kneel at Guru's feet as the Grand Elder spoke. "The outsiders will have need of you. Go to them." Nail stared up at Guru in shock.

"Do you truly mean that?" he asked. "What about you, Elder Guru? If I leave, there will be no one to guard you."

"And if you stay," Guru replied, "Then the humans may fail and I shall be in even greater peril. Go to them, my son. It is your calling." Nail nodded solemnly, as was tradition, and slowly rose to his feet. As soon as Nail got past the door, however, he launched himself into the air and thrust his arms out as his vest flapped in the wind. Finally, a real battle! He had long surpassed the other fighters on the planet and desperately needed a challenge. This was what he had been waiting for! His whole life had led to this moment!

OoOoOoO

Vegeta was breathing heavily as the smoke cleared and sweat ran his face. That _had_ to have done something. There was absolutely no way she was getting up from that. They all looked down into the smoldering, blackened crater and the crumpled heap of Recoome's form at the bottom. Her armor had been blasted off and now she only had her black undersuit, which had several holes burnt in it. Then, to their horror, she got up and walked casually out of the crater and dusted herself off.

"Well," she admitted as she dug a finger into her ear and flicked out a bit of charred earth, "Not gonna lie. That kinda hurt." She shook her head from side to side like a swimmer trying to get water out of her ear. Then she broke out into a wide, toothless grin. "My turn!" She whipped her head up to Vegeta and threw her hands over her head. "Eraser Gun!" The blast flew out of her mouth and struck Vegeta dead on, sending the king down in a smoking spiral to painfully hit the ground.

"Oh," Krillin muttered nervously. "Oh that's not good." Despite all the damage that had been done to her, she had still managed to take out Vegeta in _one shot._ Recoome stumbled for a moment before she caught herself and made her way toward Gohan. She broke into a run with both hands outstretched and Gohan lunged forward to meet her. He tried to meet Recoome in a knuckle lock with his much, much smaller hands before the woman slammed him into the ground. To her surprise, Gohan kept the grip on and pushed up off the ground, having to fly to push himself up to his feet with Recoome bearing down on him. What Recoome was shocked to find out, though, was that the boy started _pushing back._

"Wh-what the…" Recoome stammered out as she tried pushing down. "What the hell _are_ you?!" The little bastard didn't even budge! How was he getting stronger?! Had she lost that much power from that blast? He glared up at her and Recoome felt her palms start to grow hot.

"My name is Son Gohan," he told her, "And I'm a defender of Earth!" Gohan blasted Recoome's hands to make her stumble back as her hands burned painfully and Gohan flung his hands up over his head. "Masenko ha!" A beam of crackling yellow ki hit Recoome right between the eyes and made her tumble back end over end through the air, where Suno met her with a twisting kick to the side of her head that sent her sprawling to the ground. Recoome got slowly up to a knee with a burning red mark on her forehead where Gohan had hit her and Krillin flew up at her from behind with both hands flung back for a cross chop across the back of her neck… but was met with a backhand without Recoome ever looking at him to send him skipping across the water. Recoome snarled as she got back to her feet and met Gohan's charge with a headbutt to slam him down into the dirt. Suno flew at Recoome with a series of kicks but Recoome moved her head from side to side to easily avoid them before smashing her fists on the sides of Suno's head to disorient her. Then she grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her overhead before driving her down into the ground beside her son.

"This has been fun," Recoome said wearily while gingerly tapping a finger against the burn on her upper lip, "And you guys definitely did a number on me. But it's about time to wrap this up, then I'm goin' home and takin' a loooong nap." She dropped into a squat with a smirk as the ground shook underfoot. "Not as long as the nap you guys'll be taking, of course." Her body began to burn with magenta fire as the quakes worsened and sparks shot off of her.

"Uh oh," Jeice muttered as he and Burter watched, "We better move. Recoome's doing her thing."

"Wonder how many words she's gonna add onto it this time," Burter muttered as they lifted into the air and drifted away from the island.

"Hey, Burter," Jeice said as they moved, "I just wanna… I'm sorry for snappin' atcha, alright? I shouldn't be tellin' ya how to live, if this is the pace you're comfortable movin' at."

"No," Burter disagreed, " _I'm_ sorry. You're right. I need to learn to relax. Once we finish up this job for Lord Freeza, we're gonna take a slow week. Promise." He smiled at Jeice and Jeice smiled back. With all that behind them, they looked back to watch Recoome blow the island right the hell up.

"Recoome!" Recoome called out as she thrust her arms up into the air, her body glowing more and more and the ground shaking more and more fiercely with every word, "Ultra! Miracle! Maximum! Fighting! Spirit! Super! Bo–"

"Kienzan!" Recoome's face would be forever frozen in that moment of perplexed bewilderment, wondering just what in the hell that even meant, as a spinning razor disc of ki sliced through her thick neck effortlessly and sent her severed head spiraling into the air. Just as her head reached the highest point of its arc, Vegeta hopped to his feet from the hill he'd crashed into and fired a purple ki beam from his hand to obliterate it, as if he were shooting a clay pigeon. He had a satisfied smirk on his face as he dusted off his hands. Going by Vegeta's expression, you'd think he'd actually done something. "Man," Krillin muttered to himself as he staggered over to Gohan and Suno to help pull them out of the ground, "I have _got_ to start remembering to try that one sooner." Suno took a moment to shake the loose dirt out of her hair before trying to fuss with Gohan's hair, which was similarly dirty.

"Well," Suno said as Gohan struggled to keep his hair unfussed and Vegeta flew back down to join the three of them, "All things considered, I think we came out okay on that one. Nobody broke anything, right?" She looked around to take stock and, while they were all pretty beaten up, they didn't look as bad as when Vegeta and Nappa had come to Earth. Suno guessed that was good for something.

"I wouldn't start celebrating too soon," Burter warned in his rasping voice as he and Jeice floated back down to stand in front of the foursome. He glared at them as Jeice cracked his knuckles.

"You slags just killed our mate," he told them, "So we're gonna be breakin' _plenty_ of things 'fore we kill ya." Krillin swallowed nervously as Burter and Jeice got into fighting stances.

"Don't suppose she was stronger than you, was she?" he asked with a shaky laugh. They just glared silently at him. "Heh… I'll take that as a no."

"Shinsoku Odori!" Suno tried to take the initiative and dashed toward Burter and threw out a chop aimed for the serpent man's neck… and he caught her wrist without even blinking.

"What was that earlier," he asked with a malicious grin, "About the reasoning of God?" He chuckled as he watched the color drain from Suno's face. "Thought so."


	63. Goku's Lightspeed Rescue!

Chapter Sixty-three

Red and Blue Thunder! Goku's Lightspeed Rescue!

Freeza watched the blaze of purple aura that was Captain Ginyu come towards the ship and eagerly rubbed his hands together as he watched the captain descend with all seven Dragon Balls. He watched Ginyu lay the balls before him with an ever-widening grin that only faltered for a moment when he noticed that one of the balls was streaked with blue blood. Ooh, that was Zarbon's, wasn't it? He'd have to send some sort of message to the man's family. Which would involve pretending that he cared. Some sort of condolence gift, as well. Perhaps some wine or a bit of fruit.

Or he could just save himself the headache and destroy the planet. Blame it on Cooler. That was always much easier.

"Beautiful," Freeza said wistfully as he hopped out of his hoverchair. "Absolutely beautiful." He ran his nails over the Balls, caressing them and listening to the soft tinkling sound they made. "Soon, immortality shall be mine!" He threw back his head and laughed. As was protocol, Ginyu joined in his maniacal laughter. Freeza's laughter died slowly as his brow furrowed in confusion and, also as was protocol, Ginyu's laughter petered off as well.

"What's the matter, your Lordship?" Ginyu asked. Freeza scratched his head, just behind the base of one of his horns, with a look of puzzlement on his face.

"I just… don't know what's supposed to happen," Freeza admitted. "It just feels like something's missing. They're not doing anything. I always thought they were supposed to glow or something." He paused for a moment and chewed on his lip. "I… I wish to be immortal." He paused again and waited. He certainly didn't _feel_ any more immortal.

"Perhaps there's some sort of password," Ginyu thought aloud and stroked his chin. "A codeword or phrase that needs to be used. Probably said in their language, come to think of it." Freeza's arms fell slack at his sides and his eyes widened with shock. Of course. Of _course_ that had to be it. After all, he'd only spent nearly a week and a half _exterminating the species._

"You've _got_ to be joking…" he grumbled as he ran a hand over his face. Why? Why did these things always happen to him? It wasn't fair! "I suppose I have to go and make sure I haven't killed them all." He tapped the scouter and slowly drifted into the sky. "Watch my balls until I get back. If anyone lays a hand on my balls, I expect you to give them a thorough beating." Ginyu saluted sharply as Freeza flew off before he spun on his heels and focused his attention on the Dragon Balls. That blue stain was really just… unacceptable. He'd have to clean that.

OoOoOoO

Goku's ship finally set down on Namek's surface and she bounded energetically to the door while she waited for the ship to open. She was so excited to see everyone again, to have a rematch with Vegeta, and most of all to fight this Freeza guy! When the door opened, however, Goku was hit in the face with… nothing. She could barely sense any ki on the entire planet. That sent a chill through Goku's body that she couldn't really explain. There were three ki that she recognized very well, however: Krillin, Suno, and Gohan. They were dropping fast… They were in trouble!

"Hold on, guys!" Goku shouted as she rocketed off into the sky, "I'm on the way!"

OoOoOoO

Krillin was sent hurtling across the island by a headbutt from Jeice, who was above him half a second later to smash him into the dirt with an axehandle blow that knocked him out cold. Vegeta had a little more fight in him, releasing a barrage of ki attacks that Jeice bobbed and weaved through before striking with a flip kick under Vegeta's chin that sent him tumbling into the air. Vegeta righted himself with a snarl and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"You'll…" Vegeta gasped as his chest heaved, barely able to stay afloat, "You'll have to… do better… than that." Jeice smirked as he flew up to meet Vegeta and drew back one of his hands to summon a large ball of malevolent red energy.

"Oh, I intend to, mate! Choke on this!" he laughed as he flung the ball forward. "Crusher Ball!" Vegeta's eyebrows had barely begun to raise on his face before the ball caught him flush and he spiraled to the ground with a trail of smoke behind him before he skidded to a stop. He dusted off his hands and crossed his arms smugly. ' _Heh,'_ he thought to himself, ' _And Salza's always goin' on an' on about how great it is workin' fer Cooler, how he gets to be the leader of the Armored Squadron an' this an' that. Well, look who took out the King of Saiyans by himself inna single hit!'_ Of course, in Jeice's version of the story, he'd leave out the part where Recoome did most of the fighting.

Crap, then he'd have to explain how Recoome died. It'd be awful crummy of him to make it sound like Vegeta and his weird friends took Recoome out easily, just to make himself look good. Would he really do that to the memory of someone who had been his close friend for years and years?

Yeah, yeah he would.

As yet another series of kicks to the stomach broke through Suno's defenses, she was wondering if she had any ribs left. Burter, she hated to admit, would have been faster than her even when she was at full strength. In the condition she was after fighting Recoome, though, she didn't have a chance.

"Come on!" Burter taunted as he took a step back with a smug grin plastered over his reptilian features. "You can do better than that! Make me use my arms!"

"Sh–," Suno stammered out, "Sh-shinsok…" She fell to her hands and knees and coughed out an alarming amount of blood. Burter smirked and drew back a fist.

"That's what I thought," he quipped before throwing down a punch to her with killing force. To his surprise, however, Gohan put himself between Suno and Burter, catching his fist in both hands. Despite the trembling in his arms, Gohan glared up at Burter while Suno struggled to stand. Burter's surprise faded away quickly enough and he smashed his other fist into one of Gohan's ears to make him stagger before kicking him in the chest to knock him away.

"Gohan!" Suno screamed as she turned to look at her son, maternal instinct winning over fighting logic. That gave Burter an opening, which he used to smash an elbow onto the back of her neck. Suno heard the "SNAP!" before she collapsed helplessly to the ground. Burter laughed before kicking Suno's body away, sending her tumbling through the grass.

"Jeice!" Burter called up. "I've taken care of my two! How about you?" Jeice floated down to stand beside Burter, smirking.

"Was just about t'kill mine, actually," he answered proudly. "So I guess we'll finish these up and catch up with the cap'n?" Then they heard something. They turned their heads slowly to watch Gohan slowly stagger to his feet, every movement a visible struggle. "Well I'll be buggered," Jeice muttered.

"Kid's tough," Burter admitted as they advanced toward him. "Wonder how tough he'll look once his skull's cracked open." They broke into a charge as Gohan got into his guard, his face screwed up in a mixture of pain and determination. Suno watched helplessly, unable to move. She shut her eyes, unable to watch. Then she felt a sudden whoosh of air and heard the cries of pain from Jeice and Burter, as well as the sound of something hitting them violently. Suno opened her eyes to watch Jeice and Burter be sent flying away… and _Goku_ standing in front of Gohan with the fiercest and most serious expression on her face that Suno had ever seen. Once again, she had bulked up _considerably._

Gohan stared up at Goku in shock and amazement. She had come from out of nowhere and everything had happened so fast that it took his brain a few seconds to catch up to what had just happened. "Mom!" He cried happily as he flung his arms around her legs. Goku's face instantly softened as she dropped down to hug Gohan close to her chest.

"Hey, Gohan," she greeted him happily as she pulled a senzu out of the little bag at her waist, "I'm sorry I took so long to get here, but I'm here now." She handed Gohan the senzu and he ate it eagerly, his wounds healing almost instantly. Goku took a quick stock of the situation before she was right beside Suno, kneeling next to her and gently lifting her head as she put the senzu in Suno's mouth. Suno chewed and swallowed the bean and, as soon as she regained feeling in her limbs, she grabbed the front of Goku's shirt and yanked her into a fierce and passionate kiss. Goku was surprised at first, then kissed her back before breaking away and giggling as she helped Suno to her feet. "Well hello to you, too." Suno only giggled in response, beaming with happiness and relief. Goku watched Vegeta slowly pull himself up with trails of smoke still curling off his body with a curious expression on her face. "Hey," she asked, "Is Vegeta on our side?"

Suno thought about that for a moment before giving a half-hearted shrug, "Ehhh… I guess so." Goku smiled at that and moved over to Vegeta to give him a senzu.

"H-hey!" Burter stammered out as he and Jeice's shock finally wore off. "Who the hell are you?! What's going on here?!" Goku shot them a glare as she held the senzu out to Vegeta.

"I'm Son Goku," she told them, "And I'll deal with you in a second! I'm helping my friends!" The remaining members of the Ginyu Force were _so_ shaken at someone actually talking _back_ to them that they were struck dumb all over again. What the hell _was_ this lady?!

"We're _not_ friends," Vegeta grumbled even as he took the senzu from Goku's hand and jammed it into his mouth, grumbling and chewing on it contemptuously. Only Vegeta could wear an expression that was a mixture of relief at his healed injuries and contempt at Goku for helping him. The ground between Vegeta and Goku shifted before Krillin popped up out of the dirt, apparently having tunneled his way to meet them.

"Oh, hey, Krillin," Goku said amiably as she brushed some dirt off his shiny head. "Y'know, I don't think gophers make very good martial artists."

Krillin rolled his eyes and held out a hand. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered with good-natured irritation, "Just gimme the senzu." Goku laughed and handed him the bean before turning her attention back to Burter and Jeice and striding purposefully towards them.

"You hurt my friends," Goku told them sternly, "And judging by your outfits, I'm guessing you've hurt a lot of other people, too. I'm gonna give you one chance, though. If you promise you won't hurt anyone else, I'll let you leave this planet in peace." She paused for a moment to get into her guard. "Y'know, instead of pieces."

While Goku had been talking, the other four had grouped together and, after Goku said that, Gohan looked up at Suno to ask his mother what his mom had meant. Once he saw her face, however, he had a different question in mind. "Mother," he asked, "Why's your face all red?"

"No reason," Suno hurriedly assured him. Burter scoffed at Goku's threat and Jeice spat on the ground in front of her.

"Who in th'hell d'you think you are, Sheila?" Jeice asked contemptuously. "We're the Ginyu Force, the baddest of the bad! The meanest of the mean! We're the greatest warriors in the universe and we don't run from-AWK!" That "awk" was apparently the sound Jeice's species made when an open palm hit their solar plexus at something near to mach three. Jeice staggered away, grasping at his chest and heaving painfully.

"I just told you," Goku reminded Jeice, "My name is _Goku,_ not Sheila." Burter stared at this new woman in shock. He'd never even seen her move but there she was! Right in front of him, still leaning forward with her arm sticking out and her palm trembling in the air! He snarled and struck, unleashing a barrage of left-hand jabs to the side of her head.

"You might be able to do some damage with a cheap shot," he told her, "But you'll never get the drop on me! I'm the fastest in the unnAAAAARGH!" Burter howled in pain as Goku took the one hand she'd been using to block all of his attacks and grabbed his forearm before holding it out straight and painfully twisting it around to trap him in place. Before he could even blink, his head snapped back from a punch Goku had thrown with her free hand.

"Just to remind you," Goku told him as Burter stared at her in horror and blood flowed down his scalp, "I _did_ give you the chance to run." She smirked. "There's a lot of people who'd say you should've taken that." Then she was punching him, over and over, Burter's head snapping this way and that and his body convulsing from the speed and force of her strikes.

' _W-what's_ happening?!' Burter thought to himself even as he was being beaten senseless, ' _Th-this speed! She's so fast, it's like time is standing still!'_ Goku finally released Burter's arm and let out what could only be described as a _roar_ as she smashed her fist under his chin and sent him careening through the air with a cry of pain to land in a heap beside Jeice, who had finally stopped gasping.

"You're _really_ red, mother," Gohan said. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Oh, I'm _more_ than okay…" Suno muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Huh?"

"Nothing!" Krillin snickered and Vegeta… Vegeta was too stunned to offer any sort of smart remark. Goku got out of her guard and cracked her knuckles as Jeice looked back and forth between Burter's unconscious form and the crazy woman who'd literally appeared from nowhere and had knocked them senseless. She could probably have taken Recoome out in one hit!

"Last chance," Goku warned him. "Take your friend… and _run."_ Jeice stared at her, trembling and stammering in fear. She took a step forward and Jeice let out a shriek of terror before rocketing into the sky.

"CAAAAPTAAAAAAAAAIN!" He wailed out in terror as he vanished over the horizon. Goku dusted off her hands before turning back to the others.

"Well that was fun!" she exclaimed with a great big smile on her face. "So what've you guys been up to?"

"Oh, y'know," Krillin replied with a shrug, "Gettin' the Dragon Balls and stuff. Almost dying. The usual stuff when you're not around." Vegeta just continued to stare at Goku in shock. This was insane! He snapped out of his stupor to whip around and blast Burter's unconscious body into oblivion with a ki beam, as if he needed to kill something to remind himself of his own natural superiority.

"Vegeta!" Goku snapped. "He wasn't a threat anymore! There was no reason to do that!" Vegeta scoffed at her, outwardly contemptuous and inwardly furious.

' _This cannot be happening,'_ Vegeta told himself. ' _Can. Not. I refuse!'_ Kakarot was just a commoner! A woman! Low-born trash with the murderous intent of a houseplant! _He_ was the last of the Kings! _He_ had the stronger bloodline! _He_ had divine purpose! He had _destiny_ on his side! And yet… and yet she was _stronger_ than him?! Could Kakarot truly be the Super Saiyan?

"Hey," Goku said as she noticed the headless corpse of Recoome, "Who was that?"

OoOoOoO

Nail stopped in mid-flight as he took stock of the new arrival on the planet. This new ki was _much_ larger than the others and lacked the malevolent intent of the five previous arrivals. It was also larger than his own so the outsiders were probably safe. Then he realized that an absolutely _monstrous_ ki was headed for… The Elder Guru's hut!

"The Elder's in trouble!" Nail breathed out in a stunned whisper. He immediately changed course and rocketed back to the hut. Even if this evil ki was vastly beyond his own, he was honor-bound to protect his father. He pushed forward with all his energy, streaking across the sky.

OoOoOoO

"So what should we do now?" Goku asked after Suno gave her a slightly more detailed account of events than "the usual stuff."

"What does it matter?" Vegeta asked bitterly. "With as long as he's had the Dragon Balls to himself, Freeza _has_ to be immortal by now."

"Doooon't bet on that, Geets," Krillin told him. Vegeta shot him a _murderous_ look and Krillin quickly explained. "It's just that, y'know, the sky hasn't turned black or anything. Plus, we haven't seen any giant dragon. That's what happens when we use the Balls on Earth."

"Wait," Vegeta asked incredulously, "You mean to tell me that an _actual dragon_ is involved?" Suno snickered and Vegeta whipped his head around to glare at her. "And what is just so godsdamned funny?"

"You and Freeza don't know how the Dragon Balls work!" she pointed out gleefully before she snickered again. The other three joined in their laughter and Vegeta was sorely tempted to see how many of them he could kill before Kakarot got him.

OoOoOoO

Captain Ginyu had been enjoying his solitude and imagining new poses that would strike fear in their enemies and boost confidence in their comrades when Jeice came flying back towards him… alone. That was unusual.

"Cap'n!" Jeice screamed as he landed on the roof of Freeza's ship beside Ginyu, wide-eyed, sweating with panic and terror and practically hyperventilating. "Th-there was a thing annathing an'en they killed 'em an'en we beademup an'en this lady comes outtathasky an'en she beat us–" Captain Ginyu slapped Jeice hard in the back of the head to stop his incoherent babbling and then sighed, using the temporary silence to rub his temples and make Jeice take a few deep breaths.

"Tell it again, Jeice," the Captain ordered, "But this time _without_ the hysterics." Jeice nodded, took a few more deep breaths… and was only _slightly_ more coherent this time.

"It was awful, Cap'n!" he babbled. "First they killed Guldo and that was okay but then they cut off Recoome's head so we beat 'em up, but then this new lady just dropped out of the sky an' kicked our bleedin' heads in!" Ginyu shook his head and clucked his tongue. This would not do, this would just _not do._ The poses would look _terrible_ with just the two of them! He'd have to train some new recruits after this was all over. Lord knows it would take _forever_ to bring them up to his standard. Oh, and justice for the other three, of course. Well, Recoome and Burter. The Captain had no real love for Guldo. His quarters were always a mess and he never took their morning routines seriously. This is what he deserved, Ginyu told himself, for relying on his mental powers.

"Well," Ginyu told Jeice, "We can't let Lord Freeza know about this. It would be a _nightmare_ for our image. Best keep this under your hat for now."

"...I don't wear a hat, cap'n," Jeice pointed out. Ginyu rolled his eyes and smacked Jeice in the back of the head again.

"Just bury the Dragon Balls," Ginyu ordered him. Jeice nodded and quickly blasted a hole into the ground before kicking the Dragon Balls in and covering them with dirt. "Now take me to where you met this woman who 'kicked your heads in', was it? I shall deal with her myself." Jeice beamed at that and eagerly saluted him.

"You got it, cap'n! Follow me!" He flew off with Captain Ginyu following close behind him. That weird buff lady might have been able to beat up him and Burter but there was no way she could take out the Cap'n! She'd get hers, alright!

OoOoOoO

"So," Goku said, "If this Ginyu guy ran off with the Dragon Balls, he probably took them to Freeza–" she paused and turned her head on a swivel when she sensed a really big, _really_ evil ki, "And that's probably him headed that way." She said as she pointed off in the direction she'd sensed the ki coming from. This Freeza guy was really strong! She could handle him, though, especially with all the work she'd put into Kaiouken. She could get up to times twenty if she pushed herself. If the worst came to it, she could hit him with the Genki Dama.

"Wait," Gohan chimed in with sudden realization, "That means he's going to Guru's house! If he kills Guru, we won't be able to use the Dragon Balls!"

"Then I guess we'd better move fast," Goku decided. "I hope this doesn't come out wrong but I'm pretty sure me and Vegeta are the strongest ones here." Vegeta puffed out his chest and Gohan rolled his eyes.

"I mean, you're not wrong," Krillin admitted in a self-depreciative tone.

"So here's what we'll do," Goku told them, "When Jeice comes back with that Captain guy he was crying for, me and Vegeta will deal with them while you guys go find where they put the Dragon Balls." Vegeta managed to suppress a shudder of revulsion into little more than a grimace, not unlike someone pretending that their stomach wasn't bothering them.

"That's… actually a pretty good plan," Suno conceded with a small hint of surprise. Not that she thought her wife was stupid, of course, it was just that… well, she usually wasn't much for planning.

"Indeed," called a voice from above, "A clever ploy, to be sure. It does have, however, one major snag." Captain Ginyu descended dramatically with Jeice following swiftly behind, the pair striking as dramatic a team pose as they could manage with just the pair of them. "That snag, of course, meaning me." There was a long, awkward pause.

"Yeah, see," Krillin finally said, "I feel like this would have been more impressive back when there were five of you." Ginyu and Jeice dropped out of their pose with a huff and stood with their legs apart and their arms behind their backs.

"You guys get out of here," Goku told Gohan, Suno, and Krillin. "We'll handle these guys." She got into her guard and, in a pleasant surprise, so did Vegeta! The other three quickly took off and Jeice watched them fly away.

"Should I take care of 'em, cap'n?" Jeice asked. Captain Ginyu smirked and shook his head.

"No need, Jeice. The most they'll be able to do is dig the Dragon Balls back up. Then we'll just fill the hole back up with their bodies." Goku glowered at him and balled her fists.

"Y'know," she told Ginyu as he got into a fighting stance of his own, "Your buddy can tell you that I don't like people threatening the people I care about." Then she looked at Vegeta out of the corner of her eye. "I know we've got our problems," she admitted, "But I think if we work together to take on these guys, we'll be able to work through those problems. I know you've already helped my friends a little bit, so I think you're not as bad as you…" Then she looked to see that Vegeta had already disappeared. For a guy who loved talking about how great of a warrior he was, he sure was good at running away. ' _Eh,'_ she told herself with a shrug, ' _He'll come arou–'_ Her thoughts were interrupted by Captain Ginyu punching her in the side of the head.

"Ah ha!" he laughed boisterously as Goku staggered away. "Never take your eyes away in the heat of battle! If you think you can play games with the Captain, you'll find I play for keeps!" Goku grinned as she got back into her guard.

"Okay," she shot back as she lunged for him, "Let's _play!"_


	64. Ginyu is Morphenomenal! Run, Dende, Run!

Chapter Sixty-four

Captain Ginyu is Morphenomenal! Run, Dende, Run!

Goku and Ginyu exchanged a furious combination of strikes, filling the air with punches and kicks. Goku leaped backwards to avoid a jumping knee from the Captain, who spun to the side to avoid Goku's own uppercut counterattack. They met each other's strikes punch for punch several times before grabbing one another's hands in a knuckle lock, each one pushing forward to gain an advantage, which was more than a little tricky while they were suspended in the air.

"I must admit," Ginyu said, his voice strained from the effort as he tried to push Goku down and the veins in his scalp pulsed, "You are a capable warrior indeed. I can see how you might have easily defeated my Force." Jeice grumbled to himself as Goku pushed back against Ginyu.

"And you're pretty good yourself," Goku complimented, "But I'm just getting started!" As quick as a flash, Goku brought her feet up to her chest and pushed them into Ginyu's chest, keeping their knuckles locked as she pushed off and flipped backwards to fling Ginyu to the ground. Ginyu twisted to splay out and land on his hands and feet to skid away as Goku flew down with a diving kick that missed him by inches. Ginyu sprung forward like a particularly vicious frog and threw out his hands to lob a pair of purple ki blasts at Goku. She dodged one and slapped the other back toward Ginyu, who slapped it off into the distance. Jeice took this opportunity to fire a beam of ki at Goku's back. She just managed to avoid the blast but it sent her directly into the path of Captain Ginyu's fist. To Goku's surprise, Ginyu was upset by this.

"Jeice!" Ginyu snapped as he looked up at his red compatriot. "Do _not_ do that again!"

"But Cap'n–" Jeice started to protest.

"But nothing!" Captain Ginyu shot back. "I will not tolerate backstabbing and chicanery in my battles! If I am to defeat this woman and avenge our fallen comrades, I shall do it on my own!" Goku was… pleasantly surprised by that. "Please," he told Goku as he turned his attention back to her, "I must apologize for Jeice's attitude. He has more passion than sense, I'm afraid." Jeice grumble at that and turned up his nose with a huff.

"It's okay," Goku said with a shrug, "Same thing happened to me once. I don't like people getting involved in my fights, either." Captain Ginyu smiled and nodded in approval.

"Regardless," Ginyu continued as he held his arms at his sides, "I shall let you take a hit in reprisal." Goku blinked in confusion and Captain Ginyu realized that his verbiage might be too advanced for the woman to understand. "I'm going to let you hit me," he explained, "And I will not defend myself."

"Ohhhhh," Goku said with sudden understanding, "You mean a free shot." Ginyu nodded. "Well why didn't you say so?" Ginyu began to respond when Goku dropkicked him in the face to send him reeling. Captain Ginyu wiped blood from his lip with a forearm before charging at Goku, the two meeting an explosion of fists on the ground before they rose back into the sky, throwing kicks knees, and elbows into the mix. "Y'know," Goku said as she bobbed out of the way of a left hook, "You're actually not a bad guy."

"Well thank you," Ginyu said with a bemused smile as he blocked Goku's hook and went for a headbutt. "I suppose that's your way of saying I'm capable as well?"

"Oh, I didn't mean that!" Goku assured him as she ducked out of the way of a headbutt and drove a shoulder into his gut. "I don't mean that you're not a good fighter, you're really talented! I just mean, y'know, you're fighting on your own, you don't want to cheat, you're fighting for your friends." Goku grabbed Ginyu's wrist as he went for a palm strike and guided it off to the side, her other hand grabbing one of his horns and guiding his head down to her rising knee with a cry of fury before continuing. "This Freeza guy sounds like a real jerk, so I dunno why you're working for him. If you stop now, we can call a truce and you guys can help us beat 'im up!" Ginyu wrenched free of Goku's grip and pivoted his body to drive a punch into Goku's liver, causing her to heave in pain before he threw out a front kick that caught her in the face and sent her tumbling through the air.

"Hmm hmm," Ginyu chuckled as he took a moment to catch his breath. "Captain Ginyu and Jeice, champions of good and defenders of the weak and helpless. A novel concept, to be certain." The Captain even turned to look at Jeice with a smirk on his face. "How does that sound to you, Jeice?"

Jeice gave a chuckle of his own, "'Fraid it's not much my style, cap'n." Ginyu turned to see Goku coming in for another attack and met her head on, colliding shoulder to shoulder and pushing against one another, their auras struggling and crackling off of each other.

"Nor is it mine, miss. I'm afraid you don't quite understand something," Captain Ginyu fell backward and let Goku zip past him, throwing a kick up into the air at her midsection that, to his surprise, she spiraled through the air to avoid. "While it is true that I enjoy a fair fight," Ginyu admitted as he weaved through the air to avoid a series of ki blasts, "What Lord Freeza brings to the universe is stability and order. A single force that governs and dictates, with no room for lobbying or corruption. And I am his hand, I am the _instrument_ of that order." He smirked as he fired a beam of ki and tried his best to be undeterred as Goku thrust out her palms and turned in a tight circle to divert the beam off harmlessly toward the horizon. "And, of course, it makes me _incredibly_ wealthy."

"So you're not gonna take my offer?" Goku asked.

"Not a chance," Ginyu told her, "But I have a counteroffer. As you can see, the ranks of the Ginyu Force are currently rather–"

"No thanks."

"Wh… what?"

"I'm not interested. You guys are jerks and you kill people. Besides, your pose was kinda dumb, y'know?" _That_ was taking it too far.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Ginyu snapped as he defensively struck a pose, with one leg bent to touch his foot against the other thigh to make a shape like a four, with one arm across his chest and the other raised high in the air and a slight twist at the waste. "I'll have you know that my poses are the most infamous and feared across the Northern Qua–" he gawked as Goku mimicked his pose. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"What," Goku asked, "Am I doing it wrong?"

"Yes," Ginyu told her through gritted teeth, "You're doing the wrong legs!" Goku switched her legs. "And keep your foot flat! I can tell you curled your toes from the way your boot is bent." Goku's foot went flat against her thigh. "A-and pivot at the waist! It doesn't look right if you don't…" Ginyu stared at her for a moment. "Oh lord, that looks ridiculous."

"Oh, nah, cap'n!" Jeice called from the sidelines. "I love doin' those poses!"

"See what I mean?" Goku asked as she dropped out of the pose and drove a spear strike into Ginyu's neck. He cried out in pain and clutched at his neck before sneering at her. "If you're gonna keep being evil then I guess I'll stop playing around." At this, Ginyu laughed.

"Oh, a brave showing, miss…" Ginyu blinked. "You know, I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Son Goku."

"Yes, well, Miss Son, I'm–"

"No, my name's Goku."

"Then... then why did you say 'Son' first?" Goku shrugged. Ginyu sighed and shrugged. "As I was saying, Miss Goku."

"My names not miss, either. It's just Goku!"

"LOOK!" Ginyu snarled as the veins in his scalp pulsed. "It's very funny of you to act like you're holding back but I know your power level is only twenty thousand, whereas _my_ power level is twenty seven thousand! I am the second most powerful being in the Northern Quadrant to his Lordship so there is simply no way that you could defeat me. It is _I_ who will cease to play games with _you!"_

Goku smirked and rolled her neck from side to side to make a cracking sound that the Captain found _most_ unpleasant. "You sure about that?" She asked. Then she started to power up. Ginyu watched the number on his scouter reach twenty seven thousand… and keep climbing.

OoOoOoO

As Vegeta flew back to Freeza's ship, he tried his best to ignore Kakarot's rising power level and the fury it boiled into his blood.

"Just become immortal," he muttered under his breath. "Just focus on that. First immortality _then_ the…" he stopped muttering once he came upon the ship and found the Earth trio digging the Dragon Balls out of the dirt. "Well, well, well," he called as he floated down to meet them, "It's nice to see you three anticipating your proper role in my new world order in the form of slave labor."

"Hey," Krillin responded curiously as Gohan and Suno pulled out the rest of the Dragon Balls, "Weren't you supposed to be helping Goku?" Vegeta shrugged.

"If Kakarot's the Super Saiyan," Vegeta told them flippantly, "She can handle Captain Ginyu."

"The heck is a Super Saiyan?" Suno asked.

"None of your concern," Vegeta replied curtly as Gohan pulled the last Dragon Ball out of the hole in the ground. "So, since you're the Dragon Ball experts, what're we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know," Gohan admitted. "I wasn't born for most of the wishes and I wasn't there when everyone wished mom back."

"Jeez," Krillin muttered as he stepped toward the balls, "It feels kinda weird doin' this without Puar around." Then he threw his head back toward the sky and stretched his arms out wide. "Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Krillin called out, his voice echoing across the plains. "I summon you!" They waited. And waited. And waited. No rumbling thunder. No black sky. No lightning. No Dragon. No luck.

"Well," Vegeta asked dryly, "Is it an _invisible_ dragon?"

"Maybe we need to say it in Namekian?" Gohan offered.

"Gee," Suno grumbled as she gave Vegeta a sidelong glance, "If only one of us hadn't been _killing them all."_

"Oh please," Vegeta scoffed defensively, "I killed _one_ village. That's not a genocide! That's Saiyan housekeeping!"

OoOoOoO

Dende tried to fight the shivering that passed through his body as he felt that terrible power drawing closer and closer but there was nothing he could do to choke down his terror. It was so… _evil!_ So evil and cold! With Nail gone, there was no one to defend Guru!

"Dende," Guru said softly as he held out his hand, "Come here, my son." Dende stepped carefully toward Guru, his heart pounding with every step. "The earthlings lack the password to summon Porunga. I had intended for Nail to give it to them but he is returning. So the task falls to you."

"B-but Elder Guru," Dende protested, "If I leave, what will happen to you?" Strangely enough, Guru… chuckled.

"My time is short, little one," he told Dende frankly. "It may come even before this evil power does. There is nothing that can be done to stop it now. I have lived a very, _very_ long time. There are others who need your help far more than I do. You must go to them. But first, I must unlock your power."

"Will I fight?" Dende asked as he instinctively nuzzled his head against Guru's palm.

"No," the Great Elder told him reassuringly, "That is not your purpose. You are a gentle soul, Dende, and you are rare. For there are so many that possess the gift of death. It is easy to _take_ a life. Yet you, my son, are so much more rare and powerful. It is within you to _give_ life." With that, Guru hummed softly and Dende felt the Great Elder's power race through him like electricity.

"I… I feel stronger," Dende gasped when it was over. Guru nodded.

"Fly, my son," Guru urged him weakly as weariness began to set in, "Fly for our people!" Dende nodded and ran for the door, taking off and flying as quickly as he could. Once Dende was gone, Guru let out a slow and gentle sigh. Soon, he would be with his brothers and sons. Whether at the hands of an enemy or the sands of the hourglass, his time was nearly over. Soon there would be endless fields and oceans. He would run. He would fly. He would see. "What have I to fear of death," Guru mused to himself, "When the living world has already taken so much from me?"

OoOoOoO

Goku brought her arms down with a smirk, the red aura of Kaiouken flaring around her. Her training had definitely paid off. She didn't even feel any stress from going times two! Ginyu sure looked stressed out, though.

"F-forty… f-f-forty…" he stammered as he stared at her in a cold sweat. Then he let out a wordless scream and charged at her with one fist drawn back to punch her in the face. She could have dodged it if it got to her, but it never did. Goku just smirked and held one leg straight out, letting him run face first into it. Ginyu flew back, his hands on his nose as he whimpered in pain and watched the blood seep through his interlocked fingers. Ginyu stared at her in horror for a moment and Goku was sure he was gonna give up… until he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Goku asked with genuine confusion. Ginyu brought his hands down and wiped purple blood from his busted nose.

"It's just quite amusing," he told her with a sniffle, "Because now I know I'm going to win."

"...How?" Instead of responding, Ginyu took off his scouter and tossed it to Jeice.

"Hold onto this for a moment, would you?" Jeice caught the scouter and his face seemed to light up with understanding. Goku wasn't sure she liked that very much. Then, to her shock, confusion, and even a little bit of horror, Ginyu rammed his fist into his own stomach, punching through armor and skin with a spray of blood.

"H-hey!" Goku stammered out over his cry of pain. "I know you're upset that I'm stronger than you but there's no need to hurt yourself!" Ginyu smiled at her even as blood seeped through his teeth and pulled his hand out, splaying his limbs out wide.

"BODY CHANGE!" Ginyu roared.

"What the heck does m–" Goku started to ask before she screamed out in agony… with Ginyu's voice. She felt so _weird!_ It felt like she was missing some organs. And her bones didn't feel right. She felt a shooting pain in her side and looked down at Ginyu's hands, one of which was covered in his own blood. "Wh… what's going on?" Goku asked in confusion, still with Ginyu's voice. She heard a chuckle and looked back up at _herself,_ sneering at her with her arms folded over her chest. "What the?"

"So how does it feel, cap'n?" Jeice asked as he flew down to meet Goku's body, handing… her? Him? Ginyu's scouter. Goku smirked and fit the scouter over her ear… before she suddenly spasmed and cried out in shock. "Cap'n!" Jeice blurted out in a startled tone. "What's wrong?"

"Guuuuuuh!" Goku shivered. "Jeeeeice! She… she's covered in haaair! Little hairs, all over her body! Even inside her ears!" Her hands roamed over her body in a confused inspection. "And she has _boooones!_ There's so many organs and they're all in her torso! A-and there's so much water!"

"Nothin' else, though?" Jeice asked, looking down awkwardly as if to imply… something.

"I was a woman for twenty years, Jeice," Goku huffed. "Twice as long as I had that body over there. Before that, I spent five years as a species with no sex and three years as a species with a _third_ sex. It's really not that big of an issue. If anything, males put too much focus on their–"

"Hey!" Goku interjected. "What's going on here?!" Goku looked at her and chuckled.

"Oh my, you're slow on the uptake, aren't you? It's obvious! I stole your body, as it's far more powerful than the one I had before. So I'm going to use my new body to kill all your loved ones while you use _your_ new body to bleed to death! Toodle-oo!" With that, Ginyu, as Goku had finally figured out, and Jeice flew off.

"It won't work!" Goku called after them. "I don't say Toodle-oooohhh…" Goku blinked as her vision started to swim and she began to drift downwards. Oh jeez, she had lost a _lot_ of blood.

OoOoOoO

Ginyu and Jeice went maybe half a mile back toward the ship when Ginyu came to a sudden stop.

"What is it, cap'n?"

"It's this hair!" Ginyu grumbled in frustration as he fought with his new, spiky hair. "How did she keep it out of her eyes?!" He groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. "Ugh, I haven't had hair in so long that I forgot to keep a comb with me. Give me yours." Jeice nodded and fished a switchblade comb out of one of his pockets, snapping it open and handing it to Ginyu. He managed to get everything slickly into place… before it exploded back into its unruly shape. "Confound it! Do you have any gel?" Jeice found a small vial of mousse and handed it to the Captain. He squeezed every last drop into his hair and then smoothed it out and combed it down. It held for exactly thirty seconds before exploding into its previous shape and sending product everywhere. "OH FUCK OFF!" Ginyu screamed in a rare moment of vulgarity. "Do you have… a scrunchy?" Jeice took out one of the ones he had hidden in his left glove and handed it to the Captain, who pulled back his hair into a ponytail and, finally, held it in place. "Much better," Ginyu muttered. "Let's get going." He and Jeice resumed flying as he said, "And once they're dead, I simply _must_ get a change of clothes! I feel like I'm wearing pajamas!"

"Y'know," Jeice offered, "If yer gonna try an' convince her friends that you're her, ya should try t'sound like her."

"What are you talking about?" Ginyu asked. "I sound exactly like her!"

"No, no, no, I mean, yeah, y'have her voice, but yer not _talkin'_ like her. Yer still talkin' like _you."_ Ginyu supposed that Jeice might have a point. He'd never actually tried to use subterfuge after swapping bodies. He'd just kill the old body and go right along being himself.

"I suppose you're right," Ginyu muttered. "So how might I accomplish this ruse?"

"Y'can start with less syllables."

"Hmm…"

"There ya go."

OoOoOoO

Nail spotted Elder Guru's hut, putting on an extra burst of speed and ignoring the beads of sweat that raced down his scalp and flew away, ignoring everything as he raced to put himself between his father and evil.

"Elder Guru!" Nail gasped as he finally reached the door, "I came as quickly as I–"

There was an almighty thunderclap, as if the sky had been ripped open, and Nail looked up to see that the clouds had been torn apart. He looked back down and nearly fell backwards in a fright. The evil was right in front of him.

He did not quite look how Nail had expected. He was only a little taller than Dende and his primary color was… pink. The flesh of his thighs and biceps were pink, with a long pink tail with a purple tip, pink-and-white natural bone-like armor on his forearms and shins, with that armor taking up most of his torso and around his head as well. The skin of his face and neck was a light purple, almost a pinkish hue, with thin black horns coming out of the top of his head and strange… jewels growing out of his shoulders, chest, and head. He also had some sort of… gloss or shine on his lips. But when Nail looked into those cruel, merciless black eyes, he knew for a certainty that _this_ was the evil. In those eyes, Nail saw nothing but death, slaughters beyond counting. Despite his appearance, Nail knew in that moment of eye contact that he was staring at nothing less than a death god.

"Hello," the death god said in a surprisingly amicable tone, "I am Lord Freeza, singular power in the universe." He snapped his fingers and Guru's hut exploded into ash, although Guru himself was left completely unharmed. "You will tell me how to use the Dragon Balls."

"A-and if I refuse?" Nail asked as he balled his fists and tried not to sound so terrified. The death god chuckled.

"Oh, that was _not_ a request, my good man," Freeza explained, "Merely a statement of fact. A premonition, if you will, since I know you savages are so wonderfully superstitious. You _will_ tell me how to become immortal. The only variable…" Freeza's eyes narrowed and he glared at Nail contemptuously, "Is how many _pieces_ you will be in before you tell me."


	65. Goku is Ginyu? Ginyu is Goku!

Chapter Sixty-five

Goku is Ginyu?! Ginyu is Goku?! Aye yai yai yai!

The quartet stood around the Dragon Balls, wondering what to do with them. Well, Krillin, Suno, and Gohan were doing the wondering. Vegeta was doing the glowering.

"Maybe one of us should try and find any of the remaining Namekians?" Gohan offered. Krillin shook his head.

"No way," he objected. "Do you know how long it'd take to cover the whole planet? Besides, if that Freeza guy's looking for Namekians, we might bump into him. Which I _don't_ think we'd win."

"You wouldn't," Vegeta assured them.

"What if one of us went back to get Bulma?" Krillin asked, doing his best to ignore Vegeta. Suno nodded and rubbed at her jaw.

"That's not a bad idea," Suno admitted, "But then we'd have to take her back. Even if he can't sense ki, Freeza'll notice the sky turning black and a giant dragon reaching up into the clouds. Whatever we wish for and however it happens, we have to accept the _very_ real possibility that we'll have to fight Freeza." They reflected nervously on that sobering fact before Gohan caught something in the sky.

"Hey," he called out excitedly, "It's mom!" Then he squinted curiously as the others turned to look with him. "And… is that Jeice guy with her?" The others were similarly puzzled as Goku and Jeice landed nearby and began to walk towards them. For some reason, she was wearing a scouter.

"Hello, everyone!" Goku greeted in a chipper tone and a wave. Which didn't seem too off-beat but something was… not quite right. "Have you managed to summon the Dragon yet?"

"No," Krillin admitted glumly, "It looks like these Dragon Balls need a different password than on Earth. Or at least a password spoken in Namekian." Then he fixed Goku with a slightly confused look. "I mean, didn't you see that the sky didn't go black? No giant dragon and stuff?" Goku seemed to think about that for a second before she started to respond.

"Kakarot," Vegeta cut in, then had to repeat himself because she didn't seem to realize he was talking to her, "Kakarot! Why are you wearing a scouter? You can already sense power levels, so what's the point of it?" For some reason, Kakarot looked a little surprised at that statement. "And more importantly, why in the nine hells is Jeice still alive?"

"Yeah," Suno added suspiciously, "What happened with Ginyu?"

Goku blinked for a moment before looking at Jeice, "Well," she said, " _Captain_ Ginyu was a formi– a _really tough_ opponent but I managed to defeat him! I gave Jeice here one last chance to change his ways and he decided he'd help us!"

"An' as for the scouter," Jeice added, "That was my idea." Goku looked slightly relieved for some reason as Jeice picked up the conversation. "Y'see, the scouters'll keep track of Freeza so we can hear what he's doin' and where he's goin'."

"Wait," Gohan objected, "Doesn't that mean Freeza can hear you guys, too? You should get rid of those!"

"Well–" Goku started to explain before Suno cut her off.

"Waaaait," Suno muttered, rubbing her chin and walking closer to Goku, "Something about this isn't right."

OoOoOoO

Goku let out a wheeze as she wavered through the air, fighting to push back up every time she dipped down. She had a fist pressed into her wound to try and stem the bleeding as she kept blinking spots from her vision, flying at a painfully slow pace. She was sure glad Ginyu's body had so much blood.

"H-hang on guys," she muttered, "I-I'm almost there!" she started to wobble and fought to keep herself alight as she pushed forward. "Please don't kill my body. I don't think this one's good for much longer…" She just hoped Ginyu would have as much trouble using her body as she was having with his.

OoOoOoO

"Whaddaya mean?" Krillin asked.

"Yes," Goku added, "What's wrong?" Suspiciously, she hadn't actually said anyone's name yet other than Jeice.

"That's _not_ Goku," Suno insisted firmly as she jabbed an accusatory finger in Goku's face. "I can tell by her ki."

"Wh-what?!" Goku asked in shock and maybe just a hint of worry. "What are you talking about?!"

"Are you sure?" Krillin asked. "I mean, she's acting a little funny but it _looks_ like Goku. Her ki seems normal to me."

"Trust me, Krillin," Suno assured him as she began to stride towards Goku, who nervously stumbled back, "Goku and I have been through a _lot_ together. We've lived together for five years. I carried her child. I _know_ when her ki isn't right." Gohan began to redden with embarrassment and Goku looked _quite_ surprised by that statement.

Krillin hummed and nodded thoughtfully, "Well, when you put it that way-"

Then Suno gave a little bit of a smirk. "Besides, whoever this is has _no_ idea how to handle Goku's butt."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" Goku snapped indignantly, her cheeks bright red. Suno's smirk widened and she kicked her right in the face.

"And another thing," Suno added as 'Goku' staggered back and held her jaw, "My wife has _never_ used the term 'I beg your pardon'." Jeice looked at 'Goku' with a bit of an "I told you so" expression as Suno cracked her knuckles and Gohan and Krillin got into their guards. "Now look, whoever you are. You've got the next twenty seconds to tell us what you did with Goku before we start kicking the crap out of you."

"Alright," 'Goku' admitted in frustration, "Alright! _Fine!_ I'm Captain Ginyu and I stole Goku's body." Then Ginyu cracked his knuckles and smirked. "I suppose it's fortuitous that you figured out my little charade. I was honestly planning to kill you all, anyway, just to break this body in. Speaking of breaking…" he lunged forward suddenly and smashed his fist into Suno's jaw to send her flying into one of the boulders around the ship.

"Mother!" Gohan cried before turning his attention on Ginyu and growling. Before he and Krillin could attack, though, Suno pushed herself off the boulder and cracked her neck.

"Is that all you've got?" she asked cockily.

Ginyu blinked in surprise and his eyes bugged wide. "Wh-what?!"

OoOoOoO

"I'm waiting for an answer," Freeza said with wavering calm and his arms crossed over his chest. Nail looked back at Elder Guru and took a moment to get a sense of how far along Dende was. There was only one thing to do.

"I'll tell you how to summon the Dragon," Nail told him. "If you can defeat me in combat." Freeza didn't know whether to laugh or groan. How could an entire planet be full of such suicidally-honorbound fools?

"Very well," Freeza muttered wearily, "I accept your, ahem, 'challenge'." Nail fought an urge to roll his eyes as he pushed off into the air.

"I cannot risk the Elder Guru's safety," he instructed, causing Freeza to fix the preposterously-bloated ancient with a contemptuous glare, "He is old and frail. If he were to die during our conflict then the Dragon Balls would die with him. You _need_ him alive." Freeza was reluctant to admit that _he_ needed anyone but, reluctantly, he followed Nail up into the air. "Come with me." Nail flew off with Freeza in tow and Guru let out a soft, heartsick sigh as he felt Nail's ki fade off.

' _My son,'_ he thought painfully, ' _My strongest, bravest, most dutiful son.'_ He knew what Nail was planning. Guru only prayed to Porunga that he would not suffer. For not the first time today, although part of Guru wondered if it would be the last, he wondered what they had done that Porunga would punish them so severely.

Nail led Freeza several miles away to a small empty island of blue grass in the middle of the green sea. Although, Nail thought to himself sadly, he supposed _all_ of the islands were empty now. That thought sent a cold shudder through Nail, a cold that was almost instantly burned by the heat of his rage. He would make this monster pay!

"Here is where we will fight," Nail told Freeza as he drug the point of his toe into the dirt to create a line. Freeza chuckled and walked up to the line, one arm held behind his back.

"You really are deluding yourself by using that word," Freeza replied. Nail fixed him with a somewhat curious look. " _Fight,_ my dear savage. There is no battle here, no more than a drop of water could battle a star or an insect battle a volcano. You will never defeat me." Nail only glowered silently, not even making a sound as he powered up and let his ki flare to its highest point. Freeza looked curiously at the numbers on the device covering his eye. "Hrm," he mused, "Twenty thousand. It's impressive, I'll give you that much. You're even more powerful than some of my Ginyu Force. I'd offer you a job if I knew it wouldn't be a waste of time. I, of course, have a power of fifty-five thousand. That's more than twice yours; I know you mongrel species find numbers difficult." Nail continued to glower at him. "Oh come now, mighty warrior. Give me a little speech, won't you? That's how these sorts of things always go. Some heroic words, some act of defi–" Nail lunged forward and smashed the edge of his hand into the side of Freeza's neck with enough force that the ground under Freeza's feet cracked from the shockwave. Freeza didn't even blink. "I'll tell you this," Freeza offered as he grabbed Nail's wrist with one hand, the other still behind his back, "I'll only use this hand. That seems a little more fair, doesn't it? I won't even move from this spot." Then he pulled his arm away, and Nail's arm came with him. Nail staggered back and howled in pain, purple blood spewing in every direction as Freeza eyed the dismembered arm in his hand and dismissively threw it into the sea. Nail grit his teeth to silence his own screams and let out a growl before a fresh arm burst from his shoulder in a fountain of purple blood and green fluids, all of which hit a psychokinetic shield Freeza projected before they could splatter onto Freeza himself. Nail gasped out a few breaths before stepping back to the line as Freeza dropped his shield. "A most amusing trick," Freeza said blithely, "But I notice that doing so sacrificed your Battle Power. Perhaps it would be wiser to forfeit." Nail only roared in response and made for another attack. Freeza wondered just what in the world he hoped to accomplish.

OoOoOoO

Captain Ginyu growled in frustration as he was battered from all sides by the three Earthlings while Vegeta watched impassively. He hit Freeza's ship and groaned as the polyalloy buckled from the impact. He couldn't seem to do any damage to them, this was insane!

"Jeice!" Ginyu snapped as he pulled himself out of the dent the bald one had made with his body. "What's my power level?!" Jeice tapped at his scouter and was shocked at the number he saw.

"U-uh, t-ten thousand, cap'n!"

"WHAT?!" Captain Ginyu snapped angrily. That was a fourth of the power this body should have been able to produce! This was some kind of cruel joke! Ginyu's attention was pulled away, however, as the redheaded one, apparently Goku's mate, grabbed the front of his shirt and kneed him in the gut.

"Okay," she growled at him, "Start talking! You said you 'stole' Goku's body. So where the hell is she?"

"Hi, guys!" a voice called weakly from above. Everyone stopped and looked up to stare at Captain Ginyu wavering in the air with a painful smile on his face. Ginyu let out a groan as the others started putting the pieces together.

"Wait," Krillin said with dawning understanding and horror, " _That's_ Goku?!" Goku winced and gave a little nod.

"Mom," Gohan called up to her, "I think you're still pretty!" Goku gave a half-strength little chuckle and smiled at him.

"Th-thank you, Gohan!" Suno looked back and forth between Goku and Ginyu or was it Ginyu and Goku? Either way, she was both confused and disturbed. That gave Ginyu an opening to kick her in the chest and shove her away into Gohan and Krillin.

"Tell me why I'm not as strong in this body!" Ginyu demanded. Goku gave a weak laugh. "What's so damnably funny?!"

"You don't know how to use my body," Goku explained, "And that includes not being able to use any of my techniques! And there's no way I'm gonna tell ya!" She stuck out her tongue and pulled down one of her eyelids with the hand that wasn't soaked in blood, causing Captain Ginyu to growl furiously.

"Jeice!" He snapped at his last remaining ally. "Get in here and _help,_ you slack-jawed moron!" Jeice ran to his Captain's aid but was suddenly yanked back as Vegeta forcefully grabbed a handful of Jeice's long white hair. Ginyu had _told_ him to cut it half a hundred times!

"I'm afraid that's not going to be an option," Vegeta told Jeice calmly, then he flung Jeice into the air and followed up after him, battering him with a series of vicious punches and kicks.

"Go get him, Vegeta!" Goku called encouragingly as Vegeta and Jeice sailed past.

"Go to hell!" Vegeta shot back as he went past. Goku wondered which one he meant. Apparently he thought there were a lot. She turned her attention back to the ground and watched as the other three beat her up. No, wait, they were beating _Ginyu_ up. But it _looked_ like they were beating her up. She was starting to get a headache, although that could have also been from the blood loss.

"Try not to beat him up too bad, guys!" Goku called down. "We still need him to give me my body back! I don't wanna be stuck in this one!" She regretted saying that almost instantly, though, as she could tell that the others started to hold back because of it and it gave Ginyu a chance to fight back.

Jeice let out a frustrated snarl as Vegeta easily moved around all of his attacks. It was like his hands were going right through Vegeta's body! How was he so fast?! He drew one hand back and generated a massive ball of red energy.

"Crusher Ball!" he roared angrily before flinging it forward. Vegeta smirked and threw a straight jab at the ball, causing it to burst like a balloon. Jeice gawked in horror as smoke curled off the bare skin of Vegeta's hand. "Wh-what the hell is this?!" he demanded, "What kinda trick're you tryin' to pull?"

Vegeta chuckled. "Why don't you check that scouter of yours?" He asked casually before he began to power up with a triumphant cry. Jeice was aghast as the number on his scouter rose and rose.

"Y-y-you weren't even strong enough to beat Recoome on your own! How the hell're you stronger'an me?!"

"It's quite alright to be afraid," Vegeta assured him with a smirk. "After all, that is a natural reaction in the presence of one who is becoming a legend." He spread his arms out wide and lifted his face toward the suns, posturing. Despite everything, Jeice still found enough contempt beneath the terror to roll his eyes.

"Ah, piss off!" he spat. Then he flung both hands forward and blasted Vegeta with a continuous red beam, pouring all of his energy into it. Vegeta held out a hand to effortlessly divert the beam around him as he ominously floated toward Jeice. His other hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed the red man's elbow, snapping it effortlessly and causing Jeice to shriek with pain. As Jeice's mouth was wide open, Vegeta rammed his palm in to hold it open. The other man's eyes went wide with terror and he whimpered and squirmed helplessly as the inside of his mouth began to glow. Showing a remarkable amount of ki control, Jeice's entire body from the chin down was blasted into ash, while the skin, hair, and muscle were blasted off his skull. His eyes, tongue, throat, and brain were evaporated from the heat, leaving a perfectly intact skull in Vegeta's hand.

"Hm," he muttered to himself as he turned the skull over in his hands, "So that's what their skulls look like." Before this whole mess with Kakarot started, Vegeta had an old habit of taking the skulls from every sentient species he killed. Two from each, sometimes three, sometimes just one. It differed from species to species. Back in his luxury quarters on one of the Freeza planets, he remembered, he had an entire room filled wall to wall with skulls. Vegeta realized, with a pang of melancholy, that as he had no doubt been branded a traitor to the Organization, his assets had probably been seized and his quarters sold off. Meaning his collection was long gone. He looked down at the skull, the fascination gone as his face twisted in annoyance and dismay. He gave a sigh of resigned frustration and crushed the skull into dust in his hand.

"Jeeeeice!" Ginyu screamed in heartbroken fury from below. All of his warriors… his Ginyu Force… they were all gone. He had begrudged the assignment of having to train them and had initially seen it as beneath him. Yet, in time, he had worked them to fighting shape and brought them up to his rigorous standards. He had come to love them as his family, even Guldo. And Jeice had been the son he never had. Now they were gone. All of them. He shoved past the other three, past Goku still inhabiting his dying body, and threw all his weight and all his rage into a punch that caught Vegeta directly on the jaw and whipped his head back. He watched as Vegeta turned his head back to face him and rubbed blood from the corner of his lip with a thumb.

"Ohhh," he muttered slowly in an uncomfortably low voice, "This shall be sweet, _sweet_ catharsis." Ginyu's eyes widened with horror as his rage subsided and he realized he had made a horrible mistake.

From below, the trio watched Vegeta beat Ginyu senseless with growing discomfort. After all, even if he _was_ beating up one of the bad guys, that bad guy was in Goku's body, meaning that any damage Vegeta did would eventually come back to Goku once they got her in her own body. They still weren't entirely sure how they were going to force Ginyu to do that.

"Okay," Suno decided, "This has gone far enough. We need to stop him before he beats Ginyu to death and Goku's trapped in that body forever!" Gohan and Krillin nodded before the three of them flew up to try and stop Vegeta's assault. Vegeta, for his part, was having the time of his life. He _knew_ it! He _knew_ he was stronger than Kakarot! No tricks, no games, no techniques to get in his way! He was simply more powerful, as he had been bred to be! He threw his head back and laughed as he sent Ginyu tumbling away with a knee that caught him under the jaw. Although, if Vegeta didn't know any better, Ginyu was laughing as well.

Ginyu was about to die. This body was _far_ weaker than Vegeta's, especially without access to any of Goku's stupid 'techniques', whatever the hell they might be. He only had one chance to save his skin.

"Body…"

This was Goku's one shot, her only chance to get back in her body! She flew with every last ounce of energy she had in her, as straight and true as an arrow as she poured everything into putting herself between Ginyu and Vegeta.

"Change!" Suddenly, Ginyu was plummeting to the ground, still in terrible pain. Although this was a different pain, most of it localized in… in his side. He looked down, in horror, at his purple hands, one of which was covered in layers of dried and drying blood. "No…" he gasped just before he hit the dirt.

Vegeta blinked in confusion as the other three flew up to him and Kakarot while he wondered what the hell was going on.

"Hooray!" Goku celebrated painfully. "I'm back in my body!" she immediately dropped to the ground like a rock. The other four flew down to catch her while Vegeta shrugged and turned his attention back to Ginyu.

"I suppose I'm killing Ginyu one way or the other," he muttered to himself before flying down like a missile with both fists out. This, Ginyu decided, was even better! Vegeta would be killed by his own momentum!

"Body…" Goku heard that word and rolled her eyes with a groan. Even _that_ hurt! She grabbed a rock and flung it at Ginyu, intending to knock him out. "Change!" The rock sailed just over Ginyu, however, hovering between him and Vegeta for just a brief moment. Vegeta drove both fists into Ginyu's chest and was surprised by several things. First and foremost, the fact that Ginyu didn't make a single sound despite a violent and incredibly painful death. That was… disappointing. He didn't even make a sound as Vegeta ripped his fists out of Ginyu's chest cavity. Second of all was the strange look in Ginyu's eyes. It wasn't the faraway look of a dying man or even the empty look of a dead one. There was… nothing. Like a statue. Vegeta shrugged and turned to rejoin the others. Kakarot would probably have to go in a healing tank. Assuming he hadn't blown them all up. That was a rare moment of regret on Vegeta's part. He was completely unaware of the rock less than a hundred yards away from Ginyu's corpse.

OoOoOoO

This is how it feels to be Captain Ginyu right now. Just a moment ago, you were in blinding agony. Yet now you would gladly take that agony back for at least then you would be feeling a sensation. Because now there is nothing. No sight, no sound, no hearing, no breathing. You have lived in countless bodies and experienced those senses in countless ways, more than any other being alive. Even mighty Freeza could never experience all that you have. Yet now there is an eternal blackness. Not even blackness, there is a nothingness, for you cannot experience the light to have the contrast. You cannot speak. You cannot ever leave this body, this… prison. You cannot even die. Stones do not bleed. Stones do not drown. If you break, you will live in the pieces, no matter how small those pieces might be. There is no escape. This is how it feels to be Captain Ginyu… forever.


	66. Behold, the True Dragon!

Chapter Sixty-six

Nail's Sacrifice! Behold, the True Dragon!

"Jeez," Suno muttered as they carried Goku into the medical room of Freeza's ship, "What happened in here?" It was a horror show. Bodies all over the floor, blast marks and burn scars all over the room, there were several destroyed machines and at _least_ one fire.

"Me," Vegeta told her bluntly. Suno rolled her eyes as he trudged through easily, kicking corpses and scrap metal out of his path as he searched through the room, checking machines that looked intact. One of them actually turned on when he touched it so he gestured to them. "Here," he said, pointing at the machine as it opened.

"Are there gonna be needles?" Goku muttered in a barely-conscious daze.

"You're not afraid of needles, are you, mom?" Gohan asked in confusion.

"Nah," Goku assured him, "They just bend on my skin. They feel weird and they're annoyin'." Vegeta tapped a foot impatiently as the other three helped Goku into the chamber.

"Try not to squirm," Vegeta muttered as he pushed buttons. "This is going to be more than a little unpleasant." Before Goku could ask what that meant, the chamber closed again and began to fill with a strange blue-green liquid. A mask rolled down from the top of the pod and instantly suctioned onto her face as Vegeta continued to push buttons, two suction cups following down and plugging onto the sides of her head.

"Is she going to drown?" Gohan asked as the water went up past Goku's hair.

' _That's what I was gonna say!'_ Goku thought.

"No," Vegeta said bluntly as he pushed another button. Goku's eyes went wide and her throat visibly spasmed as the tubes pushed down into her throat. "The fluids will heal the damage to her body. This is an older model so the process shall take some hours."

"Gee," Krillin muttered dryly, "If only someone hadn't blown up all of the newer ones."

"It occurs to me," Vegeta muttered as he rubbed his chin, "That Kakarot is indisposed and none of you actually _know_ how to summon the means that your lives are currently only worth as much as I decide they are." The color drained from Krillin's face as Vegeta looked them all over. "Gods," he grumbled, "Your clothes are rags." The others stared down at their clothes in confusion. Krillin's suit, to his dismay, was pretty badly torn and tattered. The tie was floating somewhere in one of the Namekian seas from one of the times Jeice had punched him and the soles had completely worn off the shoes. Gohan and Suno's gis were also torn and Suno's boots had holes in the bottom from when she'd blasted Recoome with ki through her feet. "I can't be seen fighting Freeza if you three are going to be trailing behind me looking like beggars. Come with me." Vegeta led the three to the lockers and pointed out a wide array of undersuits, boots, gloves, and armor. "Take your pick," he muttered, "But be quick!" Then he walked off to find something for himself to wear. ' _Please let there be blue,'_ he thought to himself. ' _Gods above, let there be a blue suit.'_

"Hey," Suno called as she leafed through a rack of undersuits, looking for something purple while Gohan and Krillin looked at the various armors, "How do we get the armors on? I don't see any hatches or anything that would open them up."

"Pull them on over your empty heads!" Vegeta called. "The suits are expandable! Why else would mine have still fit when I transformed into an Oozaru on Earth?" Then he went back to his search and found a chestpiece of his own. Of _course_ the damn thing was an old model.

"Oh yeah…" Suno muttered as she continued her search. That _was_ kinda weird, come to think of it. In the end, Suno decided that she wouldn't be going with the "giant shoulders" model of armor. Speed was all she had at this point and she couldn't risk any kind of drag. She settled on a purple undersuit without sleeves, a pair of dark green and red boots, red forearm guards, and a dark blue chestpiece with green straps and green thigh pads. Krillin wore a black undersuit with short sleeves and legs with white boots and gloves, and a black chestpiece with yellow shoulder and thigh pads. Suno found that… darkly funny.

Vegeta sauntered out from wherever he'd been snooping around, wearing a white armor suit with white gloves and boots, and a black undersuit. He didn't look too pleased with that but his mouth turned up slightly in an amused expression. "Huh," he remarked, "The boy has taste." It was only then, as Gohan looked down at his blue suit, white gloves and boots, and white chestpiece with yellow shoulder pads, that he realized his outfit was strikingly similar to the outfit Vegeta wore when he came to Earth.

"Is it too late to change?" Gohan asked sourly. That actually made Vegeta laugh.

"Hey," Krillin said, "I'm gonna go back to Guru's." The others stared at him and he shrugged. "Hey, either I can try and probably get killed or we can do nothing and then nobody gets to use the Dragon Balls." Suno gave Krillin a quick hug and rubbed his stubbly head.

"Go get 'em, 'Bald Tiger'," she teased. Krillin rolled his eyes with a smile before he bolted for the door and immediately flew off.

"Well if there's nothing left to do," Vegeta said, "I suppose I'll take a nap. Make sure no one dies before I wake up." He hadn't realized how tired he'd been and being beaten unconscious was not the same as sleeping. Purely for his own amusement, he wandered into Freeza's private chamber. He couldn't find anything resembling a bed, strangely, so he sat against the wall and closed his eyes.

OoOoOoO

Nail could not remember being in so much pain at any previous point in his life. Still, he held the line. He was bleeding from over a dozen places, including the stump of an antenna, and was struggling to breathe. Still, he held the line. This Freeza was a monster unlike any he had ever seen and was more powerful than Nail could ever hope to be. Still, he held the line. This fight had been unwinnable. Nail had known from the beginning that he could not defeat Freeza's might. Still, he held the line. For his part, Freeza wore an exceptionally bored look on his face. Nail lunged forward with the last of his strength and blasted energy from both hands that roared like wildfire as it struck Freeza in the face.

Freeza casually pivoted his hips and struck Nail with his tail, sending the Namekian warrior sprawling into the dirt to lay flat on his back. His hand clutched at his face where Freeza had struck him like a whip. He could not hold the line.

"I believe this means I've won?" Freeza asked blithely as he wandered towards Nail. Despite his pain and his defeat… Nail laughed. "I'm afraid I don't understand." Nail continued to laugh and Freeza's brow furrowed with fury. "You will stop laughing or I will start killing you from the feet up." He stated with barely-restrained anger.

"Y-you lost," Nail laughed as he pulled his hands away from his bloody face. Freeza looked down at him, perplexed.

"...How?"

"I never knew the password," Nail admitted before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "But I bought Dende time." He laughed again as Freeza's whole body seemed to pulse with anger. It took all of Freeza's genetically-superior dignity to not show anything. He simply rocketed off into the sky, kicking up dirt, grass, and stone. Nail was left alone to die. He could already feel himself choking on blood. Yet he had no regrets. How else could a Namekian wish to die? In service to his brothers, to his father, to his people. A life lived for honor and duty. A good life.

OoOoOoO

Dende was flying towards Gohan's ki as fast as he could, pressing himself even as sweat rolled down his scalp. Faster, he told himself, he had to be faster! Guru didn't have much time and Gohan needed his help!

The others, too, he supposed.

He suddenly came to a sudden halt and cried out in panic as another being in that horrible armor rushed up to meet him.

"No, wait!" shouted a familiar voice. "It's just me! It's Krillin!" Now that Dende was no longer blind with panic, he recognized the pink stranger with a scalp like his own, unlike the other strangers that had the strange growths.

"Krillin!" Dende exclaimed happily and the pair exchanged a quick hug in the air. "What are you doing in those clothes!"

"It's a long story," Krillin said hurriedly. "What're _you_ doing? It's not safe!"

"Grand Elder Guru sent me," Dende explained. "I know the password to summon Porunga!"

"That's great!" Krillin replied. "Come on, let's go!" The pair flew back to Freeza's ship, grateful for that tiny silver lining. "Hey, who the heck's Porunga?"

OoOoOoO

Once he was so high that the green sky began to turn black and Freeza could see a few stars, he finally decided that he had put enough distance between himself and the inferiors. Then he screamed as loud as he could, releasing his rage. Then he turned back towards the planet and rocketed down.

"No one shall possess immortality but me!" he shrieked. He tapped his scouter to summon the Ginyu Force but no one was answering. " _AND THE GINYUS ARE DEAD?!"_ he bellowed in exasperation. This entire damn trip was just one headache after the other. He wasn't sure how it could get worse.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Gohan were surprised when they sensed Krillin returning already. On top of that, they sensed another power with him. They rushed out of the ship and were greeted by the sight of Krillin and Dende flying toward them. Gohan broke out into a wide grin as he flew up to Dende, the Namekian boy flying down to meet him and the pair hugging fiercely.

"Dende!"

"Gohan!"

"Wait," Suno interjected, "What are you doing here?" Then she turned to Krillin. "Why did you bring Dende back? It could get _really_ dangerous!"

"I know the password!" Dende replied. She nodded and gave a bit of a shrug. She supposed that was as good a reason as any.

"Hey," Krillin said suddenly, "Is Vegeta still asleep?"

"Last we checked," Suno replied.

"Then we should use the balls right now," Krillin suggested. "That way Vegeta doesn't become immortal!" The others nodded and they quickly scooped up the Dragon Balls before flying off to a nearby island to put a little more distance between themselves and Vegeta. "Hey," Krillin said as Gohan and Dende laid out the balls on the ground, "I've got a question. So we're gonna use one wish to bring back everyone killed by Nappa and Vegeta and another to wish back all the Namekians killed by Freeza, right?"

"That sounds right," Suno agreed.

"So what're we gonna do with that last wish?" They paused and thought for a moment, rubbing their chins and scratching their heads. As neither Krillin and Suno had never used the Dragon Balls except for a need, they had no idea how to use the Dragon Balls for a want.

Then the sound of Freeza's scream reached them and they felt Freeza's monstrous ki rushing toward them.

"Weeee'll figure that out later," Suno urged hurriedly. "Right now, let's just focus on summoning the Dragon." She turned her attention to Dende. "Say the thing, okay?" Dende nodded and threw his head back, stretching his arms out wide.

"Takkaraputo Popporunga Pupirittopara!" he cried. His words were carried on an echo for a moment before the Dragon Balls began to glow while letting out an ominous hum although they stayed on the ground. For the first time since they'd come to Namek, the sky went black and massive dark thunder clouds filled the sky. Dende was wonderstruck by that even before the Dragon showed up. He had never seen a sunless sky in his life.

"Well that's pleasantly familiar," Suno muttered. She never thought she would reach a point in her life where a giant dragon appearing out of the sky would be the thing that brought _normalcy_ to her life but that was what happened when you entered Son Goku's crazy world, she supposed. The Dragon Balls continued to glow brighter and brighter, the humming growing louder and louder, when an enormous pillar of fire shot out of the Dragon Balls and into the sky, lighting shooting off of it as it spiraled and twisted into the air.

"That's different," Krillin added in stunned shock as the pillar of fire grew and grew until they were forced back. Eventually, the pillar took shape and the four of them stared up in shock at the Dragon God Porunga.

The Dragon was several times larger than Shenron, his enormous frame filling up the entire sky as he looked down at them. He had a long fin that started at the very tip of his tail and went all the way up between his massive shoulders. He had huge, curved ebony horns sticking out of the top of his head and a pair of relatively smaller horns on either side. His arms were positively gargantuan, with each shoulder having a black spike jutting out that was the size of a mountain. Muscles covered every inch of his cream-colored stomach and he also had a pair of antennae like a Namekian.

"Th-that," Krillin managed to stammer out through his astonishment, "That is a _serious_ dragon." Gohan and Suno nodded wordlessly.

"So," Dende said as he looked back over his shoulder at them, "What did you wanna wish for?"

OoOoOoO

"Okay guys," Kaiou muttered, "Moment of truth. They just summoned the Dragon. Almost time to get you people off my lawn." Piccolo was more than a little disappointed in the waste of time as he sat under Kaiou's tree. All that running and they had only been here for a matter of days. Such a waste of time. Launch and Ten were similarly disappointed. Yamcha was more than happy at the prospect of getting back to the land of the living. He missed Chi-Chi.

No one cared how Chaozu felt.

OoOoOoO

The first thing that made Freeza stop was the sky turning black. On a planet with… three suns. That didn't make any sense. That made less than no sense. Then it began to thunder.

"Oh no," he muttered, "Please don't rain." Freeza positively _hated_ rainy days. It was one of the reasons why he made sure that every Freeza planet had remotely-controlled global weather. Then a giant beast burst into existence, green and scaly and… looking not unlike… a dragon. "Those little bastards!" he spat between clenched teeth before putting on even more speed than before. "No one shall take my immortality from me!"

OoOoOoO

The feeling of Porunga's ki and Freeza's swiftly approaching ki snapped Vegeta out of his slumber. He rushed out of Freeza's room to one of the viewports and gawked at what he saw.

"Those little backstabbers!" he snapped before flying through the roof of the ship in a rage. How _dare_ they try to double-cross him?! And after all he'd done for them! He hadn't even threatened to kill them half a dozen times. Honestly, a Saiyan would consider it an insult if a close friend didn't threaten their life at _least_ a dozen times in a day.

OoOoOoO

Bulma groaned as she wandered to the mouth of the cave and watched the Namekian Dragon burst into existence over the horizon. Of _course_ she hadn't gotten to be there when it was summoned. Why not? Otherwise that would mean that someone had actually _thought_ about her in the last five hours. She grumbled and stomped back to the Capsule House. She was halfway to making a working radio out of her hair dryer, the toaster, and one of her shoes.

OoOoOoO

' _Wow,'_ Goku thought as she sensed Porunga's energy, ' _That feels even bigger than Shenron's ki!'_

She wondered if her fingers and toes would prune in this liquid. It felt so weird when they got all wrinkly!

OoOoOoO

Outside of the bubble of space and time as ordinary creatures perceive it, there exists a separate dimension of great and terrible mystical power, a realm that has existed since time immemoriam and will exist long after the last star twinkles out. It is older than the world of the Kaioushin. Older than the Gods of Destruction. It is the home of the Dragons.

Within that realm eternal, Shenron suddenly sat up from his nap with the strange feeling as though he were being insulted. He shrugged and let it pass before returning to his slumber. He hoped no one was going to be needing him anytime soon. He hadn't gotten a real, honest, decent century-long nap in a long time.

OoOoOoO

"Alright," Gohan said to Dende, "Please ask Porunga to wish back all those killed by the Saiyans." Dende frowned and shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Dende said reluctantly. "Porunga can only wish back one person at a time." The trio's faces fell as they realized that meant one of their friends would get left behind and there was no way to wish back the people of East City or the Namekians killed by Freeza.

OoOoOoO

"Uh oh," Kaiou muttered. "We've hit a snag. Only one of ya can get wished back at a time." Yamcha shrugged.

"No biggie," he assured Kaiou as he, Ten, Launch, and Chaozu formed a circle, "We've got it covered."

"Okay," Launch said, "Whoever loses gets wished back last. No shin-kicks."

"That's only ever a rule when _you_ play," Ten muttered. Launch kicked him in the shin. "Ow!"

"Ro! Sham! Bo!" Piccolo rolled his eyes and walked over to Kaiou.

"Let me talk to Gohan," he said, already putting his hand on the blue little god's shoulder. He shrugged and his antennae began to twitch.

OoOoOoO

' _Gohan!'_ Piccolo's voice echoed inside Gohan's head. He looked around as if expecting to see him. ' _Listen carefully! I want you to use this Porunga to wish me back to life. That will bring Kami back to life on Earth as well and then the Dragon Balls will be usable again. We can use those to wish everyone back.'_

"Got it, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said, confusing everyone else as he turned to Dende. "Okay, Dende. Ask Porunga to wish the Namekian named Piccolo back to life." Dende smiled and nodded, happy to be of service. He turned back to Porunga and said something in Namekian. Porunga's eyes flashed and he said something back. His voice made the ground quake under their feet.

"Now wish him to Namek!" Krillin blurted out. Before Suno or Gohan could stop him, Dende had already started to say it.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo had barely had time to appreciate his lack of a halo before the entire world around him shifted, from the pink sky to those around him to the tiny planet under his feet. He curled his feet in the blue grass and breathed in the salt air as the wind blew through his cape. He closed his eyes and simply let the moment wash over him. He had been missing some… thing for nearly his entire existence. Some part of him, some little thing that made him feel not entirely whole. Now he knew what it was.

"Home."

OoOoOoO

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Suno demanded as she shook Krillin by the shoulders. "THAT WAS SO STUPID! THAT WAS A _HORRIBLE_ WISH!"

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Krillin sputtered as he was being violently shaken. "I blurt things out when I'm nervous!" Suno groaned and threw up her hands in frustration. "H-hey! We need all the help we can get, right?"

"I'm pretty sure _I'm_ stronger than Mr. Piccolo now," Gohan put in.

"Yeah," Krillin admitted, "But Goku was a lot stronger when she came back from the dead."

"Goku was dead for _eleven months,"_ Suno pointed out. "Piccolo has been dead for _one!"_ Dende cleared his throat and gestured to Porunga, who was still looming over them and, if he thought no one was looking, had begun to wring his hands impatiently. Suno sighed and rubbed her hands in her eyes. "Just… just wish for something."

"Anyone have any ideas?" Krillin offered awkwardly. Vegeta landed among them with enough force to split the ground open, the island shaking under their feet and nearly cracking in half. They stared at him in shock and his hand shot out in the blink of an eye to grab Dende by the throat and lift him off the ground and over his head.

"I might have one," he growled.


	67. The Fury of a Dark Lord!

Chapter Sixty-seven

The Fury of a Dark Lord! Piccolo's Namekian Expedition!

Gohan, Suno, and Krillin were transfixed with fear as Vegeta held Dende up by the neck and glowered at them.

"Thought you were going to steal from me, did you?" Vegeta spat before glaring at Gohan. "You and your sanctimonious talk about humans not backstabbing as easily as saiyans. You little cowards!"

"At least none of us shot you," Suno shot back. Vegeta glowered at her as his grip tightened around Dende's throat. The boy gasped and gagged, squirming and kicking as his fingers desperately pulled on Vegeta's fingers.

"I _honored_ Nappa," Vegeta snarled. "It was a mercy to kill him swiftly. A Saiyan who cannot fight does not want to live!"

"He seemed to wanna live to me!" Krillin pointed out. Vegeta's fury continued to smoulder and color drained from Krillin's face.

"Please," Gohan said, "Now's not the time. Vegeta's here so I guess we have no other choice."

"That's exactly right," Vegeta declared smugly. "Either you're going to make me immortal or the little slug here is going to die."

"But Dende's the only one who can use the dragon to grant wishes!" Krillin pointed out hurriedly. Vegeta smirked and looked up at Dende.

"Then I suppose, as the expression goes, the ball is in his court. What'll it be, boy? _My_ eternal life or everyone's death?" The tension hung in the air for a moment before Dende reluctantly nodded and Vegeta dropped the boy onto the ground. "Tell your Dragon to make me immortal." Dende nodded and walked towards Porunga, tilting his head up to the sky.

OoOoOoO

Guru let out a long, shaky breath. When he breathed in again… there was no pain. His breathing came easily, without the weight of centuries or the bulk of his form pressing down on him. He felt light, he felt free. Then he opened his eyes… and saw.

He saw endless blue island and crystal-clear green seas. He saw green skies filled with soft white clouds, the suns shining overhead. And as far as Guru could see, stretching in every direction, were his brothers, his sons, his father. All those he had lost. They smiled and waved, calling to him. Guru smiled. He laughed. For the first time in centuries… he flew.

OoOoOoO

Before Dende could get more than two words out, though, the sky cleared and the Dragon Balls dropped to the ground to land in a pile. They no longer shone, however. They were… rocks.

"That's not good," Krillin muttered nervously.

"I don't understand," Vegeta growled in confusion. "What happened? Am I immortal?"

Dende frowned and shook his head, suddenly on the verge of tears. He knew exactly what had happened. "Guru is dead," he said softly. "Which means that the Dragon Balls don't work anymore."

"So… so what happens now?" Gohan asked. Suno sighed and shook her head.

"I… I don't know," she admitted. It was good that neither Freeza _or_ Vegeta could become immortal but now she wasn't sure what they could do. "Maybe we should just… find Piccolo, get Goku out of the ship, go back to Bulma and just… leave in Goku's ship." That made her feel sick They had failed to save the Namekian people. And even if he wasn't immortal, Freeza was going to continue plaguing the universe with his evil. But they couldn't fight him, not with Vegeta not being immortal and Goku still being heavily injured. "We… we have to run."

Vegeta visibly bristled at the notion. "I am the last King of the Saiyans," he said indignantly. "I will not run from the monster who slaughtered my race! Immortal or not, I shall fight." Suno… almost admired him for that.

"We can't just run!" Gohan protested. "We made a promise to Guru that we'd save the people of Namek! How can we run if Freeza's still here?" Suno shrugged and gave Gohan a sad little smile.

"I know," she admitted reluctantly, "But what other choice do we h… ha-ha-ha…" Color drained from Suno's face as she looked up to the sky. The others followed her gaze up and stared up in open-mouthed terror as Freeza hovered in the path of the sun, creating a stark and intimidating shadow. He dropped out of the sky with enough force to break the island in half, splitting it and sinking the half no one was standing on into the sea.

"There is one other choice, of course," Freeza told them as they stumbled back from him. "You can _die."_

OoOoOoO

After a few moments of introspection, the feeling of home was fleeting. Mostly because, Piccolo realized, it was so… empty. There were almost no other ki signatures on the entire planet. For a few moments, Piccolo felt… cold. Alone. Was he the last of his kind? Had he come home to a grave? That cold was soon gone, however, replaced by a heat in Piccolo's chest, an inferno of righteous anger that welled through him and gave him strength. The murderer of his people was here. He would fight. He would see justice done! Not only that, Piccolo realized, but _Gohan_ was here as well. He was in danger! With that realization, Piccolo rocketed off into the sky and towards the battle. He would not fail!

OoOoOoO

"So let me see if I understand this correctly," Freeza began, as cool as a cucumber, arms behind his back, tail swishing amicably up and down. The picture of civility. "The one who created these Dragon Balls is dead?" The five nodded. "Meaning that the Dragon Balls no longer work?" They nodded again. "Meaning…" Freeza's eye twitched. "Meaning that I can no longer become immortal, is that right?" They reluctantly nodded. Freeza balled his fists behind his back and let out a long, slow exhalation of air. "I would like to tell you all a story. A little history lesson about my people. Is that alright?" He didn't even wait for a response before continuing. "You see, every species, every race, every culture, has its religions. Its myths, its stories, its tales of the Almighty, of the heroes and the villains, the what and the why of creation. Some have one God. Some have many gods. Since the dawn of time, when the first species had the mental capacity to light fires and draw on slabs of rock with their own excrement, they needed to believe in a higher power."

"Every race, that is, except _mine._ The Arcosian people have never had a faith, as far back as our recorded history stretches. We have always been dictated by science and reason. By the brutal reality of _facts,_ not the flowery fancies of fanaticism. Would you like to know why that is?" This time, he actually seemed to be waiting for a reaction.

"Y-Yes?" Krillin asked. Freeza nodded and smiled.

"You see, the Arcosians do not believe in a higher power because we cannot conceive of a being higher than our own. The idea of a being that we owe our creation to our or must be subservient to is simply _galling._ It's fine for other races to believe that they were made in the image of a God. Their minds, after all, are not so highly evolved as our own. Yet we know better. We know that, as the most advanced, most powerful race in the cosmos, it was the simple matter of evolution that we rose to these heights." It was only fear that kept Suno from scoffing. "Yet despite all of that," Freeza continued, "I had a religious experience of my own, once upon a time. You see, I was on a planet called…" Freeza paused and stared off into space for a moment before he blinked back to the present and shrugged, "Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter now. The new owners changed the name. The point is, when I stood on that planet and saw the terrified looks in the eyes of the native populace, I realized something. The way they looked at me, how they cowered and trembled and hung on my every word, as though it held their life and death– because it did, naturally– I realized something about myself. They looked at me as one might act in the presence of a god. Because I _am_ a god. I have countless legions who kneel before me in reverence. I am invincible. I hold power over life and death and can bring about ruination or prosperity." Vegeta snarled and balled up his fists. "Yet I am not a fool. For all my power, I am not immortal. Despite being the strongest being in the universe, there is one foe that I shall never overcome: the foe of time. Some day, I shall die. Some day, I will cease to be. This is unacceptable. So when Vegeta and his Saiyan comrades alerted us to the existence of these Dragon Balls and their power, I knew that my foe could finally be defeated. I could truly be a God." His eyes narrowed as he brought his fists from behind his back. "And you all have stolen it from me. Tell me, where are you from?"

"Earth…" Suno said slowly and suspiciously.

"Very good," Freeza said in a strangely jovial tone. "I'll have to go there and destroy it after I'm through here. First, however," The mirth dropped instantly from his face and it twisted into a sneer of contempt, "You all will die. Slowly." Then he turned his attention to Vegeta in particular and afforded him a small smile. "There is an out for you, at least, Vegeta. You have always been a faithful soldier to me and with the deaths of Zarbon, Dodoria, and the Ginyus; that I am _gracious_ enough to ignore that you caused, I am in need of powerful footmen. If you kneel now, I shall let you survive."

Vegeta ground his teeth and, to the Earthling's shock, moved forward as if to protect them. He dug his feet into the dirt and moved into a fighting stance. "I," he snarled, "Shall never. Kneel. Again." Freeza smirked and flexed his fingers as he pivoted his body to one side and held out one hand in something not unlike a fencer's stance.

"I suppose I've left that asterisk on my Saiyan genocide long enough. Come, then, little King, and die like the last king who tried to fight me." Vegeta glowered and lunged forward in a burst of speed. Freeza shrugged before flying to meet Vegeta and they collided with a shockwave so furious that it knocked the others off their feet. They exchanged a blistering series of punches and kicks, although at first Vegeta was doing all of the kicking, as Freeza seemed determined to use only his left hand. Once a jab from Vegeta slipped through his guard, however, Freeza began to fight in earnest, using all of his limbs. For as much as they'd been dreading Freeza's arrival, and though they could barely keep up with the speed of both fighters, they were surprised to see Vegeta holding his own. The Saiyan King even grabbed Freeza by the tail and spun him around before launching him into the dirt. He followed up with a volley of purple ki blasts, flinging them with all his strength and fury, roaring in defiance. When the dust cleared, it was clear that Freeza had more powers than they had anticipated, having used a psychokinetic field to shield himself from Vegeta's ki assault. Freeza dropped the shield and flew up to Vegeta, the pair meeting in another shockwave before dropping to the ground in a knuckle lock, each trying to push down on the other, the ground around them sinking down as they seemed to increase the gravity around them under their power.

"Jeez," Suno muttered under her breath, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm kinda glad for Vegeta." Gohan, however, wasn't so sure. Vegeta was struggling, he was straining, veins bulging in his forehead, his teeth clenched as he growled in defiance. Freeza, on the other hand, was completely calm, his breathing even. He wasn't even perturbed by his scouter exploding. He was even smirking. It sure seemed to him like Vegeta didn't have as much of a fighting chance as they thought. Finally, Vegeta and Freeza broke away from each other and leaped out of the crater they'd created. Freeza chuckled, opening and closing his hands as he rolled his head from side to side.

"Most amusing, Vegeta," Freeza mused. "I might actually have to put in some form of effort." Vegeta scoffed and said the stupidest thing Krillin, Gohan, and Suno had ever heard.

"Quit wasting my time," Vegeta spat. "I know you can transform, let's go ahead and see it." Freeza chuckled as the Earthling's jaws dropped and their eyes went as wide as plates.

"WHY?!" Krillin demanded. "WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Freeza brought his fists to his side, bent his legs slightly, and let out a low hum as power began to radiate out of him. The sounds that came out of Freeza were nothing less than nightmarish. There was a snapping and cracking of bone and sinew as his legs burst in size and he shot up in height. He groaned and leaned back as his chest violently expanded and purple biogems burst out of the skin of his shoulders to join the white bone-like armor of his chest. Then his arms grew to match and his tail cracked like a whip as it snapped furiously with its change in size. The veins in his neck bulged as he screamed out, his head and neck growing to match his body's size and his horns grew out and up like the horns of some devil.

Of course, on top of all of these monstrous changes in appearance, Freeza's power had skyrocketed. It was a pressure on their minds that was so overwhelming that it buckled their knees. Despite the terror of his power looming over him, and Freeza literally looming over him, Vegeta still put on a brave face and balled up his fists. This… was _not_ going to be easy.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo's soarings were brought to a pause when he finally sensed another power level on the ground far below him and dropped down to the island that he'd sensed the power coming from. It was faint, so very faint. Whoever this power belonged to was near the end. He reached the ground and knelt beside the dying Namekian, this stranger who looked… so much like himself. Would this be who Piccolo might have been, had he grown on this planet? The Namekian suddenly coughed and sputtered, his eyes flickering as he held on desperately to life.

"Wh… who are you?" he wheezed out in Namekian, only the third person Piccolo had ever heard speak the tongue. "I had thought we were all gone." He squinted at Piccolo, trying to understand what he was sensing. "Why does your ki feel so… different?"

"My name is Piccolo," Piccolo replied in their language. "I am not from this planet. Long ago, I was a single being that was separated into two. I suppose that is what you sense." The dying man nodded with a measure of understanding.

"I s-see," he said before stopping to cough, purple blood flicking out onto the grass. "I am called Nail. I know who you are. You are the one who escaped the cataclysm." He frowned and shook his head. "It is a shame that you are separated. If you were whole and in full command of your strength, then perhaps you could destroy the monster who has killed our world." Piccolo looked down at the ground with a disappointed scowl. So he had come back from the dead and was useless. Wonderful. "Wait!" Nail cried, his eyes widening as he was suddenly struck with an idea. "You may not be able to reform with your other half but perhaps there is something I can do."

Piccolo looked up and gave Nail a curious look. "What do you mean?" he asked. Whatever idea this Nail might have, Piccolo was willing to listen.

"I am dying," Nail began. "I do not have much time. Yet you can use my power. Place your hand upon my chest, so I can give all my power to you." Piccolo cautiously set his hand on Nail's chest.

"What will happen to me?" Piccolo asked warily. "Will I become someone else? Will I cease to exist?" Nail shook his head.

"You will not change," Nail assured him, "But my power will join yours and you will be greater than either of us were before." Piccolo nodded and pressed his palm flat to Nail's chest and Nail chuckled. "Prepare yourself," Nail warned him. "From the legends I have heard, this experience can be… intense." After a few moments, Nail began to glow. He turned into pure light, his aura flaring around Piccolo like an inferno. Then it all suddenly rushed into Piccolo, through his hand and up his arm, filling his whole body. It left Piccolo awestruck. He had never felt such a rush of power, such an exhilaration. He was more powerful than he had ever been!

"I…" Piccolo began to say as he got to his feet, staring at his hands as the power coursed through him, "I feel…" Piccolo threw back his head and laughed, smiling an earnest smile for the first time in his life, "I feel great! I can win! I can do this!" He rocketed off into the sky, his body burning with energy and a need for justice. He would make Freeza pay! In Nail's name, in the name of all the people of Namek!

OoOoOoO

The first thing Freeza did to start the battle was destroy the island under their feet. With nothing more than a flick of his wrist, it exploded in a plume of deadly pink light and the sea around the island was blasted into vapor. The five managed to get into the air before the explosion took them out with it, Dende clinging desperately to Gohan's arm, panic clear on his face. As concerned as Gohan was for the other boy, there wasn't time for him to play protector.

"Are you alright?" Gohan asked. Dende nodded so Gohan pushed him gently but firmly away. "Then get away from here! Go find somewhere safe!" Dende nodded fearfully before he flew away while Gohan wondered if _anywhere_ was safe. Just like that, Freeza was on top of them, driving his shoulder into Vegeta's gut to drive the wind out of the Saiyan King, who painfully hacked out a glob of spit before Freeza spun and smacked him down to the sea with his tail. Gohan flew to Freeza while his back was turned and drove both feet into the small of Freeza's back. Or rather, he tried to. Despite his size, Freeza was terrifyingly fast and Gohan flew right through him.

"Shinsoku Odori!" Suno cried out before lunging at Freeza, hoping that doubling her speed would help put her on something resembling even faster. She fired off a barrage of punches and kicks that were sadly ineffectual as Freeza shot out his hand to squeeze around her throat. Even as Suno kicked and squirmed and threw ki balls at Freeza's chest for all she was worth, his grip effortlessly tightened.

"I haven't popped off anyone's head in a few years," Freeza mused, his voice a few octaves deeper, resonating through his massive chest. "I wonder how hard I'll have to squeeze to do that to you…" Suno's face began to turn red before her eyes bulged and Gohan could feel his rage starting to creep up, burning from the base of his neck and spreading out through his body.

Before Gohan could attack, though, Krillin made his move. "Hey," he shouted to get Freeza's attention, "Over here, you big creepy bastard!" Freeza turned to look at him quizzically, still choking Suno. "Y-yeah, I'm talkin' to you! How about you pick on someone your old size?" Then he brought both his hands down to his side before quickly thrusting them out. "Kamehameha!" The blast caught Freeza flush in the face and he let out an amused chuckle as he cast Suno casually aside. Krillin barely had time to register that his attack had done nothing before his face was contorted with pain and he gagged out a silent scream. No doubt the scream would have actually made a noise, if not for the fact that Freeza's horn had punctured his chest and punched out through his back, blood and chunks sliding off its slick, gleaming surface. He looked down in horror as his hands feebly reached up to try and push Freeza away.

"Krillin!" Gohan and Suno screamed in horror as Freeza casually flicked his head to the side to send him falling through the air like a lead weight.

' _Oh no!'_ Goku thought as she felt Krillin's ki suddenly drop, ' _I_ have _to get out of this machine!'_ She tried to move but her limbs were still too damaged for any escape attempt. ' _Darn it! Just hold on, guys!'_ She hated feeling like this. So helpless when her friends needed her!

' _Huh,'_ Vegeta mused as Krillin sailed past him while he flew up, ' _That's the bald one dead, then.'_

"Hm hm hm," Freeza chuckled as he ran a hand over his horn and looked at the blood that coated his palm. "You're all just bags of blood, aren't you? All you lesser creatures. How easy it is, to make you pop." Gohan flew down towards Krillin as he watched his friend slip beneath the waves. He could get to him in time! He could save him, he just had to– but before Gohan could figure out what he had to do, Freeza was in his way. "I'm afraid not," Freeza told him calmly, arms folded over his chest. "He's already dead. As are you. And the female and the little slug you sent away and the King of dead monkeys up there. You were all dead, the moment you chose to defy a god."

Something inside Gohan… broke. "You're not a god," Gohan growled as he balled his fists. "You're just a bully! You think that you're stronger than everyone and that gives you the right to play with their lives! I hate bullies! I'm going to make you pay!" Gohan flew at Freeza in a rage, who found it all terribly amusing. He did not, however, find it so amusing when Gohan's foot smashed into the side of his face and, to his horror, _snapped his head to the side_. His shock was compounded as Gohan immediately followed with a right hook, _snapping his head the other way._

"WHAT?!" Suno and Vegeta exclaimed in unison shock as Gohan attacked Freeza's stomach with a machine-gun burst of jabs that left him stunned.

' _Is that Gohan?!'_ Goku thought to herself. ' _His ki is huge!'_

Halfway across the planet, Piccolo sensed the spike in Gohan's ki, knowing that the boy had tapped into his rage. Beneath the underlying fear that came with knowing Gohan was in danger, he felt undeniably proud.

Gohan hit an uppercut under Freeza's chin, spittle flying from the tyrant's mouth as Gohan kicked him furiously in the chest, over and over, driving the point of his toe into Freeza's sternum. Each time, Freeza let out a cry of pain as a savage fury overwhelmed the hybrid Saiyan. And all the while, Gohan screamed in mindless anger. His last kick sent Freeza stumbling through the air before he drew back a hand and, still screaming, flung a bolt of ki like a javelin at Freeza, who brought his arms up to protect himself from the blast. He brought his hands down and, to his shock, discovered that the brat was _still_ coming after him, still screaming like a bloodthirsty lunatic! Gohan threw another ki bolt at Freeza at point blank range, sending him hurtling to hit the ground with a thud.

' _Where did Gohan get this much power?!'_ Suno thought with a mixture of astonishment and worry. As glad as she was to see him get the edge on Freeza, there was something nonetheless frightening about Gohan's… transformation.

' _Have I been wrong?'_ Vegeta thought with horror. ' _Is it neither I nor Kakarot, but_ the abomination _who might be the Super Saiyan?!'_ Vegeta tried to push the horrifying thought from his mind as he and Suno joined Gohan in raining down volleys of ki blasts, although Gohan attacked faster and more ferociously than either of them. Then Gohan brought his hands together and Suno and Vegeta followed suit.

"MASENKO HA!"

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

"GALICK GUN FIRE!"

The yellow, blue, and purple beams collided on Freeza in a deafening explosion of bloody red light.

While all this fighting and exploding was going on, Dende had dove beneath the waves to go and find Krillin, pulling him up and bringing him to an island a safe distance from the fighting. The bald one wasn't dead yet but he was fading fast.

"Okay," Dende muttered to himself as he pressed his hands to Krillin's chest. "I sure hope the Elder was right about my healing powers!"

As the dust cleared and the light slowly faded, Gohan finally stopped screaming. He was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. That _had_ to have done something! To Gohan's horror, however, Freeza stood up slowly from that, his tail swishing from side to side across the blast-flattened dirt as he cracked his neck.

"I'll admit," he called up, "That actually smart quite a bit. Mostly from the boy." He smirked at Gohan and flexed his hands. "It seems there's more to you than I expected, brat. It seems _you'll_ be the one I have to put some effort towards." He chuckled as the color drained from Gohan's face and Suno looked back and forth between Gohan and Freeza, seriously regretting never learning those healing techniques from Roshi.

' _Damn it,'_ Vegeta thought with impotent fury as he clenched his fists. ' _What are we going to do?!'_


	68. Not So Fast, Freeza! Namek's Retribution

Chapter Sixty-eight

Not So Fast, Freeza! Namek's Retribution!

Mr. Popo was watering the flowers on the Lookout, sprinkling them with his watering can. It wasn't easy watering plants at the top of the world, with the thin air and the constant light chill, but it was part of Popo's routine. Later, he'd sweep the tiles. After all, the Lookout had to look proper for if… _when_ Kami returned. It simply would not do to have anything else.

This was the longest period Popo had ever spent in isolation. It had only been a month or so compared to the centuries he had served by Kami's side. Still, though, Popos had served Gods since time immemorial. It was a haunting experience, loneliness. Life was so unnerving for a servant who was not serving.

A sudden whoosh of air and the clack of a stick on the ground made Popo drop the watering can in shock, the can clattering as it hit the ground. "Mr. Popo?" a familiar voice greeted pleasantly. Mr. Popo spun on his heels and saw Kami standing just behind him, smiling warmly and leaning slightly on his cane. In a rare moment of emotion, the Djinn ran to Kami and hugged him fiercely, pressing his face into the Namekian's chest. After recovering from his shock, Kami returned the hug. "It is good to see you as well," Kami chuckled as he patted Popo's back. He did not have the heart to tell his servant and friend that he did not know how much longer he would be alive with Piccolo on Namek. Why in the world had he done that?

OoOoOoO

Freeza lunged at the trio in a blur of frightening speed before smacking Suno aside with a vicious backhand that sent her spiraling through the air while grabbing Vegeta's face with one of his feet and flinging him down to the sea. This left Freeza alone with Gohan, who scowled at Freeza and balled his fists. He wouldn't be afraid. He wouldn't.

"You're a Saiyan, aren't you?" Freeza asked as he loomed over Gohan. "Or at least partly. Are you Vegeta's? Him and that woman, I'd suppose." Thinking of the woman, there was something vaguely familiar about her outfit. Like a measure from a song that Freeza could not recall the rest of or a quote from a book that Freeza could not recall the title of or anything else about it. He was sure he had killed someone wearing that getup. He could _almost_ picture his stupid hair… While Freeza's thoughts were elsewhere, Gohan took this opportunity to attack, slamming his fist into Freeza's cheek. Freeza looked down at Gohan's fist in his cheek and smirked as the anger in Gohan's eyes slowly gave way to fear. Freeza's ki, Gohan realized, was _even larger than before._ "Hmm? Is that all?" he jabbed a finger into Gohan's chest, making him flinch. "What happened to your strength?" Gohan tried to throw another punch but Freeza deftly shifted his head to the side to avoid the attack and smashed his knee up into Gohan's torso, driving all the wind out of him. Gohan coughed and spasmed before Freeza followed up with an elbow into Gohan's back to send him to the ground. Freeza followed him down, grabbing the back of Gohan's head and smashing him into an island, churning up the waves around him. Freeza let go of Gohan's head to stand over him, ripping out a few of Gohan's' red hairs. Gohan struggled up into his hands and knees as Freeza chuckled, dusting off his hands and lifting one foot to crush Gohan's head. He was stopped, however, by a bloodcurdling shriek from behind. He looked over his shoulder to see Suno barreling toward him with murder in her eyes.

"Don't you touch him!" she screamed as she threw her arms around Freeza's throat and cinched in as tightly as she could while even biting down on Freeza's shoulder. Freeza reached back to grab Suno but was surprised by a waterlogged Vegeta grabbing his arm, trying to rip it out of the socket. This gave Gohan enough time to get back onto his feet and leap forward, headbutting Freeza in the stomach hard enough to make him double over. That was _more_ than enough for Freeza and he lashed out with his tail, cracking Gohan across the face to smash through several boulders before reaching up with his free hand and ripping Suno off of his throat and flinging her forward before swinging the arm Vegeta was clinging onto to hit Suno with the Saiyan King, sending her flying. Freeza smashed Vegeta into the ground several times until he went limp before casually tossing him away, making him skip across the water before sprawling onto an adjacent island.

Leaving Freeza and Gohan alone. Freeza stalked toward the rubble pile where he'd left Gohan, tail swishing idly from side to side as he hummed a little something to himself before kicking the rubble aside and found… nothing. "What in my name…" Freeza muttered just before Gohan burst out of the ground behind Freeza, smashing into the back of the Arcosian's knee to make him stagger forward before grabbing onto his tail and yanking to make him fall backward, flipping end over end to land on his back with a grunt. Gohan pressed his advantage, leaping over Freeza and blasting him with all the power in his body, bathing the tyrant in a golden-yellow light. Then Freeza's hands burst out of the light, one grabbing Gohan's throat and the other smashing him in the face, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Freeza stood up, still throttling Gohan as steam rose off his body, punching Gohan in the face and stomach several times over before flinging Gohan away and blasting him with a beam of deadly pink light, sending him sprawling into a smoking, crumpled heap. Freeza sauntered towards Gohan's body, his brows arching ever so slightly as Gohan coughed and hacked and struggled up to his knees.

"Tough lad," he mused as raised one foot and smashed it onto Gohan's head to bring him back to the ground. He smirked as his toes wrapped around Gohan's skull. Freeza looked over his shoulder and spied Vegeta hovering in the air as Gohan cried out in pain and writhed, trying to break the grip of Freeza's foot. "Aren't you going to do something?" Freeza asked with a smirk. "He is one of yours, isn't he?" Vegeta was puzzled. Did Freeza merely mean that the abomination was one of his subjects or did he actually think that the boy was his child? Even if either of those things were true, what could he do? Vegeta's helplessness was maddening. It didn't make sense! Why wasn't he strong enough? Why wasn't he the Super Saiyan? What was left for him to do?! It wasn't fair!

Suno struggled to stay in the air as she flew back to the battle as fast as she could. Her whole body was aching with pain and she was lightheaded but she had to keep fighting. Then she felt Gohan's ki start to drop and she felt a surge of panic rush through her body. "No!" she whispered fearfully before flying that much faster, pushing herself to the limit. If her son was going to keep fighting then so was she!

OoOoOoO

' _Gohan!'_ Goku thought in a mixture of fear and rage as she felt Gohan's ki dropping. Her son needed her! ' _I don't care if I'm fully healed or not,'_ Goku thought as she started to thrash inside the machine, ' _I've got to get out there_ now!'

OoOoOoO

"Well," Freeza mused as he slowly began to tighten his grip on Gohan's head, "I suppose I'd better go ahead and deal with you before I finish my business with Vegeta. I've been putting that murder off for about twenty years now."

"Kienzan!" a voice cried out just before Freeza could crush Gohan's skull. He looked up just in time to see a yellow energy disc flying toward his face. He flipped backward to avoid the attack, the disc slicing his tail cleanly in half. If he had been half a second slower, it would have taken his head off.

"You know," Vegeta muttered to himself, "If he didn't feel the need to scream like an idiot, that would be _far_ more useful." More to the point, how in nine hells the little bastard was still breathing? Freeza, for his part, stared down at the severed length of his tail in dull shock. Someone had… _hurt_ him. He had actually been _injured._ That shock was swiftly replaced with _unyielding rage._

"WHO DARES TO STRIKE ME?!" Freeza bellowed, murder in his eyes as he looked left and right before his eyes settled on that bald-headed fool who he was _certain_ he had murdered. His armor still had the hole in it from when Freeza had gutted him! So how was he alive?!

"That'd be me!" the miserable little cretin quipped as he held his hands up into the air. Freeza bellowed with rage as he flew towards Krillin, this time aiming his horn for his stupid, shiny head. Krillin smirked and tossed several more of those energy discs at Freeza while Suno caught up to them, Freeza stopping his charge to avoid Krillin's attack, dodging this way and that to keep from being sliced apart.

While all of this was happening, Vegeta looked down to see the little Namekian fly towards Gohan and lay his hands on him. Within seconds, the little abomination was back on his feet! "The green brat has healing powers?!" Vegeta asked incredulously. Freeza continued to dodge Krillin's attacks until he was right on top of him.

"Now I've got you!" Freeza snarled, his massive hands reaching out to crush Krillin's still-smirking head. In a flash, he brought his hands up to his face.

"Taiyoken!" Freeza howled in agony as he was hit with a blinding white light and clutched at his face while Krillin slipped away from Freeza's range. Unbeknownst to Krillin, this was even more effective than he had anticipated as, due to Freeza's heightened senses, the Taiyoken was even more debilitating. "Vegeta!" Krillin called, "Hit him! Now!" Vegeta didn't hit him. "WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Krillin asked frantically while Vegeta was staring down at the island below.

"Why did none of you tell me the Namekian could heal us?!" Vegeta snapped.

"Dende has healing powers?" Suno asked before she sighed and shook her head. "Why does it matter?!" Then she and Krillin brought their hands to their sides while Freeza was still incapacitated. Vegeta let out a huff before joining them.

"Kamehameha!"

"Galick Gun!" the three-pronged attack hit Freeza square-on while he was still too busy trying to recover from the Taiyoken to try and defend himself.

Down on the ground below, Gohan took in a big gulp of air as all his wounds were suddenly gone. "Wh-what happened?" he gasped out as he rubbed the back of his head. Although Gohan couldn't tell, even the hairs Freeza ripped out had grown back. Gohan sat up and saw Dende kneeling beside him and smiling widely. "Dende?" Gohan asked in clear confusion. "What'd you do?"

"I healed you!" Dende explained while beaming. "Just like I did with Krillin!"

"You have healing powers?" Gohan suddenly wished that Dende had come along a few minutes earlier so that he could have healed his mom instead of waiting for the Medical Machine.

"Yeah," Dende confirmed. "When Guru unlocked my potential like he did with you and the others, he said something about me having the power to give life instead of take it. So I guess I'm a healer!" Gohan smiled and gave Dende a quick hug before looking back up at the sky and glaring up at Freeza.

"Thank you, Dende," he told his new friend earnestly, "But if that's the case, it's even more important that you stay out of danger. You're too valuable to lose."

"Oh," Dende said softly with a nod, "Right." Then Gohan gave Dende another hug.

"Besides," he added, "You're my friend! I don't want you to get hurt!" That made Dende smile before Gohan flew off into the sky, both fists out as he made a beeline for Freeza. Now that he was healed, he felt stronger than ever!

The smoke had cleared and Freeza brought his hands down from his red eyes to glower murderously at the trio. He was, otherwise, unharmed.

"Crap," Suno muttered under her breath. "We're running out of tricks!"

"If only _someone_ had not cut off my tail," Vegeta retorted in a hiss. The fact that Vegeta himself burned the stump to prevent regrowth had been blotted from his mind. He was entirely blameless in this matter. Before Freeza could tear them apart, however, Gohan called up to him.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Gohan called. "Round three, you big jerk!" Freeza fumed with anger for a moment before letting out a frustrated chuckle.

"I see you're as stubborn as your whole damnable race, boy!" he replied before flying down to face him. "I'll destroy this worthless planet if I have to to kill you!" Gohan pulled a fist back for the attack as Freeza did the same.

Before they could collide, however, a blur of purple and white crashed into Freeza and sent him sailing over the horizon.

"What the–?!" Suno cried out in shock.

"Huh?!" Krillin added in disbelief.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed in delight as he flew to Piccolo and threw his arms around him in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you again!" Piccolo was stunned by the gesture before he smiled and ruffled Gohan's hair.

"It's good to see you too, Gohan." Gohan smiled up at Piccolo before the Namekian warrior gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry I'm late but I think I'll more than make up for it."

"YOU _MUST_ BE JOKING!" Vegeta roared in red-faced disgust. "YOU CHOSE NOT TO MAKE ME IMMORTAL BUT YOU BROUGHT _HIM_ BACK TO LIFE?! HE COULD NOT EVEN SLAY NAPPA!"

"Vegeta's right," Gohan admitted reluctantly. "Are you sure you want to fight, Mr. Piccolo? I… I don't want to lose you again." Piccolo chuckled as he brought his fists to his sides.

"Don't worry," he assured Gohan, "I can handle myself Let me show you!" Then he gave a shout and powered up, his ki skyrocketing as his cape billowed dramatically behind him, swept up in the wind of his aura.

"Whoa!" Suno exclaimed as she held her arms up to her face to shield herself from the blowback.

"Jeez," Krillin muttered, "Why didn't _I_ get any stronger when I was dead?"

"...How?" Vegeta growled in dull fury.

OoOoOoO

' _Wow,'_ Goku thought, ' _Is that Piccolo's ki? It feels… different.'_ Once she got out of this machine and Freeza was defeated, they'd have to have a rematch!

OoOoOoO

Piccolo smirked as the others stared at him, cracking his neck and his knuckles. "Leave Freeza to me," he said as he watched Freeza come flying back towards them. "I'll make him pay for what he's done!" Then he flew forward to meet the genocidal tyrant, one fist out and the other tucked up at his side.

Freeza was fuming now. He'd been mutilated, blinded, harassed by a _child,_ and now he was being cheap shotted! All of this on top of having his immortality stolen! His father was definitely going to hear about all of this! Just wait and see if he didn't! To Freeza's surprise, it seemed that his attacker was _yet another_ Namekian. There was something strangely familiar about this one, to be sure, but honestly, the only thing that made this Namekian any different from the others was that he wasn't dead yet. Freeza would rectify that soon.

"And who," Freeza asked, "Are you? I'm surprised I missed any of you. I was sure you'd all be dead by now." The Namekian got into a fighting stance and Freeza rolled his eyes. Here came some sort of speech, no doubt.

"I am the last warrior of Namek," he boasted proudly. "I have journeyed long and far to return to my home and defend it from you." Well, it was a little late for that, wasn't it? "Once I was a Demon King, a creature of evil like you. But now I am here to bring justice and see you pay for your crimes!" He jabbed an accusatory finger at Freeza as he boldly declared, "I am Piccolo! I will defeat you!" Freeza chuckled, rubbing at his chin for a moment.

"Hmm, yes," he mused, "I see. There's a problem, however." Then he glared at Piccolo as he drew back a fist. "You'll be dead in five seconds." The Namekian seemed amused by that. Freeza threw out a punch… and was shocked when the green man blocked it. He threw another and that one was blocked as well. He kept punching, faster and faster, and the Namekian _kept blocking!_ Then, to Freeza's shock and dismay, the Namekian punched him in the mouth! Freeza flew back, holding his face and staring at this "Piccolo" in disbelief.

"It looks like your five seconds are up." Piccolo pointed out. Freeza growled and balled his fists with a murderous glint in his eye before he charged. Piccolo flew forward to meet him, their shockwaves ripping apart the clouds.

OoOoOoO

The quartet had drifted closer and closer to the fight, with Dende following far below, and were completely lost as to what was going on as they watched the fight. Not only was Piccolo surviving, he was _winning!_ They'd barely been able to do any damage to Freeza with everything they had and yet Piccolo had come from nowhere and was slapping him around like he was nothing!

' _It doesn't make sense,'_ Vegeta thought to himself. ' _It's completely insane! The Namekian wasn't even dead for two months, where did he get this kind of power?!'_ While the others continued to watch the fight, Vegeta's gaze drifted down to Dende below them, an idea forming in his head. ' _So the little slug healed the abomination when he was near dead,'_ Vegeta thought, ' _Making him stronger. That should mean…'_

OoOoOoO

Piccolo grabbed Freeza by the horns when the tyrant lunged and tried to gut him, spinning him around and stretching out one of his arms to fling Freeza into a mountain far below. "That can't be all you've got!" Piccolo called out as he floated down to the rubble. "I can sense your power level! You're not done yet! So come on out and take your beating! Or are you going to sulk more?" The rubble was blasted into vapor in pink fire as Freeza glared up at Piccolo, his aura flaring around him.

"I AM THE MIGHTY FREEZA!" he roared. "I WILL NOT BE MOCKED BY AN UNDEREVOLVED SLUG LIKE YOU!"

"Sulking it is, then." That was the last thing Piccolo said before Freeza's fist consumed his entire worldview. Piccolo was sent tumbling end over end as Freeza battered him with punches and kicks before driving him down into the dirt and grabbing him by the cape, slamming him down into the ground over and over. He started to spin Piccolo around before the fabric gave way and ripped, sending Piccolo flying and leaving him with only shoulder pads and his turban. He smirked as Piccolo took in a few breaths, wiping his mouth as he recovered from the onslaught, his clothes torn and his arms and chest covered in scratches.

"Now you see what happens when I decide to get serious," Freeza mocked him, his good humor returning as he felt his invincibility reasserting. "You certainly did better than the rest of your mongrel race but this is simply what happens when a species like yours encounters a superior breed." Then Piccolo smirked again.

"I guess I'll have to get serious as well," he said as he tossed off his cape and turban.

"I beg your pardon–" Piccolo was on him suddenly in a blur of green and purple, with Freeza struggling to block, dodge, and parry; each killing blow missing its target by inches or glancing off to hit a thigh or shoulder.

Freeza's hands wrapped around Piccolo's throat but Piccolo shot lasers from his eyes that would have gone into Freeza's own eyes if he hadn't broken his grip and jumped back in time. Piccolo followed up with a spin kick that caught Freeza in the side of the head and attempted to drive a karate chop into the back of his neck. Freeza caught Piccolo's arm, however, and yanked him down to drive his knee into his chest before headbutting him. Piccolo staggered back before hitting Freeza with a headbutt of his own and driving his feet into Freeza's chest. Freeza found himself wishing he had the whole of his tail as he drove an uppercut under Piccolo's chin, nearly into his throat. Piccolo coughed and hacked before clapping his hands around Freeza's ears and _biting him_ on the bridge of the nose and grabbing his shoulders, flying them both down into the ground of a new island and digging a trench with their bodies. Freeza snarled as Piccolo's hands made their way to his throat and drove both feet into Piccolo's chest to send him flying away. Freeza burst out of the dirt and threw out a hand to blast Piccolo with malevolent pink death and, with no time to spare, Piccolo threw out a hand in response with two fingers jabbed out.

"Makankousappou!" The yellow-purple spiral beam met the pink lightning in a great, cacophonous explosion.

OoOoOoO

"Do you think Piccolo can win?" Krillin asked as they hovered over the battle. Suno chewed on her lip indecisively as she watched. She wasn't really sure. Piccolo was doing great, yeah, but Freeza's ki hadn't gone down. At all.

OoOoOoO

The dust cleared and the light faded, the two warriors glaring at one another before Piccolo dropped out of his guard and flexed his fingers. "So now I know what you're like when you're serious," he remarked, "And you know what I'm capable of as well. It seems we're evenly matched." Piccolo smirked, one brow arching. "Unless you can get even more serious?" he asked jokingly. To Piccolo's surprise, Freeza laughed.

"As a matter of fact," he replied before his eyes narrowed contemptuously, " _I can."_ Piccolo watched him suspiciously. "In honesty, all of that anger was for show. To give you some glimmer of hope before I snatch it away. You weren't even aware I'd already transformed, were you?"

"Transformed?" Piccolo asked. That would explain the spike in Freeza's ki he sensed earlier. Freeza chuckled again, nodding.

"As a matter of fact, I can transform _two more_ times," he explained, holding up two fingers.

"...Did he say what I think he said?" Krillin asked nervously out of the corner of his mouth. Suno nodded and Gohan gulped.

"Honestly, I hardly ever use this next one," Freeza went on. "It's positively _ghastly_. So I think you'll be the first beings in a century to have the honor of seeing this form!" Piccolo rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to hurry up and do it," he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Or do I have to say please?" It was, of course, slightly false bravado. He didn't even want to begin to guess what Freeza's power would be like when he transformed again. ' _I wonder if it's too late to grab the old man…'_

Dark red energy surrounded Freeza as pink sparks crackled up and down his body. The five watched in horror as Freeza doubled over and screamed in pain. His bony armor morphed and deformed, spikes shooting out of his back as his shoulders sprang out like wings and his body made horrible _cracking_ sounds. His neck stretched out and his horns retracted back into his head before they were replaced by more bony protrusions. Freeza's face stretched out like some horrible reptile and his skull stretched backwards and his tail almost completely regrew. His new, nightmarish transformation completed, Freeza's cry of pain transformed into a pleasurable sigh as he looked at Piccolo… and smiled.

"Now then," he said in a terrifyingly distorted voice, "Shall we continue?"


	69. Will The Nightmare Ever End!

Chapter Sixty-nine

Will the Nightmare Ever End?! Vegeta's Desperate Plan!

Freeza rocked his freakishly-elongated head from side to side and rolled his shoulders as Piccolo and the others could only watch in frozen terror. He flexed his fingers and toes, swishing his tail from side to side.

"I haven't used this one in quite some time," he reminded Piccolo, "So I do hope you'll give me a moment to get reacquainted with it." His mouth quirked up in a terrifying bastardization of a smile as he threw a series of jabs at the air which were so fast that Piccolo barely saw his arms as anything more than a blur. A bead of panicked sweat trickled down Piccolo's forehead and painfully set in a cut just above his left eye as Freeza turned his attention back to him. "Now then," Freeza asked, "Where were we?" Before Piccolo had a chance to respond, Freeza had already smacked him through three islands.

Gohan chewed his lip fretfully as he watched Freeza beat Mr. Piccolo senseless. He was feeling stronger since Dende had healed him, definitely, but was he strong enough to help Mr. Piccolo? Would he even be able to damage Freeza? Or would he just get in the way?

"You got enough energy left for another Kienzan?" Suno asked Krillin. He chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

"Are you kidding? At this point, I'm basically doing everything I can to stay airborne. I think we're all running on empty."

Meanwhile, Vegeta kept looking back and forth between Dende, then Suno, then Krillin as if weighing something in his mind. It was a completely insane plan, Vegeta knew, with almost no guarantee they wouldn't just betray him again and let him bleed to death. At this late stage in the game, however, what choice did he have?

Freeza was using the back of Piccolo's head to burrow a trench in the dirt before he flung the Namekian warrior up into the air and smacked him higher into the air with his tail as though he were hitting a baseball. Piccolo struggled to bring himself to a halt in the air and hung there for a moment as he gasped for breath. This was _bad._ He had to think of something quickly if he wanted any chance to survive.

' _Perhaps I could enlarge myself,'_ he thought. The second the idea even popped into his head, Piccolo realized he was grasping at straws. That technique hadn't even worked against Son Goku six years ago; why would it work now against a far more powerful opponent? ' _And not even a jar to attempt the Mafuuba with,'_ Piccolo mused bitterly. It was at times like these when he desperately wished he could spit up demons like his previous incarnation. At least then the sheer mass of bodies might have left Freeza occupied long enough for Piccolo to come up with some sort of plan. How had everything gone so sour so quickly?!

"What's this?" Freeza asked with a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest and floated up to meet Piccolo. "You're not done already, are you? What happened to all that talk about making me pay for my crimes, hmm?" He chuckled as Piccolo let out another ragged gasp and shook his head. "I suppose that you've figured out one of the truths of the universe, then. The strong never 'pay' for anything for it is our power that allows us to do whatever we like. And there is no one more powerful than I." Piccolo ground his teeth as Freeza mockingly gestured toward his chin, sticking it out for the Namekian. "In a gesture of my divine magnanimousness, I shall allow you one shot. I'd advise you to make it count." To Freeza's surprise, Piccolo actually floated towards him. He was certain his foe was going to take a good minute or two charging up one of those ridiculous energy blasts. "Coming in nice and close, are we?" Freeza asked. Piccolo chuckled and, before Freeza had a chance to react, lightning shot out of Piccolo's antennae and paralyzed Freeza on the spot, leaving him rigid.

"Got you!" Piccolo declared triumphantly as he launched his attack, swarming Freeza with a series of punches and kicks, going all-out on the alien despot while he was dazed and defenseless. In his moment of supreme arrogance, Freeza had left himself completely exposed, and now Piccolo was making him pay for it, throwing all his weight and every ounce of his strength into each blow. He brought both hands over his head and spiked Freeza down into the sea, following with a furious barrage of ki blasts so numerous and powerful that they exposed the ocean floor below as Freeza was trapped under the assault. Piccolo charged all his power into one hand and flung it down at Freeza with every ounce of vile and venom that was coursing through his veins. "OBLITERATE!" An enormous beam of yellow ki blasted from Piccolo's hand and flattened Freeza down to the ground, shoving him down into a crater in a massive explosion of yellow light.

"Jeez," Krillin muttered as he shielded his eyes from the light with his forearm, "That should've done something." Vegeta scoffed and shook his head.

"At this point, there's only one thing that's going to defeat Freeza," Vegeta told them. "The Super Saiyan."

"You mentioned that before," Suno said, "And how Goku might be that. What _is_ a Super Saiyan?" Vegeta sighed but, before he could explain, Freeza burst out of the sea and flew back toward Piccolo. Despite throwing everything he had into that attack and despite Freeza being completely unable to defend himself, the only damage Piccolo seemed to have caused was a series of scorch marks across Freeza's bony armor. Piccolo gawked in helpless horror while Freeza clapped politely.

"A spirited effort," Freeza commended, "With a bit of trickery and subterfuge as well, for such an 'honorable' warrior. I admire that level of selfless hypocrisy, I truly do. Because of that, I shall grant you a swift and painless death." Freeza extended two fingers of each hand and chuckled as a bead of pink light formed between the tips of his fingers. "That's a lie, actually. This will be protracted and _extremely_ painful." Piccolo opened his mouth, no doubt to let out some last defiantly witty remark, yet the only sound that came was a scream as his body was wracked with agony and convulsed violently from an inescapably fast onslaught of pink death spears, Freeza laughing maniacally as he jabbed his fingers at Piccolo again and again, tiny explosions bursting off of Piccolo's skin as the blasts punched holes through his body.

OoOoOoO

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan screamed in panic. Not again, he told himself, not again! He wouldn't let Mr. Piccolo die again! He let out a roar before flying towards Freeza, his blood boiling and his vision turning red as he rocketed towards the monstrous alien with both fists out.

"Gohan, wait!" Suno cried as she tried to fly after him. Vegeta put out an arm to stop both her and Krillin, however, before they could do anything.

"Neither of you is going anywhere," he told them bluntly, "Because there's something I need from you." By the expression on his face, it was clear that the statement nearly made Vegeta physically ill. Suno huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Make it quick."

"Believe me," Vegeta assured them, "The last thing in the universe I want is to turn to you two primitives for help again. You want to know what the Super Saiyan is? It is the ideal Saiyan warrior. The paragon of all that we are. Unstoppably violent, mercilessly inexorable, impossibly powerful. Even Freeza feared its power. It is why he killed our race. It is the most fearsome warrior the universe has ever known."

"And you think that's you," Krillin cut in dryly. Vegeta frowned and rolled his eyes.

"By process of elimination," he retorted, "The Super Saiyan can only be either myself, Kakarot, or the abomin–"

" _Gohan,"_ Suno told him sternly. "My son's name is _Gohan._ He's been fighting alongside you for a couple days now, we _all_ have, Gohan almost _died_ fighting helping your pompous ass, and he was the first one to help you. You want our help? Start calling him by his name." The look Vegeta shot her made it painfully obvious that he wanted nothing so much as to kick her head into one of Namek's three suns but he let out a breath that was similar in sound to a boiling kettle and threw up his hands.

" _Fine,"_ he growled. "Either myself, Kakarot, or _Gohan._ And unless the Gods have already decided that my life is some great jape for their amusement, it's going to be me."

"Then why haven't you done it already?" Krillin asked. Vegeta actually balled his fists and was a heartbeat away from punching Krillin's head into a chunky slaw with a single blow before he sighed and opened his hands again.

"I'm not strong enough," he admitted. "Something's missing. I need something to push me over the edge. I need one of you… to almost kill me."

OoOoOoO

While all of this was going on, Gohan smashed into Freeza's side with both fists and sent him flying away from Piccolo who immediately began plummeting to the ground. Freeza was shocked to discover, as Gohan hit him with a blistering barrage of punches to his side, that these were still _hurting him,_ ever so slightly, and that the boy seemed to be growing even stronger.

' _Could he–?'_ Freeza thought even as he slapped the half-breed away. ' _No,'_ he assured himself, ' _Impossible! It's not real. It's just a stupid legend. Furthermore, no child shall ever possess the power to slay Freeza the divine!'_ Gohan came at him doggedly, though, charging ki into his fists to give them a little extra kick. Gohan threw a flying kick into the side of Freeza's head, still screaming with fury all the while. Freeza prepared a counterattack that would have cleaved Gohan cleanly in half but something brought his movements to a halt. A flicker of lightning. A flash as red turned to gold. A twinkle as black changed to teal. It gave Freeza just a moment's pause and the briefest pang of terror that chilled his blood. That allowed Gohan to grab Freeza by the tail and spin him around and around before flinging him to the ground below and slamming his hands to his side.

"Kaaa meee…"

OoOoOoO

"I'm sorry," Krillin objected, "Back up, you want us to what?"

"Haven't you noticed," Vegeta explained, "How Saiyans get stronger after every brush with death? Kakarot, myself, Gohan? I'll lower my power down as far as I can–"

"Wow," Suno muttered sarcastically, "Thanks."

"Shut up– Which should allow one of you to hit me with a mortal blow." Then he looked at Krillin. "In truth, I trust you with this task more than her, bald one." Krillin started to tell Vegeta his name before Suno interjected.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Suno asked hotly. "What, just because you almost killed me, my wife, and my son, you think I'm going to act irrationally here and just kill you out of spite?"

"Well you _are_ a woman," Vegeta shot back. "Rationality is not your strongest suit."

"ARE YOU SURE YOU JUST WANT ME TO _ALMOST_ KILL YOU?!"

OoOoOoO

"Haaa meee…"

OoOoOoO

"Okay, fine," Krillin cut in before things could get any uglier, " _I'll_ do it. Then what?" Vegeta jerked a thumb down to Dende, who had caught Piccolo and was already healing him.

"The Namekian boy will use his healing magic to fix me. That should give me the boost I need to fight Freeza evenly and kill him."

"What makes you think Dende will want to help you?" Suno asked.

"Even dying," Vegeta pointed out smugly, "I shall be strong enough to snap his neck."

"Are threats of violence always your first choice?"

"...Are they not yours?"

OoOoOoO

"HAAAAAA!" Gohan roared as he threw his hands forward, a blue-white beam of light streaking down towards Freeza and blasting him into the dirt as he started to stand up. Gohan put all his strength into the blast. He'd never used his mothers' attack before but it seemed appropriate to use on this jerk right now. Although Gohan couldn't see it, Freeza put his hands up against the beam to push it off himself and slowly rose to his feet. Then he drew a fist back and punched the blast into oblivion. Gohan stared down at Freeza, who glowered back up before flying slowly toward him.

"You're awfully persistent, aren't you?" Freeza asked with a smirk. "Don't you know who you're dealing with? You've had plenty of chances to run." Gohan balled up his fists and moved into his guard.

"I won't run," Gohan told him defiantly. "I'm _not_ afraid of you." Freeza chuckled.

"Then you will die braver than most."

OoOoOoO

Piccolo sat up suddenly, taking his breath in gulps as he looked down at his no-longer perforated flesh. "Wh-what happened?" he asked breathlessly.

"I healed you," a young voice explained. Piccolo looked to his left and saw a young Namekian smiling at him. Some part of him, perhaps whatever part of Nail that remained, told Piccolo that this boy's name was Dende.

"Thank you, Dende," Piccolo said as he rubbed the boy's head fondly. The young Namekian stared at him in surprise.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. Piccolo smiled.

"Nail told me," he explained before standing up. "You'd better stay hidden," Piccolo told him. "It's far too dangerous for you to be out in the open." Then he flew back towards the fight, his clothes a tatter but his body restored and his spirit as resilient as ever. Gohan had saved him this time and he would not let the boy fight alone!

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Suno muttered as she caught Freeza advancing toward Gohan out of the corner of her eye, "Krillin, help Vegeta with his dumbass plan, I gotta go help Gohan and Piccolo fight." As she flew towards her son, she wasn't sure _what_ she could do against Freeza but she knew that she had to do _something_.

"O-okay," Krillin said reluctantly as he pressed his hand flat against Vegeta's stomach, "Juuuust tell me when you're ready!" Vegeta sighed and closed his eyes, bracing himself. Krillin could actually sense the Saiyan's ki steadily dropping.

"Do it," Vegeta grunted. Krillin nodded and, taking a moment to remind himself of his friends that Vegeta and Nappa had slain, sent a blast of ki through Vegeta's abdomen that burst out through Vegeta's back. To Vegeta's credit, he never made a sound. He plummeted out of the sky like a stone, his vision already going spotty, and tried to will himself to control his descent so that he would land on the same island Dende was on.

Krillin swallowed nervously as he watched Vegeta tumble down and _really_ hoped he hadn't fucked everyone over before he flew off to join the others. ' _Heal faster, Goku,'_ Krillin thought. ' _Heal faster!'_

OoOoOoO

"What's your name, boy?" Freeza asked. "I like to remember the particularly tenacious ones. There are so few that can actually _challenge_ me so I've grown to settle for looking back fondly on those that annoyed me."

"My name is Son Gohan," Gohan told him defiantly. "I am the son of Son Goku and Son Suno. I don't care how powerful you are, I'm going to beat you!" That made Freeza let out a guffaw of genuine, non-derisive laughter as the others flew to join them.

"Hrm," he mused, "So the gang's all here. Save for Vegeta, of course. Turned traitor and hid somewhere, has he?" That was when Gohan realized that Freeza couldn't sense ki. If he had, he would have noticed when Vegeta's ki dropped as suddenly as it had. Freeza shrugged before continuing. "I suppose it hardly matters. I'll dig him out of whatever hole he's hiding in once I'm done with the four of you. Or perhaps I'll just blow the whole rock up, save myself some time, eh?" He held up four fingers, each one glowing with a point of lethal light. "I could kill all of you, as I am, right now. Yet you all have been so frustratingly resistant to this whole dying business that I believe you all should be rewarded. Come with me, please." The lights on his fingers went out and he began to float down toward the island beneath them. The four stayed exactly where they were. "If you're not going to follow me, I'm going to assume you want to skip to the part where you die and I'll just kill you now." Reluctantly, they followed.

OoOoOoO

As Dende moved to what he thought was a safe distance and hid carefully behind a rock, he was shocked when a body fell out of the sky and landed not even a foot away from him. It took Dende a moment to realize who it was but he quickly recognized him as the Saiyan who had threatened to break his neck if Dende had not made him immortal. He had also showed up at Guru's home and had requested the Earthlings' help. Even from that first brief encounter, Dende had sensed the evil that clung to this man like a cloud of poison. He assumed that one of the others had finally sensed it as well and killed him, explaining the smoking, gaping hole in his stomach.

Then he stood up.

Dende screamed in panic and scrambled backwards as the Saiyan began to stagger towards him.

"H-heal m-me," he demanded, his hands outstretched, grasping at the air with each rubber-legged step.

"You're e–evil!" Dende protested. "You threatened to kill me! You want to become immortal, just like Freeza!"

"Get back here, you coward!" the Saiyan snarled, his eyelids slowly starting to sink as he collapsed to his knees. "If you don't heal me, those fools you care about are going to die!" Then he fell forward into the dirt with a groan. Dende chewed his lip thoughtfully, his antennae twitching feverishly with panic. He could feel the evil man's life energy bleeding out. He could let him die and the universe would be better for it. But what if he was right? What if the others were depending on this monster and, by refusing to help him, Dende was putting his friends in danger? He looked down at his hands fretfully before looking up to the sky.

' _Guru,'_ he thought, ' _Send me your wisdom! What should I do?!'_

OoOoOoO

"As I said before," Freeza began once everyone was on the ground, "I have one further transformation after this limiting form. My final, true form. None have ever looked upon it and survived outside of my own family."

"Wait," Krillin said suddenly, "Limiting? True form? So these transformations haven't been making you stronger?" Why the hell was he even asking? Why did it matter?

Freeza shrugged. "In a sense, I suppose," he replied. "I created these forms to have control over my godlike strength so that I would not kill those around me when I gestured for someone to bring me a coffee."

"I'm sorry," Suno interjected, "You have coffee?"

Freeza blinked. "...Do you?"

"Why not simply train yourself to control your power?" Piccolo asked. Why had _he_ joined in the game of asking inane questions?

"Oh goodness," Freeza muttered with a dismissive wave, "That sounds like _far_ too much work. But I digress. Because of your persistence, I shall allow you all to look upon my true self and bask in the face of one as close to divinity as any of you shall ever come." In a less terrifying situation, Suno would have remarked that, technically, God had presided over her wedding. Now her mouth was dry and her wit had gone with it. Freeza splayed his hands out at his side and began to glow. "Bow before me," he commanded them. "Fall to your knees and grovel before my radiance!" Freeza's body suddenly turned bright white and they lifted their arms to shield themselves from the blinding light and the hurricane winds that were whipped up by his aura.

OoOoOoO

' _Whoa,'_ Goku thought with growing worry, ' _That power is getting huge! That must_ _be Freeza!'_ It seemed like the longer she sat in this tank, the worse things got for everyone else!

OoOoOoO

Freeza was encapsulated in an opaque bubble of pure light, his voice echoing and booming like an angry deity, completely filling their heads with its power. Lightning arced off the bubble and they had to dive out of the way to avoid being struck. Just his _transforming_ could kill them!

"Behold the face of power!" he bellowed. "Behold a might beyond your mortal comprehension!" The light grew brighter and brighter, the winds ever fiercer and the lightning shooting out faster. "Witness the might of a God made flesh! Cower in my grandeur like an insect cowers before the sun!" The bubble burst, the force of the violent explosion driving everyone to the ground. "Revere me! Praise me! The most powerful and noble being in all of creation!" He was shorter now, barely taller than his first form. He had no horns or patches of bone armor, only smooth white skin with purple biogems on his shins, forearms, shoulders, the center of his chest, and the top of his head. His eyes were full of cool contempt. His power was physically painful to try and sense. "Bask in the glory of Freeza the Almighty!"


	70. Vegeta Saves the Day!

Chapter Seventy

Freeza's True Power! Vegeta Saves the Day?!

Everyone stared at Freeza in his true form, their bodies rigid with nerves and their skin pale with terror; a sharp contrast to his own appearance. His posture was completely relaxed, his face the perfect picture of calm confidence. The earthlings were terrified out of their minds. Well, three of them.

"Y'know," Suno said offhandedly, "I kinda thought you were gonna get… taller." The others gawked at her in horror and Freeza gave an amused sort of chuckle. Suno was, at this point, so far _beyond_ terrified that she had completely swung the other way around and was back to being sarcastic. Or, in simpler terms, she was out of fucks to give. "I mean, you're the same size as your first form. But now you don't have any horns or anything."

" _What are you doing?!"_ Krillin hissed at her through terror-clenched teeth. Freeza, however, was barely paying attention to them. Now that he was in his true form, his cognitive functions and senses were operating at their peak efficiency and the knowledge of his own supremacy in the universe allowed him to look past the constant annoyance of his "enemies'" refusal to lie down and die so that now he could actually ponder _why_ they weren't dead. Namekians could regenerate, true, but this one didn't seem to be any worse for wear from the process, and even so, he had only seen that one fellow regenerate a torn limb rather than damaged tissue. He knew Saiyans lacked such recuperative abilities and, while he had no knowledge of whether or not these "Earthers" had healing powers of their own, he had quickly surmised a far more likely solution: a third party was at play.

The Earthlings' terror was now mixed with slight confusion as they watched Freeza's pupils dilate, take a slightly oblong shape before contracting again. The landscape zoomed before Freeza's vision, his superior mind effortlessly filtering through information, until he found what he was looking for. That last little Namekian. The one he'd almost killed ages ago.

"Hm," Freeza muttered, " _There_ you are." Freeza's eyes flashed and he chuckled to himself as two beams of deadly light went into the young Namekian's eyes and punched out of the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground with thin wisps of smoke coming out of the back of his head. Somehow, the others knew what he had done before he'd had a chance to gloat.

"Dende!" Gohan cried in anguish as he felt the Namekian boy's ki drop almost instantly. Piccolo growled as he balled his fists, his lips peeling back in a snarl that showed his fangs while Suno and Krillin got into their guards.

"Well, well, well," Freeza mused as his tail swished across the ground. "No more escapes for you. This time when I put you down, you'll _stay_ down." Gohan's vision turned red as he roared in fury and lunged past the others to get at Freeza in a maelstrom of punches and kicks, swinging furiously, his rage overwhelming him and filling every strike with power.

Freeza blocked and deflected every attack with a single finger before using that finger to smack Gohan away. The others joined the fight as Gohan flew past them, Krillin and Suno pushing past their exhaustion to join Piccolo in the fury of their attacks. They, too, were all blocked by a single finger before Freeza knocked them away, sending one into the next to smash all three into a boulder. Gohan came charging back, putting all his energy into a mighty blow, his fist glowing with ki. Freeza stopped that one as well. As well as a kick and a knee and another punch. Gohan's rage faltered before Freeza pushed his fingertip against his forehead and slammed him into the ground. Freeza smirked down at Gohan as the boy struggled to pull himself out of the dirt, fear clear in his eyes as, no longer fueled by rage, he finally seemed to understand the enormity of the expanse between their powers.

"Perhaps I was wrong before," Freeza remarked as he leveled his finger at Gohan, pink light malevolently twinkling on his fingertip. Gohan barely had time to cry out before the beam went right through him. Or, more accurately, where he _had been._ In the heartbeats between life and death, a white-black blur moved between Gohan and Freeza, who curiously watched the blur move off to his left. The others hadn't even seen the blur and so were sure that Gohan was dead until Vegeta seemed to miraculously appear before them, Gohan bundled in his arms.

"You… you helped me?" Gohan asked in a tone that was equal measures confused and grateful. Vegeta scoffed and dropped Gohan onto the ground.

"You said before that backstabbing didn't come as easily to humans as it did to Saiyans," Vegeta said. "That is because Saiyan loyalty is more difficult to earn. Besides," he added, "I am the last of the Saiyan kings. What sort of king would I be to let one of my own die?" He gave Gohan a smirk that was as close to a good-natured smile as Vegeta's face was ever likely to construct. "Even a half-breed abomination." Gohan smirked right back and nodded at Vegeta, who nodded back before he began to stride purposefully toward Freeza. "All of you, stay out of my way. Freeza's _mine."_ This gave Freeza cause to chuckle.

"Oh ho ho, Vegeta, you never cease to amuse me," Freeza told him as he held out his hand, extending the same single finger he'd used to easily handle the others. "You could barely stand against my most restrained form. What makes you think you can stand before my full gloriosity?" Vegeta smirked and cracked his knuckles before pounding one fist into the other palm.

"Because I am so much more than what I was before," he explained. "More than I have ever been before. I was willing to sacrifice all that I was, my pride, my honor, even my very life, for this moment. To take hold of the power that was always meant to be mine! I am what you have always feared, Freeza. I am the monster that keeps you up at night. I am the being that drove you to slay my entire race." He jabbed a finger proudly into his chest and declared, "I! Am the Super Saiyan!" Again, Freeza laughed, though there was just the slightest hint of nerves to his laughter.

"A _Super Saiyan?!"_ he asked incredulously. "Really, Vegeta, you truly do always amuse. A Super Saiyan. Heh. Just another of your little legends that your filthy monkey race told each other to pretend their lives had some purpose or meaning, that you did not live at the mercy of the strong. Do you know _why_ I killed your people, Vegeta? Because I had a whim. It is the right of the strong to do whatever they like and the right of the weak to grovel before them!" Despite Freeza's bravado, Vegeta could smell the lie. And that slightest tinge of fear that just barely stiffened Freeza's body language was enough to bolster Vegeta's resolve.

"In that case," Vegeta said as he moved into his guard, "Then it is _my right_ to take your life!" Then they lunged at one another. Freeza stabbed forward with his finger but was shocked when Vegeta shoved his arm away and slammed a punch into his gut, driving the wind out of him and doubling him over before hitting an uppercut with his other fist to make him stand up straight again and finishing with a flip kick that caught him under the chin and sent him into the air. Vegeta followed up after him into the air, the pair exchanging punches and kicks that ripped the clouds apart with the sound of thunderclaps.

"Jeez," Krillin muttered as they 'watched' the fight, keeping up more with their ki sensing than their eyes, "It's a good thing Vegeta's on our side… technically. Right?" Piccolo wasn't so sure. While Vegeta's power was impressive, there was something not entirely right about the way Freeza's ki felt. Piccolo and Gohan shared a worried look, both thinking something that they were too fearful to actually say aloud. That _this_ still wasn't the full extent of Freeza's power.

OoOoOoO

Freeza filled the air with lances of deadly pink energy, barely suppressing a snarl of frustration as Vegeta dodged and weaved his way through them all and pulling back just in time to avoid a roundhouse kick from Vegeta, sending him away again with a palm strike to the exposed skin of his stomach. Vegeta rolled with the attack and came up flinging purple ki bolts at Freeza who brought up a telekinetic shield to weather the attack rather than put in the effort to actually dodge the attacks himself.

"You do not fool me, Freeza," Vegeta called over the din of his assault. "Your boasting, your posturing, your _obsession_ with godhood! I know what it truly is! You hide your insecurity and your loathing that you shall _never_ match the power of Beerus the Destroyer!"

"...Who?" Freeza asked in blase confusion. That was clearly not the reaction Vegeta had expected as it brought Vegeta's assault to a screeching halt, giving Freeza an opening to shoulder block Vegeta practically across the horizon, before appearing behind Vegeta in a blur of speed and knocking him toward the ground with his tail. Vegeta managed to bring himself to a stop and dug his feet into the ground as he glared up at Freeza.

"It matters not," Vegeta snarled, "Because I have _seen_ a God, Freeza. And I know what a God is. You are no such creature and I will prove it to you!" Freeza smirked as he looked down at Vegeta smugly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"And how is that?" Freeza asked with no small hint of amusement. Vegeta growled and balled his fists so tightly that blood began to seep through his fingers.

"Because I will make you _bleed_ this day." Murder shone in Vegeta's eyes and launched back up toward the sky in a bullet of purple aura, Freeza flying down to meet him in a pink bullet, and the two colliding in an explosion of light that streaked the sky.

OoOoOoO

"I still can't get over Freeza's transformation," Suno muttered.

"Seriously?" Krillin asked. Suno shrugged.

"I can't help it," she admitted. "He looks like something I keep in a drawer at home." That made Krillin snort with laughter. He certainly hadn't expected _that._

"I-I mean," he stammered out through his chuckles, "When you put it like that, I guess he kinda does."

"I can go back to the ship if you want proof," Suno added. "I brought a whole box." _That_ gave Krillin a few seconds' pause.

"Wait, a _box?"_ He hadn't thought of Suno and Goku as that… adventurous.

"Well, yeah," Suno remarked casually. "How many're you supposed to have?"

"I mean…" Krillin replied with an awkward look in Gohan's direction, "Isn't that kind of inappropriate, with your son on the same ship? A ship with no rooms?" Suno huffed indignantly.

"Well what was I _supposed_ to do?" she asked irritably. "Bleed all over the floor?" Krillin was _extremely_ confused until he pieced together the meaning of Suno's words.

"Ohh," he said in realization. "You meant… _ohhhhh."_

"Well, yeah," Suno replied, now confused herself, "What'd you _think_ I meant?" Krillin's face reddened significantly.

"Well, I thought you meant… y'know…" Suno groaned and rolled her eyes.

"This is why I didn't marry a man."

"This is why I live in the wastelands," Piccolo added. Gohan had his face buried in his hands and was wishing Vegeta had been a few seconds too slow earlier.

OoOoOoO

Freeza slammed Vegeta down into the ocean and seemed determined to drown him, his tail wrapped around his neck and his fists driving the wind out of Vegeta. Vegeta snarled through the pain and the oxygen deprivation, bubbles pouring out through his gritted teeth as he jabbed his thumbs into Freeza's eyes to make him break his grip and hurtled Freeza back into the air by his neck. Vegeta burst out of the ocean a few seconds later, taking time to catch his breath. Freeza, for his part, used a telekinetic bubble to push all of the water off of himself.

"You've put in a good effort, Vegeta," Freeza admitted, his breathing completely even and his skin completely unmarked in contrast to Vegeta's desperate gasping and the bruises and scratches that covered his flesh, "But I'm about done here. If it's any consolation, you're making me use more than one percent of my power." He smirked as Vegeta growled at his mockery. "Now I'll use two." Vegeta lunged forward, a fist drawn back, ready to punch Freeza's head into one of Namek's three suns. He was only bluffing. Vegeta _knew_ it. He was the Super Saiyan!

But by the time Vegeta got to him, Freeza was already gone. "Wh-what?!" he stammered in shock, looking frantically. He felt someone tap his shoulder and spun around to see Freeza standing behind him. He punched furiously at Freeza, his fists a blur, moving so fast that his skin began to burn with the heat of friction, yet they came no closer to touching Freeza than they were to touching the nearest planet. Vegeta threw a desperate kick, banking on Freeza being distracted by all the punches, but he was gone again before Vegeta had finished extending his leg. "This… this is impossible!" he stammered out. Fear began to set in and snuff the fire of his warrior's heart. Was _this_ what Freeza was truly capable of? Could not even a Super Saiyan match his power?

While Vegeta was pondering this, Freeza flashed in front of Vegeta again and effortlessly backhanded him again before Vegeta even understood what was happening to him, conveniently sending Vegeta spiraling back down to the island they had originally started from, the others gawking in horror as Vegeta crashed to a heap in front of him.

"Well," Suno observed as Vegeta struggled to his feet, "That's not good." Freeza floated down to meet him and Vegeta choked down the fear before charging again, his energy fading as he swung desperately at Freeza, who was avoiding him so effortlessly that he seemed to be teleporting. Each time he moved, he struck Vegeta with debilitating force. The spine, the kidneys, the back of the knees, the shoulderblades. Vegeta gasped in pain with each blow, eventually hacking up blood.

"Feel free," Freeza added coolly over his shoulder at the others, "To step in at any time." Vegeta took advantage of that and punched Freeza in the face as hard as he could. Freeza didn't even move. He chuckled as Vegeta gawked at him in horror. "I told you," he reminded Vegeta, "Just a legend." Then he fired a beam into Vegeta's chest, sending him tumbling away to sprawl pathetically in the dirt.

"That's _definitely_ not good," Suno muttered nervously as Freeza turned his attention on them.

OoOoOoO

' _Uh oh,'_ Goku thought, ' _That was Vegeta's ki that just went down!'_ Mercifully, the stupid machine finally dinged and the healing liquid began to drain. She ripped the mask off her mouth and the tubes out of her throat before punching the pod, causing it to explode violently. Goku stood there for a moment, taking a few gulps of air as the healing liquid ran off her body. "Time to go!" Goku flew through the roof of the ship, punching a hole through it in a burst of speed. She was vaguely aware that she had gotten much stronger but she barely had time to pay attention to that. She flew toward the fight as fast as she could. Everyone was counting on her!

OoOoOoO

There was… emptiness. Vegeta slowly pulled himself to his feet and stared around at the black void in confusion before looking down at the hole in his chest.

"So," he muttered, "This is death." The nothingness continued in all directions, forever. "I thought the rest might be here." The prospect of eternal loneliness filled Vegeta with an emotion he had never before tasted: despair. He had failed. There was no chance. And so the gods had seen fit to punish him by damning him to an eternity in shadow. Then a voice answered that he had not heard since he was a boy.

"Or perhaps it is because your work is not done." Vegeta spun on his heels to find… his father standing before him, his cape billowing in an impossible breeze. They looked almost identical, save for his father's beard and the red shoulder pads on his armor. They were both even wearing black undersuits now.

"Father?" Vegeta asked in shock. King Vegeta nodded.

"What are you doing, lying on the ground and dying?" King Vegeta asked brusquely. Vegeta scoffed and wordlessly gestured to the hole in his chest, his face the picture of indignity. Then another voice Vegeta had not heard since his youth followed and another shade came out of the darkness.

"Would a mere chest wound stop a Saiyan warrior?" a woman asked. Vegeta's mouth hung agape as he stared at her. Her black hair billowing down to the small of her back, a gold circlet around her throat, a blue bodysuit with white armor and a single yellow shoulderpad. She was a tall woman, made for violence and passion, pride burning in her eyes. "Let alone the blood of kings?" Rosicheena. The Queen of Saiyans.

"Mother…" Vegeta whispered. What was _happening_ to him?

"As long as there is a drop of blood in your body," Rosicheena told him, "A wisp of breath, a _flicker_ of energy, you _must_ fight! That is the power of the Saiyan spirit!" Now Nappa stood on the other side of his father, arms folded over his chest.

"If you truly are the Super Saiyan," Nappa told him, "Stand and fight." Then Raditz stood beside him.

"Stand and fight!" he echoed. They said it again, and again, Vegeta's parents taking up the chant. More and more voices added to the chorus as Vegeta glimpsed hundreds of Saiyans coming in from the darkness. Thousands. _Millions!_ Every Saiyan that Freeza had slaughtered. This was his burden, his responsibility, his sworn duty. He must fight. He must win!

"Stand and fight! Stand and fight! Stand and fight!"

OoOoOoO

"Sooo," Krillin murmured nervously, "Who's got a plan?" He looked at Suno out of the corner of his eye. "You've been pretty talkative all of the sudden, how about you?" Suno shook her head.

"Don't look at me," she muttered defensively. "All my brain can do at this point is make smart-ass comments."

As Freeza began to walk toward the four, he was stopped by a sound he knew he wasn't supposed to be hearing. A grunt of effort, the shuffling of a body across dirt, and a guttural growl.

"F… Freeza…" Freeza spun around to see Vegeta struggling up onto his hands and knees and the sight gave him more than a moment's worry. Tears dripped onto the dirt under Vegeta amidst drops of blood and sweat. "I-I'm not… not done with you," Vegeta dug his hands into the dirt, clenching it in his fists. How? How was this _possible?_ His beam had pierced Vegeta's heart! "Do you hear me?!" Vegeta barked with enough fury to make Freeza take a single step back. This… this wasn't happening. This _was not. Happening._ Vegeta was not– "WE'RE NOT DONE!" Vegeta roared as he exploded to his feet and into the air. "FREEEEEZAAAAAAAAA!" A tower of golden ki surrounded Vegeta like an inferno and rushed into the heavens and the ground below as Vegeta continued to roar, bellowing his defiance in the face of his own death. Vegeta slammed his palms together and thrust them forward as the tower coalesced down into Vegeta's body, the light making his hair appear golden and his eyes seemed to go white. "I will show you the power of the Super Saiyan!" Vegeta gathered all the energy into his palms and Freeza felt a moment's relief as Vegeta's hair turned black again. "TAKE THIS!" Vegeta bellowed. "GALICK CANNON!" The blast shot forward toward Freeza with the cacophonous roar of an erupting volcano.

"If that blast hits," Piccolo exclaimed in panic, "It'll destroy the planet!" For his part, Freeza looked surprised for a moment before he gathered a telekinetic shield around himself at the last moment to shield himself from the blast and flew toward Vegeta, pushing the blast back and flying forward without much trouble. His hands emerged from the blast right in front of Vegeta, one grabbing him by the throat and another one driving a spear strike into his stomach… and coming out the other side. Vegeta stared at him in shock with tears running down his face as Freeza smirked and casually tossed him back to the ground, where he fell among the others in a broken heap. Freeza took a moment to wipe a single bead of sweat from his forehead and was more than surprised when his fingers came away with blood on his fingertips. He rubbed with his other hand at the same spot and discovered that the blood was gone, yet… still. He pushed the thought out of his mind and casually descended toward them. .

"Aaany time y'wanna get back up, Vegeta buddy," Suno muttered nervously as she looked back and forth between Vegeta and Freeza. "Third time's the charm!" As Freeza sauntered toward them, he stopped when he saw Vegeta's fingers twitch and rolled his eyes as Vegeta coughed and sputtered.

"Oh this is just ridiculous," he muttered in exasperation. "How can one monkey be more difficult to kill than an entire planet's worth of monkeys?!" He pointed his finger at Vegeta and prepared to shoot him in the head. Assuming that he could _hit_ his primitively small brain, that would _finally_ kill him.

"No," Gohan said suddenly. Then he moved in front of Vegeta, his arms outstretched. Then Krillin stood in front of him and Suno in front of him and finally Piccolo in front of her. Once again, Freeza rolled his eyes.

"And this is meant to deter me… _how?"_ he asked. His finger glowed and he prepared to kill them all in one stroke… when a sudden rush of air caught his attention, as well as everyone else's. A new player, it would seem, had stepped onto the field.

She had the same pinkish skin as Vegeta and the Earthers. She was wearing a most peculiar orange and blue outfit made of fabrics with an unusual character on the breast. She had a steely look of determination in her eyes that, when combined with that strangely familiar hairstyle, gave Freeza that odd feeling again, the same he had gotten when he first saw the red-haired Earther's armor.

"Get away from them," the woman said firmly. For reasons Freeza could never fathom, the Earthers' faces lit up at her arrival.

Because they knew what he didn't. They knew who this was and what she was capable of. They knew that somehow, someway, Freeza was going to get what he had coming to him. He was finally going to pay.

Because Son Goku had arrived.

* * *

SSV/N: Full disclosure, Rosicheena isn't my creation. I was looking for pictures to inspire what Vegeta's mother might look like, and she came up as a very popular fan character with a lot of art. I don't know who made her first, so I guess this is a blanket credit to everyone who draws her.


	71. The Ultimate Battle Begins!

Chapter Seventy-one

The Ultimate Battle Begins! Son Goku vs. Freeza!

Freeza stared quizzically at this strange female creature as she seemed to completely blot him from her mind once he lowered his hand and no longer posed an immediate threat to the Earthers. _Why_ Freeza hadn't killed them, he hadn't the foggiest idea, but something about her appearance made fighting these insects suddenly unimportant. He saw something radiating off of her. With his heightened senses and perceptions, Freeza saw it on every being, a sort of aura, a white outline along every being in existence. In lesser creatures, which was to say all creatures other than himself or his family (who were, in all honestly, only slightly more than lesser), it was only a thin white line. But this one…

The aura around her was like a wildfire, billowing and flickering with her every movement. She was different, Freeza realized. She was like him. A luminous being.

"Are you guys alright?" Goku asked as she approached her friends, putting her back to Freeza. "Oh, hey, Piccolo! You got a lot stronger!" He nodded wordlessly as they stared at her but Suno quickly spoke up.

"We're okay," she assured Goku. "Scared out of our minds but okay." Then she added, "I mean… some more of us than others." She glanced back at Vegeta and Goku followed her gaze with a wince. She had never seen Vegeta in such bad shape. Aside from the obvious hole in his stomach, Vegeta just looked… broken. She was sure he was dead but then Vegeta's eyes flickered open and he… he smiled at her. That worried Goku more than the gaping hole, to be honest.

"I'm sorry," Freeza interjected, "But who in the cosmos are you?" Goku turned to Freeza and frowned at him as she balled her fists.

"I'm Son Goku," she told him. "I'm a Saiyan from Earth. I've heard about you, Freeza. I know what you did to the Saiyan race." He smirked at that, which made Goku even angrier. "You're a jerk!" Freeza looked startled by that, as if no one had ever called him that before. "You're a bully and a killer and I'm going to make you pay for what you've done!" Freeza chuckled and pointed at her.

"I think not," he said in a blase tone as he fired a pink beam at Goku. She swatted the blast and it sailed away over the horizon. Freeza's eyes widened and a vein in his temple twitched. "No," he growled. Then he fired another, and another, hundreds more. To his ever-growing fury, Goku swatted them all. The air filled with lances of pink death and the entire area was awash in their deadly glow but he just. Couldn't. _Hit._ _ **Her.**_ It was only when Freeza stopped that he realized that she hadn't been deflecting them. She'd _caught_ them. Goku held a ball of pink light in her fist and Freeza gaped at the sheer impossibility of it all.

If he was confused, Goku's friends were even _more_ lost. One moment, Freeza had been pointing at Goku, the next everything had gone pink and then Goku had a big ball of pink ki in her hand. She threw that ball into the air where it exploded harmlessly overhead. After the sound of the explosion finished echoing, they all heard something that none of them had expected.

Vegeta… was laughing. It was a thin, weak, painful sound but Vegeta was laughing like he'd heard the funniest joke in the history of sentient life.

"He's going mad," Freeza muttered impassively, raising a hand to shoot him in the head as he had planned to do before.

"I assure you," Vegeta snarled as blood seeped through his teeth and dribbled down his chin, "I-I am quite sane."

"Debatable," Suno muttered under her breath as Vegeta propped himself onto his elbows to try and stop the blood from filling his lungs.

"I'm laughing," Vegeta continued undeterred, "Because she's going to kill you, fool." Freeza's eyes widened at the impertinence, the disrespect, at the sheer indignity of Vegeta's remarks. "I see it now. I was never the Super Saiyan," he admitted bitterly. " _She_ is. I suppose it hardly matters. You're going to die, Freeza. All your long life, all your power, all the races you've slaughtered, and a monkey is going to kill you after all!" He threw back his head and laughed. Freeza snarled and shot Vegeta in the chest again before Goku had a chance to react. Vegeta let out a wordless gasp of pain and collapsed back into the dirt, coughing up a fresh pint of blood on the way down.

"Hey!" Goku exclaimed furiously as she wheeled on Freeza. "He had no chance of defending himself! Don't you have any kind of honor?" Freeza chuckled and gave a shrug.

"K-Kakarot," Vegeta stammered with clear desperation in his voice, "Forget about that! If you're still soft enough to care about _me,_ that means you're not a Super Saiyan yet!" Goku looked down at Vegeta in equal measures shock that he was still talking and confusion as to what the heck he was talking about. "You have to be cold! You have to drive mercy from your heart and devote yourself to killing! Only _then_ will you be have a chance to kill him!"

"I dunno what a Super Saiyan is," Goku admitted with an edge to her voice, "But if it means being more like you, I think I'll pass. Now shut up! You're just making it harder on yourself. I'll take care of this guy."

"Listen to me, you fool!" Vegeta barked and the urgency in his voice made Goku pay attention, which was when she saw the most stunning thing of all: Vegeta was crying. "I don't _care_ what you think of me!" he told her through sobs with tears running down his cheeks and darkening the dirt beneath his head. "This is not about _me_ or _you._ This is about _our people!_ Freeza enslaved us, made us do his killing! W-w-we served him f-faithfully for y-years and he killed us out of _fear!_ Our numbers were growing and we were growing more powerful. Freeza f-feared that a Super Saiyan might rise among us and so he struck us down! Your parents, my parents, our entire race! I-I have served him all these years," Vegeta choked down a sob and probably another mouthful of blood as he looked at Goku, a desperate fire burning in his eyes. "I served him in the hopes of growing stronger. So that one day, _I_ could give our people _vengeance!_ But it was never meant to be me. I see that now. _You,_ Kakarot. I know you do not care for our race but you are all that is left! _You_ are the last Saiyan. It must be _you_ that kills him! He _must_ pay for his crimes, must _die,_ by Saiyan hands! I… I…" the words seemed to be more painful than the actual process of death but Vegeta _willed_ himself to say them, choking down his pride. "I am _begging_ you, Kakarot! You must be merciless! You must have stone where your heart has been! This is not a game, woman! Only you can give our people vengeance! Only you can give us justice. You… are the last… Saiyan." Vegeta shut his eyes and turned his head to the side. "Please…" he whispered softly. Then he spoke no more.

A cold wind blew across the field, blowing Vegeta's hair softly. The King was dead. Goku looked down at the man who had tried to kill her, her son, her wife, who had played a hand in the deaths of many of her friends and had tried to destroy her planet. She looked down at his corpse and frowned softly. She didn't pity Vegeta and she didn't feel sorry for him. She was just… sad. His whole life, dedicated to a single goal. She could almost understand him. Goku turned away from Vegeta and snarled, blasting a hole in the ground with a kiai from her eyes. She bundled Vegeta up in her arms and carried him over to the hole, laying him down gently.

Freeza watched all of this with vague curiosity. He had never actually _seen_ a burial before. When one of his own race died, the Arcosian custom was to launch the corpse into a star, the only thing deemed powerful enough to be worthy of destroying an Arcosian body. Then the Arcosian's body would be a part of the cosmos and, in a strange sense, be forever.

' _I think I get it,'_ Goku told Vegeta as she buried him. ' _You were a terrible person, Vegeta, there's no denying it. But maybe you weren't always_ meant _to be terrible. If Freeza hadn't destroyed our planet, you might have been better.'_ There was no guarantee Goku had to be good, after all. If someone meaner than Grandpa Gohan had found her or if she hadn't hit her head then maybe she would have been a killer, too. ' _All you ever wanted was to avenge your people._ Our _people. To bare your soul like that to me, to cry like that… I think you sold yourself short. You weren't as cold-hearted as you thought.'_ Goku finished covering Vegeta and patted the dirt flat with her hands. ' _You were a proud warrior, Vegeta, but when it mattered you let go of your pride. Lend me some of that pride now. Let me share your warrior spirit. I may not have been raised a Saiyan and they may not be my people but I_ will _fight for them and for you!'_ Goku stood and dusted off her hands before turning to Freeza.

" _Finally,"_ he muttered dryly. "I was beginning to think he'd never die." He half-expected Vegeta to pop out of the ground and keep rambling.

"Shut up," Goku told him flatly. Freeza staredd at her in open-mouthed astonishment. Once again, it looked like Goku had said something that he'd never heard before in his life. "People like you make me sick! There's no one stronger than you and you use your power to make everyone scared of you and let you do whatever you want!" Goku looked at Freeza and saw Tao Pai Pai and Piccolo Daimaou. "Well I've beaten them and I _will_ beat you!" She got into a fighting stance and glared at him. "Bet on that!" She looked at the other four out of the corner of her eye as Freeza looked at her with an amused expression. "You guys need to get out of here. Start heading back to wherever Bulma is." The others blinked as if they had completely forgotten Bulma and Goku had just reminded them that she existed.

OoOoOoO

Back at base camp, Bulma had completely dismantled the toaster, the microwave, her hairdryer, and had taken out the eccentric rotating mass vibration motors from a few of her "personal devices." She had done all of this, mostly out of boredom, but also to cobble together a working radio. Or, at least, she was _pretty_ sure it'd work. The motors all vibrated at different frequencies, which worked to find the frequency for a receptive signal, which she searched for with an antennae she'd made by stripping some of the wires in the microwave and tying them around one of the filaments in the toaster. Hopefully, it worked on the same principle as the phone she'd used to call Earth, which she'd also had to destroy, by bouncing off the stars. Mostly she was looking for music or something to listen to. _Anything_ to break up her monotony. She fiddled with her hodgepodge monstrosity, her tongue sticking out in furious concentration as she mostly got static. At least that was _something._ After all, the microwave would usually only say "ding."

"You guys need to get out of here," Goku's voice suddenly said. Bulma was startled by the sound, having not heard Goku's voice in a month, and nearly fell out of her chair. Still, though, victory! At least now she wasn't completely isolated from whatever was going on outside the cave anymore.

"Fear not, Enrique," Bulma said wistfully to one of her dearly departed devices. "You shall not have died in vain!"

OoOoOoO

"Goku," Piccolo asked nervously as he eyed Freeza, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah," Krillin added despite his shaking voice, "Freeza's pretty powerful." Krillin was, of course, _desperate_ for a way out of this situation but he wasn't going to just leave Goku without her saying so.

"He's mine," Goku assured them. The others nodded and began to leave, Suno stopping to give Goku a quick kiss on the cheek. Gohan lingered the longest but he eventually followed after them. Freeza chuckled again and flexed his fingers as he eyed Goku like a cat seeing a dog for the first time.

"I'm sure you believe you're doing something noble," he told her, "But I know the truth. You're sending them away because you don't want your loved ones to see the mangled corpse you're about to become." Goku scoffed.

"Are you gonna fight me or what?" she asked. Freeza chuckled and they charged. The island exploded immediately under them, blasted completely into oblivion by the force of their collision. They traded kicks and punches, each avoiding the other's attacks, cutting through the air with violent gusts of wind from the speed and strength of their attacks. They filled the air over the island with their attacks, appearing here and there, always coming from above or below to try and find a better angle of attack but never getting through the other's defenses, always just being dodged or blocked. Goku threw a blast of ki at Freeza who dodged and fired eye beams at Goku through the spray. Goku dodged the wild blasts while wondering how Freeza's aim could be so bad. Goku stepped and was behind Freeza in a flash. She went to smash an elbow into the back of his head but was surprised when it went right through him. She heard Freeza burst out of the water and spun around just in time to see him blast her with a massive pink ki ball. She went to throw up her hands to block it and the ball shoved her down into another one of the islands.

To Freeza's shock, the blast didn't kill her immediately. Goku continued to push back as the ball pushed her into a mountain and drove it away, putting her fists together to spike it into the sky like a volleyball. Freeza watched the ball fly away with mounting annoyance before looking down at Goku who was fanning her smoking hands in visible pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, owowowow!"

OoOoOoO

On Kaiou's planet, Launch looked up from the poker game that she, Yamcha, Ten, and Chaozu were playing to look at the Kaiou, who hadn't said anything in about half an hour. He was just staring out into the pink sky.

"Hey," she called, "What's goin' on? You want Yamcha to deal you in?" Kaiou shook his head.

"Goku's fighting Freeza," he explained.

"Oh yeah?" Yamcha asked as he frowned at his miserable hand. "How's that goin'?" He had a sneaking suspicion that, as the only non-Crane student among the dead, Chaozu was making sure he always got shit hands.

"Freeza killed Vegeta," Kaiou told them over his shoulder. "Easily." The foursome dropped their cards and scrambled toward him, their game forgotten immediately.

"Goku can't fight someone like that!" Ten muttered breathlessly. He wasn't sure if _anyone_ could. As the other three had all been killed by Vegeta's buddy Nappa, who was weaker than Vegeta, they all shared his dread.

"Actually," Kaiou corrected, "She's holding her own." The others' expressions brightened at that so he kept ' _For now'_ to himself.

OoOoOoO

"I'm impressed," Freeza admitted as he touched down on the island Goku was standing on. "You're strong for a monkey. I didn't think there was anyone outside my own family that could be stronger than Captain Ginyu."

"Oh yeah," Goku told him as her hands finished smoking. "He tried to steal my body because I was stronger than him."

"Hmm, yes," Freeza mused, "He does that. Or _did_ that, I suppose." He shrugged. "You're still going to die." He rushed Goku with a flying kick but she flipped backwards and drove her feet into his back. Freeza arched his back so that her toes just grazed him and wrapped his feet around Goku's ankles before flinging her away. She threw out her hands and feet to drag herself to a stop in the dirt and broke into a sprint, kicking up small craters with every step as she threw her shoulder into him. The tackle sent them both stumbling and when they came up to their feet, Goku went for a roundhouse kick but Freeza deftly dodged the attack and smacked Goku down with a chop, shoving her _through_ the ground so that she punched out at an angle and into the ocean below. As Goku recovered and got back to her feet, she didn't immediately rush into the fight. Instead, she strategized.

OoOoOoO

The others hadn't actually gone very far, as it turned out, and had found a cliffside perch to watch the battle from. Well, _watch_ was generous. They had struggled to keep up with Vegeta and Freeza and this fight was a completely different animal. All they had to keep up with were flashes of color and thunderclaps of impacts that were dozens of times the speed of sound and nearly knocked them off their feet.

"Hey," Krillin muttered after they watched Freeza knock Goku through the ground and into the ocean, "She's been down there for a while. You think she's okay?"

"Mom's ki feels the same," Gohan reminded him. "She's fine."

"Besides," Suno added, "Goku can hold her breath for a really long time."

"Something you discovered from personal experience?" Krillin asked. Suno punched him in the back of the head. "OW!"

Piccolo was weighing the pros and cons of ripping off his own ears.

OoOoOoO

' _So,'_ Goku thought, ' _He can't sense ki. That's why his aim was so bad when he was trying to shoot me with his eye lasers when he couldn't see me!'_ Which meant Goku had an advantage and it gave her an idea. It was something she'd never tried before buuuuut if Yamcha could do it… Goku pushed her hands out into the water and concentrated, focusing the energy carefully through her palms. ' _Kaaaa meeee,'_ a blue-white ball of ki formed in each hand. ' _Haaaa meee…'_ the balls gently popped off of her hands and Goku splayed her fingers out and pushed her arms forward slightly as if urging them to stay. ' _Ha!'_ The balls doubled in size and Goku grinned. ' _Perfect! Here goes nothin'.'_ She lifted up her right hand and the right ball surged up through the water and into the air.

Up above, Freeza was beginning to grow irritated and was about to blast her out before a white light surged up out of the ocean.

"Ha!" he laughed as he swung his arm out to strike. "That must be–" then the thing zipped past him, _entirely_ too small to be a person. "...Her?" Then another flash from his left. "This one!" he declared assuredly as he kicked at… another ball, which exploded against his foot. "What in the cosmo–" Then something hit him in the side of his head with the force of a ship dropping out of lightspeed and crashing into a planet.

"Gotcha!" Goku crowed as she rammed her feet into Freeza's head with a dropkick. Freeza went sailing down to the ground with such a tremendous force that the impact caused a planetwide quake so fierce that, on the other side of the planet, Bulma was nearly knocked from her chair again. Goku grinned as she watched Freeza push rubble off of himself and glare at her. He didn't really look hurt, just scuffed up mostly, but she could tell by the look on his face that she was getting to him.

Freeza's mouth twisted up in a little snarl and he raised his hands into the air. It was time, he decided, for this monkey to learn her place. Using his awesome telekinetic might, he broke nearly the entire island into rubble and hurled it at her from every direction. She dodged the interweaving ferocious stony assault for a few moments before, showing surprising intellect for a monkey, she blasted them away with an explosive bubble of energy. That was when Freeza made his move. He flew behind Goku and threw out his hand, trapping her in a bubble of telekinetic energy. Goku growled in pain as she struggled to break free of the trap and glared at him. Freeza laughed before launching Goku away. He smacked her across the sky, battering her around and around, always moving to where she was going to land and hitting her again to send her somewhere else. He finished off with an energy blast to send her flying to another one of the little islands with an almighty explosion.

"Well," he said as he watched the mushroom cloud, "That should be the end of that."

"Jeez," Suno muttered as she watched Goku pick herself up out of the crater she'd created beneath them, "That was some attack." It was hard to tell who was stronger between Goku and Freeza. They were both so far above her own power that it was difficult to see the differences between them. It was, she reflected glumly, like asking an ant the difference between a skyscraper and a mountain. They were both impossibly large to her. ' _But which one is which?'_ She wondered fearfully.

"Ah man," Goku muttered as she dusted herself off. "I'm getting holes in my gi!" Then she flew off again to meet Freeza, kicking up a cloud of dust and creating contrails as she flew. When she got to Freeza, he was waiting smugly with his arms folded, using his tail like a chair as he hovered in the air.

"Which do you prefer," he asked to her surprise, "The air or the ground? For fighting, I mean." Goku thought about that for a moment.

"The ground," she told him. She was always used to fighting with something under her feet, something to push off of and land on. Maybe it was all the tournaments or maybe it was because she'd only learned to fly a couple years ago. Freeza smirked and looked around before jerking his head in the direction of one of the islands. They flew down to it and landed, Freeza rolling his neck from side to side as Goku tossed off her ruined overshirt.

"Gee," she quipped, "I'm surprised you let me pick where to fight."

"What can I say," Freeza replied, "You amuse me. No one's gotten dust on me outside of my own family in my entire life." He had, of course, completely blotted the blood Vegeta had drawn from his mind. "Tell you what. As an added bonus, I won't use my hands." He held his hands up to show Goku and crossed them over his chest as if pantomiming to a stupid child.

"Wow," Goku muttered sarcastically, "So _generous._ Maybe I was wrong about you."

"I am many things, little monkey," Freeza shot back. "You couldn't begin to imagine half of them."

"Whatever," Goku said dryly as she got back into her stance. "I'm gonna punch you a lot now, okay?" Freeza smirked and gestured with his tail for Goku to attack. Goku lunged forward and slipped through Freeza's handicapped guard to send him staggering back with an elbow under the chin. Goku peppered Freeza's chest and neck with spear strikes while he was off-balance and cracked him across the back of the head with a heel kick to make Freeza stumble forward into a straight punch in the nose. Freeza glared at Goku while he rubbed his nose with his tail and Goku smirked at him. He snarled and charged at Goku, his kicks coming fast and furious. Goku blocked and dodged and fired back, now having the limb advantage in this encounter. Freeza got in a fair share of kicks to Goku's chest and face which, given the shape of Freeza's feet, felt oddly like getting punched.

Goku did several handsprings to escape Freeza's range and lobbed a series of ki balls at Freeza's feet, kicking up an explosion of dirt and dust. Freeza smirked at the patently obvious strategy and whipped his tail behind him but instead Goku came from the left. Freeza fired his eye beams at Goku but they went right through her and she came at him from above, smashing the point of her elbow down onto the top of his head. Freeza let out a grunt of surprise, even pain, as Goku grabbed him by the ears and headbutted him as hard as she could. The blow sent Freeza flying and Goku gave chase. Freeza twisted in midair and cracked Goku twice across the face with his tail, the tip biting into Goku's cheeks and drawing two thin crimson lines. He went for a third strike but Goku grabbed his tail, ignoring the stinging pain in her palms as she spun Freeza around and around like a top, carrying him higher into the sky and spinning ever faster, Freeza crying out in distress all the while. She flung Freeza hard down to the ground and he streaked like a comet before hitting the island with enough force to make a crater and burrow a hole into the ground. Goku landed on the lip of the crater and, having learned from her fight with Vegeta, waited for Freeza to come out. He came rushing up from behind her, even faster than she had expected, and wrapped his tail around Goku's throat.

"Gack!" Goku cried out as Freeza's tail squeezed. He began to laugh maniacally as his tail constricted ever-tighter. Goku pulled at it, her fingers digging into the alabaster flesh as she struggled and kicked, trying to break Freeza's grip. As the edges of Goku's world began to blur and grow black, she did what came naturally: she opened her mouth wide and bit down as hard as she could.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Freeza shrieked in pain as Goku's teeth sank into his flesh. She snarled around his tail as the taste of blood filled her mouth. Freeza broke the grip of his tail and stumbled away from Goku, staring at her in disbelief and horror as he gingerly stroked his tail, blowing on the teeth marks to try and make the pain go away. Goku, for her part, spat out Freeza's purple blood and her face screwed up in disgust.

"Blech!" Goku exclaimed before spitting a few more times. "You _really_ need to bathe more, Freeza! You taste _awful!"_ Then she chuckled at Freeza's dismay and his features contorted into a mask of rage. How _dare_ she mock him?! He was the great and powerful Freeza! He darted to Goku and, in a fury, pulled back his right hand and punched her across the jaw. Goku was sent flying back, a thin rivulet of blood trailing after her. Freeza looked down at the blood on his knuckles and smirked. _That_ was better. Then, to his immeasurable perplexment, she began to laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" Freeza demanded in a mixture of anger and genuine confusion. Goku was still grinning as she got to her feet and wiped blood off her lip with the back of her hand.

"Made you use your hands," she pointed out. Freeza blinked and gawked at her. She _had._

"Let's say that coupon is expired," Freeza retorted with icy fury, "As _you_ soon shall be."


	72. The Depths of Despair!

Chapter Seventy-two

The Depths of Despair! Last Hope of the Cosmos!

"That's pretty good," Goku admitted and even let out a little chuckle at Freeza's quip, "But how're you gonna do it?" She smirked and flicked a finger across her nose. "You haven't been able to kill me yet, after all, and you've been trying pretty hard." Freeza chuckled and rolled his head from side to side, cracking his neck.

"Well, you're half-right," Freeza told her. "I _haven't_ killed you yet but I haven't really been trying. Fifty percent of my power should be enough to kill you." Goku gave a slight sputtering laugh and shrugged.

"Uh huh," she shot back with a smirk, "Sure thing." Then she charged Freeza with one fist drawn back. He _had_ to be bluffing and trying to psych her out. But that wasn't going to– where did he go? Goku came to a sudden halt as Freeza flickered out of existence right in front of her. She heard a whistle at her left and turned her head to see Freeza beside her. Before she could even react, she saw a flicker of movement and felt Freeza drive the point of his elbow into her chest. Goku was sent hurtling back, end over end, and managed to land on her feet just in time to see Freeza already on top of her as he headbutt her in the face to send her flying again and then he was in front of her again, one hand raised high overhead to deliver a debilitating axe kick that sent her through the island and down into the sea.

OoOoOoO

"Great," Kaiou muttered as he threw up his hands in frustration. "Just _GREAT!"_

"What's the matter?" Chaozu asked. "Is something happening with Goku?"

"Freeza's going to kill her," he grumbled flatly as he kicked the grass. "Which is what I _told her would happen!"_

"Wait," Yamcha interrupted, "What if she got an opening to take off her weighted clothing? She'd be faster, right?" Kaiou shook his head.

"Goku hasn't had weighted clothing since before she got wished back. When I repaired her destroyed clothes, I didn't weigh them down. Didn't see the point." The dead humans looked glumly down at their feet before Tenshinhan suddenly got an idea.

"Wait," he said hopefully, "With all of Goku's training, she must have mastered the higher levels of Kaiouken, right?" The others nodded but Kaiou shook his head again.

"Goku's been using Kaiouken times ten the entire fight." The words hit the others like a blow to the chest and they looked down, crestfallen. "I told her," Kaiou reiterated with building anger, "I told Goku a _month_ ago that she couldn't fight Freeza! Did she listen? Nooo, of course not! I've only been around for seventy five _million_ years, WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY KNOW?!" The humans shuffled away from Kaiou as he continued to rant and, reluctantly, went back to their poker game.

"Guess we'll be seeing Goku again one way or another," Launch muttered sardonically as she irritably flicked Ten's halo.

OoOoOoO

Goku burst out of the ocean and shook herself like a dog as she landed and got into her fighting stance again while Freeza smirked at her and crossed his arms.

' _Okay,'_ Goku thought, ' _This looks bad.'_ Freeza was really strong. And really fast. But it wasn't impossible. She could make up the difference if she pushed herself to Kaiouken times twenty. Which would hurt a lot, just like when she went Kaiouken times four against Vegeta. ' _Maybe I could come up with something else…'_

"I'll give you one chance to surrender," Freeza told her idly. "I'll even let you work for me. You and your friends killed all of my strongest minions so I'm going to need some new toadies. You must realize it's the only way you'll get out of this alive." He chuckled, tail swishing from side to side as he spelled it out. "You. Cannot. Beat me."

Goku saw red.

"Don't you tell me," she growled, "What I can't do!" She slammed her feet down and ground her teeth as she steeled herself for the oncoming pain. "Kaiouken times twenty!" The red aura flared around her like a tower of fire and she charged at Freeza, whose reaction was one of shock and surprised as she rushed at him and dropkicked him in the chest as hard as she could. Goku was behind Freeza in a flash and punched him in the back of the head before grabbing the back of his head and slamming him into the ground, dragging him across the island and hurtling him into the air by his neck. She cried out in a mixture of fury and pain as she slammed her hands together, power coursing through her body as the blue-white ball was bigger than both her hands. "Kaaaameee… haaaameeee… HAAAAAA!" she roared as the massive beam of light rushed toward Freeza. He threw out a telekinetic shield as the light charged toward him, crying out in shock as the shield shattered and he was enveloped in a tremendous explosion.

OoOoOoO

"Holy cow," Krillin muttered as they watched from afar. The light of Goku's Kamehameha had nearly blinded them in its intensity.

"That _had_ to have done something," Gohan added. Piccolo watched silently and didn't get his hopes up. Freeza seemed to have tremendous reserves of energy and there was no telling how much Goku might have damaged herself with that shot.

Suno, for her part, was silent because she was biting her knuckle when she watched Goku do all of that because _holy shit._

OoOoOoO

Goku panted and gasped for breath, sweat running down her body as her arms trembled from the pain that was burning through her body. She definitely wasn't going to push herself to that level anytime soon. Every muscle and every fiber of her being screamed with pain as she slowly let her arms drop to her side and waited for the smoke to clear. That _had_ to have done something!

The smoke finally cleared…

And Freeza was still floating there. He was covered in nicks and scratches and small burns and his palm was severely burned. He was panting, even sweating, and a thin trickle of purple blood ran down from the corner of his mouth but otherwise… he was fine.

"Well," Freeza said as he flexed his fingers, "I must admit, that was quite a little something. If you'd done that before I'd raised my power to fifty percent, that might have killed me. Or at least taken my arm off." He flexed his fingers again and rotated his shoulder. "Thankfully, it seems to be in working order. Let me show you." Then he was in front of Goku and slapped her down into the sea below, streaking like a gold-blue missile.

' _I…'_ Goku thought, ' _I can't do it.'_

OoOoOoO

"Oh crap," Krillin muttered. "Ohhh crap oh crap oh craaaaap."

"It's just what I was afraid of," Piccolo elaborated. "Goku just doesn't have the energy reserves that Freeza has. It's clear to me that Freeza's far more powerful than we could have ever imagined." Gohan was a little ball of emotions. On the one hand, he was absolutely terrified. If his mom couldn't defeat Freeza then what chance did they have? On top of that, he also felt furious, anger filling up his body, wanting to attack Freeza, wanting to beat him to death for hurting his mom! Yet, over all of that, he felt... helpless. Seeing his mom get beaten around like this was so awful, it was like he was four years old again. He was trapped in place, fists balled tight but his whole body shaking.

Suno was white as a sheet. Every part of her screamed out to attack Freeza, to save Goku, to do something, to rush to her aid. That was her wife down there and she was all alone! Yet she knew that Freeza was far too powerful for her to even attempt to face. Not knowing what to do, it seemed she could only watch her love get beaten to death as helpless self-loathing washed over her.

OoOoOoO

Goku opened her eyes to darkness and was pretty sure she was drowning. It sucked that she was going to die. Mostly because that meant Kaiou was right and she was going to have to listen to him say that for the rest of forever. She also felt bad that she'd let down the Namekian people and, as weird as it was, Vegeta. Freeza was going to kill everyone else, too. Normally, she'd be angry at the idea and it would make her so mad that she'd want to fight but… what could she do? Freeza was so much more powerful than her. She couldn't beat him. She didn't have a chance. It wouldn't be so bad, she tried to tell herself. Suno and Gohan were fighters, they'd get to keep their bodies. She'd spend the rest of eternity with them. Gohan would finally get to meet his great grandpa! Yeah, yeah. It'd be okay…

Then she saw the strangest thing. It was Bulma driving down the road in a car but everything was all wrong. Everything seemed a lot bigger and yet, at the same time, Bulma seemed a lot smaller. She could also feel something big on her back, something cold and wet. It was a fish! Then Goku was leading Bulma back to her and grandpa's house.

"My name's Bulma," Bulma said. That was funny to Goku but she couldn't remember why anymore. It just made her giggle. "Oh, yeah? Well what's yours?"

"My name's Goku," she said cheerily. Then they were looking at their three Dragon Balls on Goku's table and watching them all glow.

"When you gather all seven Dragon Balls together," Bulma explained, "A giant dragon will come out and grant you any wish!" Goku thought about how she wanted to bring her Grandpa back. But she'd seen her Grandpa again. Hadn't she?

Then everything blurred like one of those movies Suno had her watch on fast forward and she fought Yamcha for the first time. Another blur and then they were at Fry-Pan Mountain and Master Roshi used the Kamehameha, which was the coolest thing Goku had _ever_ seen! Then it was another blur and Goku remembered seeing Shenron and getting _really_ strong and losing all her clothes and her tail for some reason. Then she went to train with Master Roshi, which was where she met Krillin.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she pulled Krillin out of the sand by his foot.

"I'm fine," Krillin had told her, "Now let me go!" So she did.

Then they met Launch and brought her back to Kame Island. She was always fun, no matter what color her hair was. Goku and Krillin trained together for a little over a year for the Tenkaichi Budoukai and Krillin became her best friend in the whole world. They wound up fighting each other in the Budoukai and, even though Goku won, they were still best friends.

Then Goku fought Master Roshi in the finals. Although… he had hair for some reason. It was a great fight, although she couldn't remember the part in the middle for some reason.

"You can't beat this!"

"Watch me!"

Goku had lost but that was okay. She'd just train that much harder for the next time! Then she'd started to look for her Dragon Ball and ran into some jerks called the Red Ribbon Army.

Then Goku met Suno. Thinking of that made a warm feeling spread through Goku's whole body. They saved the mayor of Suno's village at Muscle Tower and they'd met Eighter. She and Krillin fought a robot made of blades in a volcano. She'd fought Taopaipai and lost… but she'd also met Korin and got a lot stronger! The next time she fought Taopaipai, she won. They attacked the Red Ribbon Army base and everyone helped. Suno did a Kamehameha and it was awesome!

They went to meet Master Roshi's big sister to find where the last Dragon Ball was. She was nice. Goku remembered fighting a mummy and a weird man with horns before fighting… Grandpa! She'd gotten to see him and hug him one last time. Then they used Shenron to bring everyone back that had been killed by the Red Ribbon Army that she could.

She went all over the world and met all kinds of people, training and learning for the next Budoukai. There was that guy in the white gi she alway wound up sparring with… When the Budoukai came, she got to meet Tenshinhan and Chaozu. Although they'd been kinda jerks. Ten had broken Krillin's leg so Goku punched Chaozu off the island. Sometimes she felt a little bad for that. She fought Yamcha and he'd done _awesome!_ Then she and Ten fought and it was the best fight ever!

"It'll be a shame to kill you, Son Goku."

"You're going to have to try harder to kill me, especially since I'll be getting serious to stop you!"

Goku lost the Budoukai again but this time she'd been _so_ close! That hadn't really mattered, though, because Krillin had died. She'd tried to fight the demon who killed her but she'd been too weak and he'd killed Nimbus. Suno had taken her to a village to get fixed up and fought another demon when it showed up to take their Dragon Ball.

Goku still got tingly thinking about that.

The demon who killed Krillin, Tambourine, showed up again and this time Goku killed him. It hadn't made her feel any better, though. Then Piccolo's dad had shown up for the first time: Piccolo Daimaou. Goku tried to fight him but he was way too strong. Suno carried Goku all the way up Korin Tower and Korin gave them the Water of God.

That had sucked. A lot.

But it made Goku a _lot_ stronger and she'd been able to defeat Piccolo Daimaou! That had been a really tough battle.

"I'm Son Goku and I'm not gonna die here!"

"Very good, Son Goku! That's the kind of spirit I expect from my adversary!"

She went back to Korin Tower and then went up even higher than that to Kami's lookout. She met Mr. Popo and Kami and lived and trained with them for three years to get strong enough to fight Piccolo one last time. She fought Chi-Chi and then she'd fought Suno and asked her to marry her. Remembering that gave Goku that warm feeling again. She fought Piccolo in what had been the toughest fight of her life at that point.

"Take my rage, Son Goku! Take my hatred!"

"I'll take that but you can take my Chou Kamehameha!"

She'd finally won the Tenkaichi Budoukai and had also saved the world again. Which she guessed was pretty cool. She'd spared Piccolo which had turned out to be a _great_ idea, hadn't it? Then the next few years were easy. She moved in with Suno and Gohan was born. Remembering the first time she'd held him in her arms, when he'd been so small, made her feel even warmer and happier than thinking of Suno did.

Then Raditz showed up. She learned that she was an alien which was pretty weird. She'd fought alongside Piccolo and that was how she'd died the first time. She met King Enma and Bubbles and Kaiou and trained with him for months and months, learning the Kaiouken and the Genki Dama. Hey, wait a second…

She came back to life and raced home to fight Vegeta and avenge her friends. The same friends who were, except for Piccolo, still dead and were counting on her… It had been the toughest and most grueling fight of her life and it was also how she discovered that she'd killed her Grandpa. She'd since made peace with that.

"Allow me to show you a power that no amount of 'hard work' will ever be able to overcome. You cannot win."

"People usually regret telling me when I can't do something."

Then she was in the hospital and then she was flying through space and training to fight Vegeta again and fight Freeza, pushing herself past the breaking point over and over, always breaking through her limits. She fought those Ginyu guys and she was a guy for a minute, which had been kinda weird, and then she was in that tank for a while. Then she finally came out and fought Freeza and now… and now…

OoOoOoO

Goku's eyes fluttered open and she realized that, yes, she was drowning. As she flew up and broke the water's surface, she reflected on her life. All of that fighting, all of that training and struggling, just to end up here? A jillion miles from home on some alien planet, failing her family and friends? Letting someone tell her she couldn't do something and be _right?_ Especially a jerk like _Freeza?!_

No way. Not a chance.

"Huh," Freeza remarked as he watched Goku land in front of him. "I'm surprised you're still alive. If that blow hadn't killed you, I was sure you would have drowned by now. Got anything to say for yourself?"

Goku spat in his face.

The glob hit Freeza hard enough to whip his head to one side. Freeza slowly turned back to face Goku and even _more_ slowly reached up and touched the spit on his face. He rubbed it between his fingertips and his eyes narrowed murderously. He lunged at Goku and kicked her hard in the chest. Goku went flying back end over and but landed on her feet and… raised her hands high overhead. Freeza blinked and stared at her, his face screwed up in perplexment.

"What are you doing?" Freeza asked curiously. Goku didn't respond. "What _are_ you doing?" he asked, even more curious. No response. "What are you _doing?!"_ he snapped at her as confusion turned to anger. Nothing. He puzzled and puzzled til his puzzler was sore. Then he charged forward and drove his palm into Goku's stomach. Goku was sent flying but landed firmly on her feet with her arms still overhead. "Stop it!" he demanded. She smirked at him. Freeza let out a shriek of anger between clenched teeth and tried to sweep Goku's legs out from under her. She jumped over them! "STOP IT!" Goku stuck her tongue out at him.

OoOoOoO

"What's she doing?" Gohan asked in confusion. Why wasn't his mom doing anything? Why wasn't she fighting back?

"I'm not sure," Piccolo muttered as he rubbed a hand on his chin. "She's just… holding her hands over her head."

"Oh," Krillin realized, "She's doing the Genki Dama! But… where is it?"

"Besides," Suno added, "That thing couldn't kill Vegeta, so what…" They all began to look up as they realized that everything just got even brighter, as if a _fourth_ sun had popped up in the sky. "Is it… gonna…" Suno's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "Hooooooly crap."

Hanging high in the sky overhead was an absolutely _monstrous_ ball of dazzlingly bright blue ki. It really _was_ the size of a small sun!

"What… is… _that?"_ Piccolo asked, practically salivating at the idea of being able to create an attack so powerful.

"That's the Genki Dama," Gohan explained. "Mom learned it from the Kaiou!" Piccolo suddenly found himself wishing he'd been dead longer.

"But Goku needs time to charge it up," Krillin pointed out, "And she's not going to get that time if Freeza beats her to death!" Suno was starting to come up with a plan when Piccolo clapped Gohan on the shoulder.

"M-Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked as he looked up t his mentor. Piccolo's aura flared up and, strangely, seemed to funnel into Gohan.

"If Goku needs time, you'll have to be the one to give it to her." Before Gohan could protest, Piccolo shook his head. "You're stronger than me," he admitted. "You're the strongest one here. I'll lend you some of my power." Suno and Krillin nodded and put their hands on Gohan and began to do the same. Gohan felt power flooding his body and his expression steeled with determination.

' _I'm coming, mom!'_ he thought to himself. This time, _he'd_ be the one to save _her!_

OoOoOoO

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Freeza demanded as he lashed Goku across the chest and face over and over again with his tail. She flinched and winced, she cried in pain and she bled, but she didn't. Drop. Her arms! "Fine!" Freeza spat as he raised one hand and pressed his fingertip between Goku's eyes, "I know what to do when a monkey annoys me." Goku felt the heat between her eyebrows but never broke eye contact, glaring at Freeza.

Out of nowhere, screaming like a blue-and-white rocket, Gohan smashed into Freeza's side and sent him sailing away.

"G-Gohan?!" Goku stammered out, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. "What are you _doing?!_ I told you to get away from here!" And why the heck was he so strong?!

"Notime!" Gohan blurted out hurriedly. "Howmuchtimedoyouneed?"

"Coupleminutes!" Goku responded. Gohan nodded and flew off to fight Freeza again.

Freeza picked himself up and ran a fingertip across the bruise on his cheek. That had almost hurt. _WHY?!_ He saw Gohan flying toward him and rage surged through his body as he charged forward to meet him. He would kill the little brat. _Slowly._ As they met in an explosion of punches and kicks, Freeza contemplated just how he would do it. First, he would peel off all of his skin…

OoOoOoO

As Suno watched the two people she loved most in the world fight the most evil and terrifyingly powerful monster she'd ever seen, she realized that this was somehow _worse._ After giving all her energy to Gohan, she was completely helpless! She didn't even know if she could fly now. All she had left was praying. She didn't know how useful that would be right now since Freeza could kick Kami's ass.

OoOoOoO

Goku turned her face skyward toward the ever-growing Genki Dama and tried to focus on gathering energy as Gohan fought Freeza.

' _There's not much life left on Namek,'_ she thought. ' _I've drawn all the energy from the sea and the sea life and the planet itself that I can.'_ She turned to Namek's three suns and the stars beyond, all of them nearly overflowing with energy. She stretched her fingertips as far as she could as if she were trying to reach up and grab the suns to pull them into the Genki Dama. ' _Just a little longer…'_

OoOoOoO

Freeza snarled as he threw a swipe at Gohan's head and Gohan, to his frustration, barely managed to evade it. Then the boy kicked him in the stomach to send him into the air, leaving a bruise on his biogem that would take _days_ to buff out. Freeza snarled as Gohan fired a barrage of ki beams up at him and contemptuously swung down at him, sending out a scythe of pink ki. Once again, the boy barely managed to escape death and the attack cut down into the ground deep enough for Freeza to see the mantle beneath the crust and see purple lava bubbling toward the surface.

"You must know you can't win," Freeza told Gohan as he flew up to meet him. "Not even if there were a _thousand_ of you. And there's only one. You're all alone. You might as well give up now." Gohan narrowed his eyes at Freeza and balled his fists. He could feel his mother's energy inside him along with Krillin's and Mr. Piccolo's. He could sense his mom's energy and feel the energy of the Genki Dama high overhead. It gave him comfort, made him feel strong and brave.

"I'm not alone," Gohan told him calmly, "And I will _never_ give up! Not to someone like you!" Freeza chuckled.

"There is no one like me," Freeza corrected him.

"There are _always_ people like you," Gohan shot back, "And there will always be people like me to stop you!" Freeza rolled his eyes and lunged forward. "Taiyoken!" Freeza howled in pain and clutched at his eyes as Gohan grabbed him by the middle and flew into the ground, slamming him down and burying Freeza in the dirt before flying back up and unloading every last bit of the energy everyone had given him, plus a lot of his own, down at Freeza. He dropped to the ground and just barely stopped himself from falling to his knees. Moments later, Freeza burst from the black glass he'd been buried under. His face was red with indignant rage and his eyes were bug-eyed and bloodshot.

"Enough!" he shrieked. "Enough! You are all of you beneath me! I am a _god,_ you dull creature! And I will not be subject to the japes of–"

Gohan threw a rock at his head.

Freeza slowly closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Then he stretched out one arm overhead and held up a fingertip.

"Die," he whispered calmly. A ball of black ki formed over his fingertip, about the size of a melon, and crackled with red lightning. He didn't point it at Gohan. Instead, he looked at the ground at the boy's feet.

"Oh crap…" Gohan muttered as the color drained from his face. He was just glad his moms wouldn't hear that swear.

' _Now!'_ Goku thought. Then she swung her arms down and the Genki Dama raced down toward Freeza. Gohan flew away as fast as he could and Freeza threw back his head in manic laughter.

"Fool," he mocked. "Where are you going?! Where will you run to when I destroy the–" He was suddenly _very_ aware of the ever-growing light from behind him, making his shadow grow ever longer. "What the deuce?" He looked up to see a… a…. He had no idea what it was. It was as if the stupid monkey woman had thrown a _star_ at him! He flung the Death Ball at it and, in a moment which had never, ever happened before, it _dissolved_ as if consumed by the ball. He flung his hands up and put up a shield but that, too, was destroyed. Freeza pushed back against it with his hands and cried out in pain as it burned his flesh and pushed him _down into the ground. 'This… this isn't happening!'_ he thought in terrified denial as it began to push his hands back and the ball came closer and closer. ' _I-I am the mighty Freeza! I-I cannot be laid low by some monkey! No! No! Noooo–!'_

Everything went white.

OoOoOoO

Suno, Krillin, and Piccolo watched as the Genki Dama touched down and erupted into the most stupendous mushroom cloud of an explosion that any of them had ever seen. A massive plume of blue-white smoke, miles high and wide, that kicked up a blowback of salt spray and bits of stone that had once been islands into their faces.

"Come on," Suno told them in an odd mixture of exhaustion and worry. "W-we gotta get them!" The three pushed through the air as quickly as they could manage, wavering every few hundred feet and barely managing to stay airborne.

The blast zone was a mind-numbingly large circle of emptiness in the middle of the ocean that reached down to the blackened glass of the ocean floor. It was unlike anything they'd ever seen. The sheer power of the Genki Dama… there was _no way_ Freeza could have survived that.

"Do you see them?!" Krillin called over the roar as water rushed in to fill the hole. Piccolo's eyes flitted across the water's surface and his heightened Namekian hearing strained to hear Gohan or Goku over the waves. They had to be down there somewhere.

"There!" Suno cried out, pointing down to the ocean. Sure enough, Gohan had just surfaced, one arm weakly holding onto Goku and the other desperately trying to paddle. Suno was now _extremely_ grateful she'd taught Gohan how to swim when he was three. The three of them dove down to Gohan and Goku, grabbing them and pulling them out of the water to the nearest island before they all collapsed into an exhausted pile. For a few moments, they just lay there, gasping for breath and thankful to be alive. Then it hit them. They'd done it. They'd won! They all laughed, even Piccolo, who was too weary to stop himself from being pulled into a group hug. Gohan hugged Piccolo and Krillin hugged Goku. Goku pulled her family into her arms and Suno covered her wife and son's faces in exhausted yet nevertheless affectionate kisses.

Finally, their merriment subsided and Piccolo got to his feet and helped Goku to hers.

"Well," Goku sighed happily, "I guess we'd better go find Bulma and get back to the ship."

OoOoOoO

"Was wondering when someone would mention me again," Bulma grumbled exasperatedly even though she was elated as everyone else.

OoOoOoO

"I think I'm gonna go home and sleep for like… five years," Krillin muttered as he suddenly felt all the bruises of the last few days hit him square in the face. Even the ones Dende'd healed. "But hey, at least we never have to see F… F…" He realized that Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Suno were all looking over his head. Their expressions were, uniformly, indescribable terror and disbelief.

"Oh, please," Freeza said with a polite air that belied the rage and sadistic joy bubbling just below the surface. "Don't mind me. You were saying?" Krillin turned slowly toward the rock spire at his back and slowly looked up to see Freeza looming over them. He was covered in burns and a piece of his tail was missing again. One eye was screwed shut in pain. But he was still there. Still alive. They still… hadn't… won. "I'll admit," Freeza added casually, "That was some attack of yours, whatever you call it. You all have such funny little names for laser beams, don't you? Well, whatever Super Mega Explosion Blast that was, it might have killed me if I hadn't raised my power at the last moment." They all stared at him, trembling with terror. Then Freeza was pointing at Goku suddenly and all they saw was a pink flash.

Piccolo shoved Goku out of the way and opened his mouth as if to cry out in pain as the beam pierced his chest. As he went face down into the dirt, all Piccolo could think was this: ' _Bad enough to die for the boy but for Son Goku herself? I_ have _gone soft…'_ Then he collapsed.

Gohan fell to his knees beside Piccolo, his arms lead and his eyes brimming with tears. Not again. Not _again!_ All of this just to fail Piccolo _**again.**_

Goku's mind was racing. There had to be something… _anything!_ But what? WHAT?! What could she do?!

"Now I believe you said something about not wanting to see me again?" Freeza remarked casually as he gestured to Krillin. Krillin felt something grab him and his legs dangled as he was suddenly lifted into the air.

"Krillin, no!" Suno screamed in anguish. Krillin was suddenly rocketed into the air while he screamed in terror.

"Freeza," Goku begged, "Stop this, _please!"_ She'd been the one who'd defied Freeza the most, _she_ was the one who'd actually hurt him, she'd bitten him and spit at him. Freeza could kill her as long as he let the others go! But when she saw the hate in Freeza's eyes, she knew there was no point. She looked back to Krillin and reached up futilely as if she could reach up and save him. Freeza laughed madly as he clenched his fist.

"Gokuuuu!" Krillin screamed in agony as his chest suddenly expanded. Then he exploded into a ball of fire as Goku stared up in horror.

' _No…'_ she thought, ' _No… not again…'_ She'd failed. Again.


	73. The Super Saiyan Awakens!

Chapter Seventy-three

The Super Saiyan Awakens! Behold Son Goku's Fury!

"Well," Kaiou muttered as his antennae bobbed, "That's shitty." Launch rolled her eyes and looked away from the long-abandoned poker game.

"Y'know," she called, "If you're gonna just give us bad news, y'might as well tell us everything instead of making us beg for answers!"

"Krillin's dead," Kaiou told her over his shoulder. Launch looked at Yamcha and she could see that the news hurt him. The three of them had spent years training together and living together and now, if he was dead again, then there was no way to wish him back. "Piccolo too," Kaiou added. That hit them all like a punch in the face. If Piccolo was dead again, Kami was dead again, meaning…

"It was all for nothing," Tenshinhan sighed forlornly. "...Now what?"

No one had an answer.

OoOoOoO

Goku stared up at the last few ash trails that had once been her best friend in the world before her head hung limp. Krillin was gone. She'd failed him again. Like she was failing everyone. She began to sniffle and choked down sobs as best she could. Freeza chuckled and his finger of death idly swung back and forth between Gohan and Suno, who shook with fear and followed his finger in terror, too frozen to embrace each other for what would probably be the final time.

"I'll kill you last," Freeza told Goku, "But I think one of your brood should go next."

Something inside Goku broke with those words. All of the sadness and helplessness was replaced by rage. The sobs turned to snarls and her body shook with fury rather than fear. He wasn't going to kill Gohan. He wasn't going to kill Suno. He wasn't going to kill anyone _ever again._

"I won't… let you… get away… with this!" Goku screamed furiously as thunder rumbled and lightning began to flash and strike the sea and the islands around them. A particularly large bolt of _golden_ lightning landed directly behind Freeza and the sight made Freeza stop laughing. His eyes slowly began to widen while Gohan and Suno turned to stare at Goku. Her power was _growing_. And it felt… _angry._ Almost evil. For a few moments, Goku's teeth-clenched snarl contorted into a malevolent and sadistic smile. Huge chunks of rock were suddenly torn up as if ripped out of the ground by Goku's power as she continued to snarl and growl and shake with anger. Her hair was swept up in the currents of her power as years of control learned at the feet of masters and gods was slowly eaten away. "I will… make you… _**SUFFER."**_ With those five words, the restraints were burned away like kindling thrown into a supernova. Goku threw her head back and howled with rage as her eyes went white and the veins bulged in her face. Her hair went rigid and glowed with an otherworldly golden-white light. Then in a flash the white light in Goku's eyes faded away and her dark pupils had turned teal. Her aura roared around her like a golden wildfire and she glared up at Freeza.

Freeza felt an unfamiliar feeling wash over him. A cold that he could not put into words. He only knew that it felt alien to him and incredibly, horribly, _desperately_ wrong. For the first time in his life, Freeza was terrified.

OoOoOoO

Kaiou's antennae suddenly shot up and he gasped in shock. He was so startled that his spectacles fell off his face. He tried to voice his disbelief but he could only stutter and stammer wordlessly like an idiot. This was– it was– to think that he would ever see another! To think that it would be Goku, and now of all times!

"Okay," Yamcha barked, "Now you're just fucking with us. What is it?!"

"Goku has become a Super Saiyan!" Kaiou exclaimed with a mixture of wonder and glee. He was met with silence.

"...The fuck is that?" Chaozu asked. Kaiou face-faulted.

OoOoOoO

Suno stood in awe at what was before her. Gone was her loving wife of five years, gone was the playful spirit that could always brighten up her day, gone was the kindheartedness that had initially attracted her, gone was the gentleness that was shown to her and Gohan. She realized that instead of the love of her life, Goku had become the 'Super Saiyan' that Vegeta had described. His words echoed now in her mind.

' _Unstoppably violent, mercilessly inexorable, impossibly powerful.'_ Was _that_ what Goku had become? This blonde-haired warrior with power unlike anything Suno had ever even dreamed was so unlike Goku that, if she hadn't watched the transformation herself, Suno would have found it impossible to believe it was the same person. It should have been a good thing that Goku was so powerful, it should have given Suno comfort, yet everything about it was _wrong._ It filled Suno with something that should have been impossible whenever she was in Goku's presence. She was… afraid. She knew in her heart that Goku would never, _ever_ hurt her. But the _rage_ that was radiating off of Goku as clearly as her immense power was so unreal that Suno couldn't help but fear for her life. She wasn't sure if it was Goku herself she feared or the power but, either way, Suno knew she had to get far away from here as possible.

"Suno, Gohan," Goku growled. Even her voice sounded wrong. "You need to get out of here _now._ Take Piccolo, find Bulma and my ship, and then go!"

"B-but mom," Gohan protested even as Suno was picking up Piccolo's limp body and slinging it over her shoulder, "I-if we take the ship then how–"

"No buts!" Goku snapped. "If Piccolo dies then Kami dies, too! Do what you're told while I still have some control!" Suno grabbed Gohan by the back of his armor and yanked him away, flying off into the sky and desperately hoping that, when this was all over, she'd still have her wife.

OoOoOoO

Freeza turned away from Goku and chuckled as he watched Suno and Gohan fly off. He could distract himself with them. He could kill them. It would take his focus on the impossible thing that was _not_ in front of him because it did _not_ exist.

"I appreciate the target practice," he said smugly as he pointed up at Suno. Then, faster than he could see, she was in front of him. She was the only thing in the world. This impossibility. This mad legend. This thing that was not real. This… Super Saiyan.

Goku looked at Freeza with murder in her eyes as she grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed. "You're evil garbage," she spat, "And I'm sick of people like you!" Her grip tightened and she heard bones crunch as Freeza cried out in pain. It made her feel good. "How many more people have to _die?_ When does it end?!" She squeezed harder and the crunching grew louder as more bones broke. "I'll answer for you. It ends _today!"_ Freeza screamed again and fell to a knee, pulling with all his futile might against Goku's unbreakable grip, grabbing his wrist in his other hand and pulling desperately, fearfully, tears in his eyes. "You killed my best friend! You threatened to kill my wife and son!" Freeza shrieked with effort through clenched teeth and a dome of pink ki surrounded them, destroying the land under their feet as he tried desperately to escape Goku's grasp. Goku scowled down at Freeza and let go of his hand before punching him in the face to send him flying. She was over him in a flash and kicked him down into the ground, sending him skidding through the dirt. "That was for Krillin," Goku told Freeza as she landed in front of him and waited for him to pick himself up out of the dirt.

"That was the bald one's name, wasn't it?" Freeza asked as he looked down at the ruin of his right hand. He raised his power slightly and focused the energy into his hand, shuddering as the bones slid back into place. "Had I known one being's death would pain you so, I would have killed more." Freeza smirked and raised his hand at Goku. "And kill more I shall. Take that promise with you to oblivion!" Freeza fired a pink beam of death from his palm but Goku was already standing just to the left of where she'd been a moment before. Freeza's eyes widened in infuriated disbelief before he blasted her again and again and again but every time she would be gone before the blast ever reached her. Furiously, Freeza used his other hand and then both of his feet and then his eyes. The air was a maelstrom of shrieking pink light but, no matter what he did, he just. Couldn't. Hit her! "Stand still, damn you!" Freeza demanded. She did and all six beams smashed directly into her. Freeza kept up the blast for a good thirty seconds until he let his arms and legs drop and had to stop, gasping for breath. He blinked the spots from his eyes, having never used his eyebeams for so long, and saw that Goku was… unharmed.

"That all you got?" Goku asked with a smirk. She brushed the few ashen bits of what remained of her blue shirt off her left shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. "C'mon. I can't be harder to destroy than a planet, right? Aren't I just a monkey?"

"Y-you…" Freeza stammered as he broke into a cold sweat and the mountain of denial he'd buried himself under began to crumble. "What _are_ you?!" Goku chuckled, _laughing at him._

"Jeez," Goku mocked, "And Vegeta thought _I_ was dumb." Freeza growled and the veins twitched in his temples as Goku's smirk turned once more into a look of steely determination. "I'm the one Saiyan that slipped through your fingers, who you couldn't control and who didn't run. I'm the legend, the one thing in the universe that brings you fear. A pure heart, awakened by rage." The planet beneath them trembled as smoke billowed from the slice Freeza had cut down to the mantle. Goku's face screwed up in anger as she raised her arms and her golden aura exploded around her. "I am Son Goku! And I am the Super Saiyan!"

OoOoOoO

Suno and Gohan shouldered Piccolo's weight between them, his occasional groans letting them know he was still alive, and finally came upon the wonderful sight of Goku's spaceship. They touched down inside the ship, although Suno's landing was more of a collapse. She'd barely recovered her energy from giving most of it to Gohan earlier and carrying Piccolo had taken most of the strength she'd had left.

"N-now," Suno stammered as she crawled up onto her hands and knees, "Now we just gotta go get Bulma." She immediately collapsed back down onto the floor of the ship and groaned. "In a minute…" Gohan knelt down beside Suno and rubbed her back.

"It's okay, mother," he told her in a reassuring tone. "I'll go get Bulma. You try to recover." Suno groaned again as Gohan flew off.

OoOoOoO

Freeza smirked at Goku's declaration and balled up his fists. "It's kind of funny," he said as he began circling Goku in the air. "I never thought I'd actually get to see one. Honestly, I always thought it would be Vegeta. The legends never said anything about pure hearts, although that does explain why he couldn't." Then he got into a fighting stance and grinned. "A Super Saiyan slayed one of my ancestors once. I may not be immortal but I shall be the first one of my race to kill a Super Saiyan!" He charged at Goku and punched her hard in the face. She didn't flinch. Freeza looked at his fist, stunned. ' _I'm going to wake up,'_ he told himself, ' _And I'll be back in my bed and none of this will have ever happened.'_ Goku grabbed Freeza by the wrist and forearm and flung him effortlessly ahead, turning to watch him go sailing. She was on him again in the blink of an eye, driving the point of her elbow down into his back to send him hurtling to the ground. She was there when he landed and grabbed him by the neck to drag him through the dirt for nearly a kilometer before she kicked him away. Freeza bounded to his feet and charged in for another attack.

Goku decided to let him.

She dropped her arms to her sides and just dodged everything he had. Every punch and kick, every blast, and every swish of his tail. She could see him for what he was now. With the power of a Super Saiyan, it was like she was looking down on him from on top of a mountain. He was small and petty and angry. A slow, weak, miserable little creature whose only happiness came from the suffering of others. How had she ever been afraid? She threw out her foot and swept Freeza's legs out from under him before she knocked him flat on his back with, of all things, a kiai.

"You know what's the worst thing about you?" Goku asked as Freeza picked himself up out of the dirt. "Not just that you're a murderer, a bully, and a monster. Worse than _all_ of that… you're just an awful fighter." Freeza's face went red and she could tell that she'd wounded his pride.

"How _dare_ you?!" he snapped indignantly. Goku shrugged.

"I've fought awful people before. But at least the fights were fun because they had skill. Heck, I've fought people weaker than me before and gone easy on them because I wanted to see what I could learn from them." Freeza ground his teeth and looked like he was going to explode. "But you? You don't have any skill. You don't have any technique. You've just gotten by on the fact that you're stronger and faster than everyone your whole life. So let me give you a martial arts lesson." She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "And to make it fun for myself, I won't use my hands." The echoed rebuke and the realization that the tables had turned had Freeza foaming at the mouth and he lunged at her.

"I will make you beg for death!" he screamed as he flew… straight into a front kick, his face smashing into the sole of Goku's foot. Goku pivoted to the side and hit Freeza with a roundhouse kick that nearly knocked him over before swinging her leg back and hitting him with a reverse roundhouse that sent him the other way. She jumped forward and drove her knee into Freeza's face to send him up into the air and knocked him back down with an axe kick. She kicked him in the knees and in the ribs and hit him with a spinning wheel kick that nearly took Freeza's head off. Goku dropkicked Freeza to send him hurtling toward the horizon but was on Freeza again before he even knew he was flying. A flip kick sent him up into the air and through the clouds where she met him with a ferocious flurry of kicks that had him spitting up blood. Goku decided it was time to end her "lesson" and drove both feet into the back of Freeza's head, taking him all the way back down to the ground and burrowing him nearly a mile underground.

"You lost," Goku told Freeza bluntly as she grabbed him by the tail and hauled him out of the hole she'd dug with his face before tossing him into the grass like garbage. "Are you starting to get it now? You're going to die here, Freeza. You. Cannot. Beat me."

Freeza saw red.

"I will kill myself," he growled, "Before I let you kill me!" He raised his hands overhead and a black ball of crackling red death formed in his hands. Goku was so shocked that she didn't have time to react as he flung the ball down at the ground beneath their feet.

OoOoOoO

"Shit!" Kaiou swore, startling everyone. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"What's wrong?" Tenshinhan asked. "What happened?"

"Yeah," Launch added, "I thought this 'Super Saiyan' thing meant Goku was going to win!"

"It _would have,_ " Kaiou sighed wearily, "Except that Goku was wasting her time and Freeza blew up the planet, so everyone's dead!"

' _Hello,'_ said a voice in Kaiou's head. ' _Kaiou, are you there?'_

"Oh hey, Kami," Kaiou muttered glumly. "Back in the afterlife, huh?"

' _What?'_ Kami asked. ' _No, I'm still on Earth. I want to know when you want me to use the Dragon Balls.'_

"Wait…" Kaiou said with dawning understanding, "If you're alive then so is Piccolo!"

' _That_ is _how the arrangement works, yes.'_ Kaiou was ignoring Kami, however, and had turned his attention back to Namek. Not only was Piccolo alive but so were Goku, Gohan, Suno, and Bulma! Oh, and Freeza. ' _Now, about the Dragon Balls?'_

"Oh, yeah, sure, go ahead!"

' _Excellent!'_

OoOoOoO

Back on Earth and in the garden on the grounds of Capsule Corp, Kami had been having tea with Brief and Panchy while he'd been mentally speaking with Kaiou. Puar and Chi-Chi were also there but they were far too anxious to be interested in tea.

"Pardon me, Kami," Dr. Brief said while Scratch the cat eyed the aged Namekian suspiciously, "But shouldn't you be sending that Popo fellow to go out and gather the Dragon Balls by now?" Kami chuckled and set down his teacup.

"Well, you see, Mr. Brief," Kami began before he snapped his fingers. In an instant, all seven Dragon Balls clattered onto the grass. "I may not be almighty," he continued, "But when it comes to certain matters, I am _quite_ mighty." The Dragon Balls began to glow.

"Doctor," Brief corrected. "I don't care if you're basically God, I didn't earn 32 PhDs for fun, thank you very much!"

OoOoOoO

Goku and Freeza stared down at the gaping hole that had once been the ground under their feet. The abyss seemed almost without end, save for the faint purple light far, far down below that Goku realized must be the planet's core.

"Damn it," Freeza spat in frustration, "I held back too much! Why is _everything_ bad happening to me today?!" Goku slapped him.

"Looks like you were too scared to take us both out," she observed as Freeza rubbed at his stinging cheek and scoffed.

"It doesn't matter," he boasted. "With the structural damage I've done to the planet's core, I'd say it only has five minutes before the whole thing blows up." Goku shrugged.

"That's okay," she assured him as her eyes went cold. "I don't even need one to kill you." Then she drove a vicious fist into his gut and made him double over with a gasp of pain. "I was just taking my time before." She grabbed Freeza's head in both hands and headbutted him. Over and over and over until his biogem cracked. The planet began to quake as Goku held Freeza up in the air by his throat with one hand and drew back the other fist. "Hey," she told him calmly, "I've always wondered something. Which one hurts more: backhand," she struck him with a backhand fist, "Or forehand?" her fist swung back around and hit Freeza from the front. "Backhand? Forehand?" She kept asking Freeza before she slammed him down to the ground by the throat and started to squeeze.

"Erhff–" Freeza started to say before he spat out a mouthful of teeth and blood, "If I were at 100 percent of my power, I'd kill you!" Goku let go of his throat and backed away.

"Okay," she said coolly, "Go ahead." Freeza stared up at her as she crossed her arms and waited. "Don't make me change my mind." Freeza hopped to his feet and started to power up.

' _Gokuuuu'_ Kaiou said irritably in Goku's head, ' _Wha-ha-haaaaat are you doing?'_

' _He won't win, Kaiou.'_

' _How are you so sure?'_

' _I can do math,'_ Goku told him confidently. ' _I know what fifty percent of his power was. Twice that still won't be able to beat me.'_

' _So why not kill him now?!'_ Goku watched Freeza power up and scowled as she thought of Krillin, of the countless others that Freeza had slaughtered, and even Vegeta.

' _Because I told him,'_ she thought icily, ' _That I would make him suffer.'_ Freeza roared as he finished powering up, his muscles bulging with energy as he flashed Goku a malevolent grin and charged at her with both fists.

"The real battle begins now!"

OoOoOoO

Gohan arrived at the cave and, to his surprise, found Bulma already packed and looking _extremely_ anxious to get going.

"Come on," she urged him, "Let's go!" Gohan shrugged and scooped her somewhat-awkwardly into his arms and started flying back to the ship.

"My mom's here," Gohan explained, "And she's fighting Free–"

"Don't worry," Bulma told him, "I'm up to speed! Speaking of which, maybe put a little more speed on! We only have, like, four minutes until this whole place goes up!"

"Wait, _WHAT?!"_

OoOoOoO

Kaiou groaned and rubbed his temples for a moment before turning to the dead Earthlings. "So here's the plan," he began, "We're going to use Shenron to wish the Namekians back to life. Then they'll use their Dragon to wish everyone but Freeza off of Namek so he's stuck there and screwed while it blows up."

"Meaning we'll be dead for another year," Yamcha grumbled before heaving a weary sigh.

"I don't see what's so bad about that," Tenshinhan protested. "It gives us more time to train and learn the Kaiouken and Genki Dama." Yamcha rolled his eyes.

"Of course _you_ don't see the problem, Ten," Yamcha pointed out in an aggravated tone, " _You're_ all here! _I_ would like to go back and see my wife at some point!" Launch grinned and playfully elbowed Yamcha in the ribs.

"Ah, settle down, wolf boy," she teased. "It's not like she's going anywhere, right?" Yamcha sighed again as he realized he wasn't going to win this and if he was being honest with himself, was being kind of selfish, threw up his hands.

"Alright," he muttered, "Alright! Wish back the Namekians." Kaiou grinned as his antennae bobbed.

"Did you hear that, Kami?"

' _Loud and clear,'_ came the voice in his head.

OoOoOoO

Back on Earth, Kami gestured to Puar. "I understand," he said, "That it's become somewhat customary for you to handle these matters?" Puar beamed and rubbed his paws together before he threw his head back and screamed to the sky.

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" he cried. "I summon you!" Dr. Brief, Panchy, and the various Capsule Corp staff on the premises gazed with opened mouths as the sky blackened and thunder rumbled. A great beam of golden light erupted from the Dragon Balls and stretched high into the sky, snaking this way and that for miles. Cars in the street suddenly screeched to a halt as everyone in West City stopped and stared at the sight, their eyes filled with terror and wonder as many of them took out their phones to record the moment. The scientists were both at once in awe and in outrage as they were confronted with something that no amount of calculation and computation could explain. The beam of light faded and in its place was the enormous and awesome spectacle of Shenron.

"You who have gathered the Seven Dragon Balls," its voice rumbled, "State your wish and I-" Shenron paused and seemed to notice Puar. The dragon let out a noise not unlike a weary sigh before it continued, its tone unchanged. "And I shall grant it."

"Shenron!" Puar called up. "Please revive all those on the Planet Namek who were killed by Freeza and his men!" Shenron nodded.

"A simple task," It stated plainly. Its red eyes flashed and it nodded again. "It is done. Farewell." There was another flash and the seven Dragon Balls streaked across the sky in all directions, now returned to stone.

OoOoOoO

Since the planet was already doomed, Goku and Freeza began to fight in earnest. Perhaps the most blatant example of this came when Freeza ripped an island out of the ground and slammed it down onto Goku. She came bursting out of the explosion of rubble and jammed her elbow up under his jaw before bringing her hands down quickly to her side.

"Kamehameha!" she cried and the blue-white beam hit Freeza square in the chest and sent him hurtling down at an angle to the sea below and burrowing into the ground. Goku was already there when he burst out of the ground on the other side of the planet and prepared a mighty blow but Freeza had put up a telekinetic field to protect himself from the planet's heat and was mostly unharmed as he dropped the field and slugged Goku across the jaw to send her flying. Goku brought herself to a halt in the air and rubbed at her jaw as Freeza came toward her. So it turned out that a hundred percent of Freeza's power actually hurt a little bit. ' _Good,'_ she thought to herself. ' _At least I won't be bored.'_

They met again with punches and kicks, Freeza swinging wildly like a feral animal and Goku striking with a martial artist's precision. Each collision of flesh on flesh registered with the terrifying sound of a thunderclap. Goku charged ki into her fist and slammed it into the left side of Freeza's torso. He let out a sputtered gurgle of pain as one of his three hearts ruptured from the impact and the aura from Goku's fist lingered on the spot like a flame. Goku grabbed Freeza while he was incapacitated and spun him around, pinioning both his arms behind his back and turning upside down to rocket straight toward one of the remaining islands, obliterating it. Freeza came up out of the rubble and used his telekinetic powers to rip a plume of lava out of the ground and fling it at Goku like a thunderbolt. It struck Goku dead on and she reacted with all the pain and agony of having a bucket of water thrown on her, even as her skin burned red from the heat. In response, Goku flew at Freeza and punched him down into the ground with such force that he burrowed for several kilometers.

All the while, Namek fell to pieces around them. Terrible quakes wracked the planet and great fissures cracked open across islands and under the oceans. Great gouts of blue-purple flame burst from the fissures and lava erupted in high columns that filled the sky with black clouds of soot. There was a terrible rumbling that grew ever-louder as the sea churned up massive waves and boiled from the ever-growing heat.

Unrelated to all of this, the sky turned black. Winds began to howl as lighting flashed and thunder boomed. An enormous dragon flashed into life and practically filled the sky while the two warriors continued their battle to the death.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta quickly realized two things. He was alive, first of all. Secondly, he had been buried, which did not sit at all well with his being alive. His fist burst out of the ground and he began to claw his way out before emerging from the dirt with a roar, which turned into a fit of coughing and hacking as he spat up the chunks of dirt that had fallen into his chest cavities while he was dead. Well, this was odd. Vegeta looked around him as the entirety of Planet Namek seemed to be going mad. _Very_ odd, indeed.

OoOoOoO

All over Planet Namek, Namekians suddenly began standing up and were all, to a man, very confused. What was happening to their planet? Why were they living again? Why had someone summoned Porunga? And what had happened to the invaders? Well, all but one village asked that question. That village's people instead wondered why there was a pile of corpses, limbs, and entrails in the middle of their village and strewn over their huts.

The Great Elder Guru reacted to his once-again living with some consternation. Before he could grumble or grouse or attempt to return to his rest, however, something peculiar happened. He heard a voice in his head.

' _Hello,'_ the strange voice said. ' _Hello, hello? Is this the Great Elder Namekian?'_

' _I am Guru, yes,'_ Guru thought and was unable to hide the confusion in his thoughts.

' _Oh, excellent! I was worried that wish might not bring you back! My name is Kaiou, I'm the deity of your quadrant.'_ Guru wasn't entirely sure what that meant. ' _Now I'm going to make this quick because your planet doesn't have much time.'_ That was disconcerting. ' _I need you to make a wish on Porunga.'_

' _A moment, please,'_ Guru thought. He certainly wasn't any condition to go wandering out to wherever Porunga was. He hadn't been in any condition to walk or fly since before he'd lost his sight. He reached out with his mind and found Dende's energy. ' _Dende,'_ he thought, ' _Can you hear me?'_

Dende'd had a terribly confusing thirty seconds. One moment he was dead and then he wasn't. Now Namek was falling to pieces and he heard the Great Elder's voice in his head. ' _Y-yes, Great Elder,'_ he thought nervously, ' _I can hear you!'_

' _Continue, Mr. Kaiou,'_

' _Okay,'_ Kaiou thought with a clear tone of anxious frustration, ' _Dende, right? You need to get to Porunga_ right now _and wish for everyone except for Freeza to be teleported to the planet Ear–'_

' _Nope!'_ Goku thought while simultaneously pummeling Freeza with a vicious barrage of machine-gun right jabs and her left hand held Freeza's throat. Now Dende and Guru were _very_ confused.

' _Oh for crying out loud!'_ Kaiou thought in exasperation.

' _Leave me here to fight Freeza, Kaiou,'_ Goku thought even as Freeza broke her grip and hit her flush in the face with a flying kick. ' _If you wish me to Earth, I'll never forgive you!'_ Kaiou groaned in all three of their heads.

' _Fine,'_ he muttered. ' _Fine! Fine! Dende, wish everyone to Earth except for Freeza_ and _Son Goku.'_ Dende nodded and flew toward Porunga. The Dragon wasn't that far away. Or maybe it was. It was hard to tell when it was gigantic. Either way, Dende flew as fast as he could.

OoOoOoO

Gohan arrived with Bulma and the blue-haired girl hit the ground running as she sprinted toward the controls of Goku's ship. Suno, by this point, had recovered enough of her strength to stand and had _several_ questions.

"Bulma," Suno asked as Bulma frantically mashed at the controls and the ship slowly began to hum to life, "What's going on? Why did the sky go black? Why's everything shaking? What's happening?!"

"No time!" Bulma answered hurriedly. "Freeza tried blowing up the planet but he _missed_ or something and the whole thing's gonna go up in five minutes and that was six minutes ago!"

Suno blinked. "Well that doesn't make any sense."

OoOoOoO

"Hey," Goku called as she dodged a kick from Freeza and aimed a punch at his midsection, "Shouldn't the planet have blown up by now?" Freeza evaded the punch and smashed the edge of his hand into Goku's throat before kicking her down to an island below.

"I suppose you're right," he mused as he held his hands overhead and formed a giant ball of ki. "It seems my estimations were off. This planet probably has another… two or three minutes?" Then he smirked down at her. "But if you're so eager to die, allow me to give you a hand!" He flung the ball down at her with a flourish and a maniacal laugh. A laugh that died instantly as Goku punched it and he had to dive out of the way to keep from being hit with it as it sailed off into space.

"Jeez," Goku taunted as she rubbed at her fist, "You can't do _anything_ right, can you?" Freeza seethed and prepared to launch another attack when he caught a glint of something out of the corner of his eye. Something gold… and _green._ He spun quickly to his right and there, filling the sky and reaching up to the stars, was the savage Namekians' wishing dragon.

"Immortality is mine!" he declared before rocketing off.

"Oh no it isn't!" Goku argued as she took off after him. She grabbed onto Freeza's tail when she caught up with him and pulled with all her might, causing Freeza to cry out in pain. While she was holding onto Freeza, she noted how much cooler the Namekian's Eternal Dragon looked than Earth's. Shenron was cool and all and he'd brought her back to life but Porunga had _huge_ arms! That must mean he could punch _huge_ things! Goku was so distracted by the prospect of these huge things that it allowed Freeza to jab his dextrous toes into her eyes. Goku screamed and hauled back on Freeza's tail. There was an awful, _wet_ ripping sound as most of Freeza's remaining tail was torn messily from his body. Freeza didn't care. He grit his teeth and flew through the pain, faster and faster. Immortality was so close! He would triumph! He would finally be a god!

"Dragon!" Freeza bellowed in Arcosian, the highest of all languages. "You will heed my call and bow to my will! I command you to make me immortal so that I may take my place as God by rights!" There was a long and _agonizing_ silence. Then Porunga said something in Namekian and its eyes flashed. Freeza threw his head back and laughed maniacally before he realized that, once again, he didn't _feel_ any more immortal. Nothing had changed. He looked around in puzzlement before looking down to see the little Namekian bastard that he killed what felt like a lifetime ago with growing rage.

Dende smirked up at Freeza and showed him the rudest gesture in all of Namekian culture. He stuck out his thumb and pointed up at Freeza. And just like that, he was gone.

OoOoOoO

Seconds later; Suno, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma appeared on the Capsule Corp lawn.

As well as three hundred or so _absurdly_ bewildered Namekians. They gawked at this strange world they found themselves on. There was only one sun in the sky, the grass was the color of the sky, and the sky was the color of the grass. It was all so topsy-turvy!

Dende pushed his way through the throng of villagers to get to Piccolo, quickly falling to his knees to heal the warrior Namekian again. Piccolo groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Gohan called you Piccolo," Dende said as Piccolo looked at him, "But you knew my name and I can sense Nail's energy in you. Who are you?"

"I _am_ Piccolo," Piccolo explained, "And I'm afraid Nail is gone." Dende looked sadly down at his feet before Piccolo put a hand on Dende's head and, in a gesture of Namekian affection that Piccolo had never had knowledge of before today, scratched the skin behind his antennae. "But there is a part of me that _is_ him and knows that he would be very proud of you."

Meanwhile, Gohan and Suno looked around and were equal parts confused and concerned. "I guess they used Shenron to wish everyone back," she surmised, "And used Porunga to wish us all to Earth." Sadly, she reminded herself that Shenron's wish wouldn't work on Krillin. Although, at the moment, that wasn't her chief concern. "Where's Goku?" she asked.

' _She stayed on Planet Namek,'_ Kaiou explained wearily in her head. ' _To see the fight through to the end.'_ Suno sighed and let her face drop into her hands as Gohan hugged her tight..

' _Oh, Goku,'_ Suno thought desperately as she shook her head, 'Please _come back to me…'_

OoOoOoO

"Am… Am I immortal?" Freeza asked.

"Let's find out," Goku snarled as she barreled into him from behind with the force of a meteor strike, her arms cinching around his waist to slam the pair of them down into the ground like a comet. Goku got to her feet first and kicked Freeza in the ribs as he got to his hands and feet to send him sprawling. "Get up!" she demanded with venom in her voice. Freeza groaned painfully and staggered to his feet. He stumbled at first before he charged at Goku and threw an elbow at the side of her head. The blow struck and she staggered but immediately counterattacked with a knee to the gut that nearly sent Freeza to the ground again. However, Freeza fought to keep himself upright and threw an uppercut to Goku's chin. It connected and snapped Goku's head back but she hit Freeza with a palm thrust to the collarbone and felt something crack against her hand. Freeza staggered away and wiped blood from his lip as he waited for Goku to attack.

"Come on, then!" he demanded bitterly. "If you're going to kill me then kill me! Don't hold back at the end! Where's all that talk now?" Goku shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "What," he scoffed, "Have you gone soft at the end?! I thought I deserved to die! Do it, you coward!"

"You don't deserve to die," Goku told him calmly, "You deserve to live. And live for a long time." Freeza blinked and she was in front of him. "I want you to remember this day, Freeza, as long as you live. I want you to remember fear." Freeza threw a wild left punch but Goku grabbed him by the wrist and twisted, snapping his arm from the elbow down like brittle glass. She grabbed him by the throat and glared as she slammed him into the ground. As her grip tightened, Freeza realized how all those other beings had felt. Because he realized now that he was staring into the eyes of an angry god. "I want you to remember my hand _on your_ _ **throat."**_ Freeza's vision began to swim as Goku leaned in to whisper malevolently. "In your most private moments, in all your years to come, I want you to remember the _monkey_ who _beat you."_ Then she let go of Freeza's throat and walked away from him.

"Wh–" Freeza's voice was hoarse as he rubbed at his throat, "Where are you going?!" He asked furiously. He would not be mocked. He would not be pitied. He was Freeza! He was power personified! "Don't you walk away from me!"

"This planet's going to go up soon," Goku told him over a shoulder, "And this fight's over. You gave me a few bruises while you were at one hundred percent but you've burned up all that power." Freeza looked at himself in horror as his muscles began to shrink once more and she started to fly off. "I'm gonna take my ship and get outta here. You're boring me." Freeza's eyes went wide and he held one hand over his head.

"No one walks away from Freeza!" he bellowed as he flung his hand forward, launching a razor-sharp disk of pink energy at Goku's back. She heard it coming and spun around to see it, scowling furiously as she blasted it to pieces. He was just _begging_ her to kill him by getting on her nerves like this. Freeza growled and flung a second disk, purple foam flecking at the corners of his mouth and his eyes wide and bloodshot. "You will not defeat me! I am Divinity! I am Supremacy!" Goku tried to blast this disc as well but Freeza flicked his wrist and it swerved to avoid her attack. Goku realized that, strangely enough, Freeza's attack was a combination of the Kienzan and the Sokidan. Then she dove down toward Freeza with a look of steely determination burning in her eyes as she came closer and closer. Freeza laughed and flashed her a mocking grin. "Really," he asked, "Is _this_ your plan?! You think I'll fall for such a rudimentary tac–" Goku blasted the ground in front of Freeza and made him fall down, the cloud of dust the blast created obscuring his vision. Goku pulled up suddenly and watched as the disc continued its deadly path toward Freeza while he began to stand. She could have said something. She could have called out a warning.

She didn't.

Freeza hopped to his feet and a fresh expletive or declaration of superiority died in his throat as the disc came at him from behind and cut him clean in half at the waist, taking his broken arm as well and cutting just above the elbow. Goku watched as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain, blood pouring from his wounds. She watched… and smirked. Goku was just about to leave when she heard Freeza whisper something.

"Help me…" he whispered in a pained voice, hoarse and strained. Goku's nostrils flared and she dropped to the ground beside him with a thunderous "Thoom!"

"What," she asked venomously, "Did you say?"

"D-don't let me die," Freeza begged. "I-I I am too weak, in the end. P-please… have mercy!" He reached out to her, crawling to clutch at her foot with his one good hand. His body was trembling from pain and from shock but also from the effort of using his telekinesis to keep his organs and most of his blood inside his body. It was clear that he didn't have the energy to keep it up for long.

"Mercy…" Goku muttered sourly as she looked down at Freeza's hand. " _Mercy?!"_ she repeated before stomping on it viciously. "After all you've done, all the lives you've taken, you ask for _my help?!"_

' _Leave, Goku,'_ Kaiou urged her. ' _This planet's hanging on by a thread! You've got to find your ship!'_ Goku knew Kaiou was right and yet, at the same time, she couldn't find it in her heart to leave Freeza to die like this. After all, she told herself, that would end his suffering. She pointed her open palm down at him and passively let some of her ki flow into him. Freeza gasped as he felt the energy fill his body and give strength to his fading life force.

"I didn't do this because I'm soft," she growled, "And this mercy isn't kind. Run away, Freeza. Run far, far away. And if you ever hurt anyone again, I _will_ find out. I _will_ come for you. And I _will_ be coming to kill. And you will never. _Ever._ Be able to stop me." Then she flew off in disgust without ever looking back.

It took Freeza several seconds to process what had just happened. Goku had given him some of her energy. She'd let him live. His life was indebted to hers. After all he had done. The genocide of her race. The murder of her bald friend. The multiple attempts to murder _her._ She had let him live. She had taken… _pity_ on him. That set Freeza's blood to boiling. He forgot his defeat and his self-inflicted dismemberment and his terror and shame. No one _pitied_ the mighty Freeza. No one _mocked_ or dared to _threaten_ the mighty Freeza! He… he was a god! He would win! He _always_ won!

"No…" Freeza snarled with a manic ferocity as he dug his hand into the dirt. "No, no, no!" he shoved himself off of the ground and hovered into the air, blood dripping from the stump of his left arm and from his waist. He flung out his right hand and screamed in defiance. " _You_ will die!" He poured every last ounce of his energy into the blast, all life preservation forgotten in the depths of his thirst for revenge.

Goku looked over her shoulder and saw the blast rushing toward her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face it, throwing out her hand to fire a contemptuously one-handed Kamehameha. The beam instantly overwhelmed Freeza's attack and she could barely hear him screaming over the sound of the planet coming apart. Whether he was dead or not, she didn't care. She was done with him now.

' _Hurry, Goku,'_ Kaiou urged, ' _Hurry! The planet's going to blow at any moment!'_ Goku nodded and surged forward with all her speed as she frantically searched for her ship. The seas had completely boiled away by this point and Goku could actually see the planet starting to crack apart but she still saw no sign of her ship.

' _Wait a minute,'_ Goku thought, ' _Those Ginyu guys might have come in their own ships!'_ With that she turned back to the direction of Freeza's ship, which she had passed several moments prior, and searched for any kind of ship among the wreckage. ' _Come on,'_ she thought tensely as the planet's shaking grew worse and worse, ' _Come on!'_ She finally found the ships, pods like the one Raditz had trapped Gohan in and that she must have come to Earth in as a baby. She let out a scream of effort as she lunged for it. "Come on!"

OoOoOoO

Without warning, Planet Namek erupted into a brilliant fireball of purple, blue, and white. Chunks of debris scattered across the asteroid belt of its solar system and its ashes were flung out into the cosmos.

OoOoOoO

"Did Goku make it?" Yamcha asked nervously. Kaiou sighed and hung his head.

"I… I don't know."


	74. Victory Is Bittersweet! Reunion at Last!

Chapter Seventy-four

Victory is Bittersweet! Reunions at Last!

Back on Earth, several Namekians crowded around the Grand Elder to help him to a seated position. To their surprise, however, the Elder rose to his feet. Although neither could explain why, Kami and Piccolo felt themselves pulled along with the rest of the Namekians to crowd around Guru. To their surprise, Guru turned his head to them and smiled.

"Ah," he sighed happily, "The son of Katas. It is good to know that you lived long and grew strong. He would have been proud." Piccolo and Kami exchanged a confused look when they realized that he was speaking to them as if they were one person. Guru shuddered and staggered forward before he caught himself and clutched a hand to his chest.

"Great Elder," one of the Namekians cried in dismay, "What is the matter?" Despite the clear discomfort he was in, the Elder continued to smile.

"I fear," he wheezed out, "That I am near the end. The Dragon of this world granted me only a temporary return." Almost immediately, the native Namekians were driven to tears, weeping and sniffling. Guru chuckled softly and held up a hand for silence. "Now, now," he whispered in a calming tone, "Do not grieve for me. As I have always taught you, death is not an end. It is simply the next part of a journey. I go to see my brothers, my father, and all the fathers and brothers before." Then he turned his head to the crowd, slowly raising one arm. "Moori, my eldest son; Step forward." Moori dried his eyes with his balled fists and walked toward Guru. Despite the lines of age on his face, he still looked up to Guru with the same innocence and wonder in his eyes that Dende might have. Guru smiled at him and laid a massive hand upon his head. "You must be the Grand Elder now. I pass onto you my powers and my wisdom. From this moment forward, the Dragon Balls shall be tied to you." A strange energy surged down Guru's arm and into Moori in the same way it had when Guru unlocked the Earthlings' potential. Moori stared at his hands in amazement as Guru lifted his hand away from his head and nodded.

"Th-thank you, Guru," he stammered. "Y-you have honored me." He seemed to be on the verge of tears again but clenched his fists to hold them back. "I-I will guide our people and make you proud." Guru smiled and nodded.

"I know you will," he replied. Then he sighed and fell back down to a seated position. "With this last act," he murmured sleepily, "I may return to my rest. Be well, my children." Guru smiled and fell onto his back. The Namekians gathered around his body and knelt with their heads bowed and their hands clasped together. To their surprise, Guru suddenly faded away.

' _So he got to keep his body in the Otherworld,'_ Kami mused to himself. ' _Perhaps I shall pay him a visit sometime.'_ Meanwhile, Suno and Gohan were still waiting nervously to hear of Goku's fate.

"Did Goku make it?" Suno asked fearfully, one of her hands squeezed knuckle-white while Gohan gripped her other hand in one of his.

' _I couldn't tell,'_ Kaiou admitted regretfully in their heads. ' _The destruction of Planet Namek masked her ki and I can't sense her anymore. I'm sorry but… I'm afraid it looks like she's gone.'_ Suno bowed her head and could already feel the tears brimming in her eyes when Gohan pulled on her hand.

"Mother," he reminded her gently, "It's okay. The Namekian Dragon Balls can wish someone back multiple times! We'll use them to wish Krillin and mom back to life." Suno brightened for a moment before they heard Kaiou's voice in their heads again.

' _That wouldn't work,'_ he told them carefully, shutting down their hope in the gentlest tone he could manage. ' _If you wished Goku and Krillin back now, their bodies would be restored where they died on Planet Namek.'_

"And Namek doesn't exist anymore," Suno murmured. "So they'd just be stuck out in space… and die again. Can't you bring them to your planet?"

' _I'm afraid not,'_ Kaiou admitted sadly, ' _Namek is outside of the Northern Quadrant and outside of my jurisdiction. I could try to contact the other Kaious, see if any of them have any new occupants but… that could take some time.'_ Suno absorbed that information and she and Gohan held each other sadly. Noticing her friends' gloomy nature, Bulma walked over to them.

"Hey," she asked gently, "What's wrong?" Once Suno explained the situation and why Krillin and Goku couldn't be wished back, her face fell and she shared in their grief. "Oh… oh gosh," she muttered. "So there's… nothing we can do." That hit her like a punch in the guy. All their work, all their struggling, and they couldn't bring back their friends. Goku was Bulma's oldest friend and one of the best people she knew but now she was just… gone. Forever this time.

"Oh by the Ten," a gruff voice suddenly called. "Are you all daft?!" The three of them spun around to see Vegeta glaring at them from under a tree he was leaning against. Presumably to both remove himself from the rest of the group and to look as cool as he could manage.

"What the hell's your problem?" Suno snapped. Vegeta scoffed and shook his head.

"It is simplicity itself," he explained smugly. "Use the Namekians' Dragon to wish Kakarot and the bald one's souls back to Earth and _then_ wish them back!" Bulma pondered that for a moment before her face suddenly brightened.

"Hey," she exclaimed cheerfully, "That would work! Thanks, short, hot, and psycho!" Vegeta scoffed again as Bulma ran toward the Namekians. "Moori," she called out in Namekian, "Grand Elder Moori! I have a question!" While she went to find the new Grand Elder, Gohan approached Vegeta with his hand outstretched.

"Thank you, Vegeta," he said sincerely. Vegeta sneered and smacked Gohan's hand away.

"Don't make any assumptions about friendship, boy," he spat. "I simply want to see a Super Saiyan with my own eyes." Then he strode away irritably. He had, at least, stopped calling Gohan "abomination."

"Our year," Moori explained to Bulma once he had gotten over the shock of a non-Namekian speaking the same language as he, "Is one hundred and thirty of your days." Bulma beamed at that.

"Fantastic," she exclaimed. "Then we will not have to wait so long for our friends to return!" Moori smiled at Bulma and nodded.

"I would ask a favor of you in return" he added, "Though you and your friends have done so much for our people. Would you find us a place to live while we seek out a new planet?" Bulma nodded eagerly.

"Of course," she assured him. "The Capsule Corp building is quite large. You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you need!" Then she smirked at Vegeta as he walked past her. "That goes for you, too," she added in English. "You can stay as looong as you like." He looked over a shoulder at Bulma and she grinned before throwing him a wink. He rolled his eyes and gave a condescending smirk.

"Just keep your mongrel hands to yourself, vulgar woman." Bulma's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"MONGREL?!" she spat with her face turning red and the veins in her temple twitching. "I'll have you know I'm worth fifty billion zeni!" Vegeta chuckled and arched an eyebrow.

"Impressive," he said sardonically. "Are you royalty?"

"I-I mean… no," Bulma sputtered out. "N-not _technically_ but…"

"Like I said," Vegeta muttered as he hopped into the air, "Mongrel." Bulma growled and pulled off one of her shoes to throw it at Vegeta but Suno was at her side in an instant.

"Bulma," she reminded the other woman as she put a hand on her shoulder, "He can literally blow up the planet by punching it really hard. Let it go." Bulma sighed and dropped her arm but still kept the shoe in her hand. Meanwhile, Dr. Brief was speaking with Moori and some of the other Namekians.

"So," Brief began while the Namekians stared in equal confusion at Scratch and the cigarette dangling from his lips, "I understand you fellows will be staying here for some time." One of the younger Namekians tried to reach up and touch the doctor's mustache but his elder smacked his hand down. "I was wondering," Dr. Brief continued, "If you boys wouldn't mind me running some tests on you. Nothing _invasive,_ of course, but–" Bulma's shoe clonked Dr. Brief in the back of the head.

"Daddy," she snapped, "You will _not_ do any experiments on the Namekians! They're our guests!" It was hard to tell who was more surprised by her actions: Suno, Dr. Brief, Moori, or Bulma herself.

Vegeta captured a pocket of atmosphere in his aura and rocketed off into space, heading straight for the sun. It took him quite a few minutes to reach his destination. Time he used to think. Freeza was finally dead, though not defeated by his hand. He was the last Saiyan male outside of his brother. Theirs was the last Saiyan bloodline. Within a handful of generations, as he had told Nappa, their race would be all but extinct. He would be the last King. A King of ashes.

Still, he reminded himself, Freeza _was_ dead. With the Ginyu Force, Zarbon, and Dodoria dead, the Planet Trade Organization's strength would be crippled. He was finally free. He looked down at his armor and scowled at it. These were never his people's clothes. This armor was given to them by the PTO. A symbol of their servitude. Of their _slavery._ He pulled off his chestpiece, bodysuit, and boots and flung them into the sun as hard as he could. He stood naked for a moment in the light of the sun and smiled as he watched the armor burn to cinders and ash.

' _Never again,'_ he swore to himself, ' _Shall I wear chains.'_ Then he turned to the Earth and flew back down towards it. He would need new clothes.

And money.

OoOoOoO

"Good morning, everyone!" Suno greeted the class cheerfully as she and Gohan entered the room. The students clapped and cheered, having missed their favorite teacher for the past year plus. "Well it's nice to see all of you, too!" she replied happily. Even though she had been away from work for a while, Suno decided that the best thing to do was to hit the ground running and get right back to it. Among other things, it helped to keep her from drifting off and thinking about how much she missed Goku. "Now," she continued, "As I understand it, you guys just started on astronomy and stars and planets, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Son!" Came the unanimous reply.

"Excellent," Suno replied. "Then I've got a special surprise for you all! Gohan, could you get the door?" Gohan nodded eagerly and scooted his chair back from the desk he was sitting at, and weaved his way through the girls who had moved their desks to be near his and made for the door. Gohan opened the door with a big grin on his face and the children all turned to see.

"Look out," a birdboy cried in terror. "It's a little Piccolo!" The others screamed in fear as Dende stood awkwardly in the doorway and had to cover his ears.

"Kids, kids," Suno called over the panicked din, "It's okay! He's _not_ Piccolo!" Suno gave a kiai-enhanced snap of her fingers to silence everyone and scoot their desks back an inch or two. "He's a friend of Gohan's and mine and he's our guest. I'd like you all to be on your best behavior, okay?" The children nodded as Gohan guided Dende to the front of the class to stand beside Suno before he made his way back to his desk. "Now then," Suno said as she turned to Dende, "Would you like to introduce yourself?" Dende nodded and turned to the class.

"Hello," he began, "My name is Dende. I come from the planet Namek."

"Hello, Dende!"

OoOoOoO

Back at Capsule Corp, Dr. Brief and Panchy were ingratiating the Namekians to Earth culture as only they knew how.

"So it seems you fellows don't have a way to pass the time on your planet," Brief observed as he shuffled a deck of cards. "I won't be having any of that." He started passing the cards around a table where he, Moori, and five other Namekians sat on the Capsule Corp lawn. "I'm gonna start you off easy," he explained, "With a simple game of poker."

"What are these discs?" One of the Namekians asked as he held up a blue poker chip and eyed it curiously.

"The blue chips are worth two hundred and fifty zeni," he explained, "The red are worth a thousand and the black are worth five thousand."

"This is your currency?" the Namekian asked.

"Well not exact–"

"And what is this strange water?" Moori asked as he eyeballed his drink suspiciously.

"That's a Rhubarb Collins," Dr. Brief replied as he finished passing out cards.

"Why is it pink?" The doctor groaned and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be harder than he thought. He took some comfort in knowing that if he was having this much trouble, Panchy would be _completely_ lost.

Speaking of Panchy, she had been… more than a little disappointed to discover that Namekians lacked any genitalia. Now she had them seated around a table in the sunroom with glasses of sweet tea and was teaching them a card game of her own.

"You put down a card," she began, "And the next person has to match the color or number of the card under it. The winner is whoever runs out of cards first!"

"Which number is this?" one of the strapping and muscular young Namekians asked as he held up a blue card with two arrows pointed in opposite directions.

"That's not a number, sweetheart," she explained sweetly, "It's a Reverse. When you play that, the turn order switches back and the person who played before you goes again."

"I see…" he muttered before sipping his iced tea. Panchy smiled as they began playing. Oh, this was such fun!

OoOoOoO

Other Namekians were not having as much fun, namely the Warrior Namekians. After asking Suno who was the greatest fighter on their planet, she had sent them to Muten Roshi and they had asked him for training. To their dismay, training meant that flying was banned and they had to run laps around a large island while wearing specially-enchanted turtle shells that weighed in excess of _one thousand pounds._

"You call yourselves warriors?!" Roshi asked as he chased after them on his flying carpet. "Let's have a thousand more laps around the island, c'mon!" He swung his cane at the panting, sweating, heaving Namekians and came within inches of cracking one in the head. "Double time, you buncha nancy boys!" The Warrior Namekians would find out, to their despair, that this was _nothing_ compared to the training _Piccolo_ had in store for them.

OoOoOoO

Four months passed and, while Dr. Brief was teaching Moori and a few of the older Namekians how to play golf, Dende summoned Porunga.

"Takkaraputo Popporunga Pupirittopara!" Bulma, Puar, Roshi, Kami, Piccolo and Chi-Chi stared up in amazement at the massive pillar of fire that transformed into Porunga.

"That," Puar muttered, "Is a _serious_ dragon."

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Porunga spoke in Namekian, though only Bulma, Dende, Piccolo, and Kami could understand, "Speak your wish so that I may grant it!"

"Oh Great Porunga," Dende called up, "I wish for you to bring the souls of the beings known as Krillin and Son Goku to Earth!" Porunga's eyes flashed for a moment before it paused.

"I cannot bring Son Goku's soul to this planet," Porunga informed them, "For it is still within her body." Dende relayed the message to those who couldn't speak Namekian and Suno practically squealed with excitement.

"That means Goku's still alive!" she exclaimed happily. She picked Gohan up under his armpits and they laughed as she spun him around in excitement. "Dende," Suno asked once she'd set Gohan down and settled down, "Can you ask Porunga to bring Goku to Earth?" Dende nodded and turned back to Porunga.

"Oh Great Porunga," he cried, "I wish for you to bring Son Goku to Earth!" Porunga nodded and they waited for several moments for Porunga's eyes to flash.

"... _Well?"_ Bulma asked irritably.

"It is beyond my power," the Dragon explained, "For Son Goku does not wish to return." Bulma explained what Porunga had said with clear perplexment in her voice and Suno and Gohan were dumbstruck. Goku… didn't want to come home?

"However," Porunga went on, "She wishes to pass on a message." Bulma translated and Suno nodded eagerly and Porunga's mouth hung open. They were all amazed when Goku's voice started coming out of Porunga's mouth.

"Hey guys!" Goku greeted cheerily, her voice booming at a volume none of them ever imagined Goku speaking at. "Don't worry, I'm okay! I'm… in space… somewhere." That made them laugh. That was definitely Goku. "I'm coming home, I promise! I just… I can't come home right now. This power I have as a Super Saiyan is dangerous. I couldn't live with myself if the day came when I'd have to use it again and I couldn't control myself and hurt someone. So I have to stay away until I can control it. But I _promise,_ I will come home. I'll see you all soon!" Then she added, "Suno, Gohan? I love you." Then Porunga's mouth closed and Gohan and Suno sniffed and dried their eyes.

"That's my Goku," Suno sighed wistfully. From the roof of the Capsule Corp building, Vegeta watched in a black leather jacket, blue shirt, black trousers and boots, and scoffed. How could someone so damnably soft be the Super Saiyan?

"Should I still wish Krillin back?" Dende asked. Suno nodded and Dende turned to Porunga and made the wish. Porunga's eyes flashed and a few seconds later, Krillin popped up on the lawn in front of him and fell onto his face. They all laughed as Krillin immediately hopped to his feet in a fighting stance.

"Wait…" he muttered as he dropped his guard and scratched the back of his unusually hairy head. "I thought… but I was…" Then he threw back his head and gave a whoop of laughter. "Haha! I'm alive! Woohoo!" Then he pointed a finger defiantly toward the sky with a blistering white smile. "You struck out again, Death! You can't keep the Bald Tiger down!"

"So," Suno asked once everyone had settled down, "Who do we use the last wish for?"

"A-HEM!" Chi-Chi coughed angrily, stomping a foot to shake the ground under their feet and get their attention. When they looked at her, she irritably gestured to her swollen stomach.

"Oh right!" Suno exclaimed in shock, smacking herself in the head.

' _You guys forgetting someone?!'_ Came Yamcha's angry voice in their heads.

"Sorry, sorry!" Suno muttered hurriedly before turning to Dende. "Please wish for our friend Yamcha to come back to life!" Kami had already teleported to the afterlife to go and fetch him while Dende made the wish. He returned a few minutes later with the former bandit who immediately ran past everyone and into Chi-Chi's embrace with the biggest smile imaginable plastered across his face. They kissed passionately and joyously, Chi-Chi giggling as Yamcha's full beard tickled her face. Once they separated, Yamcha finally looked down and noticed Chi-Chi's stomach.

"O-oh my gosh," he stammered out, trembling either from excitement, joy, or sheer terror, "Y-you're… we're… I'm gonna be a…" Chi-Chi smiled and nodded enthusiastically, blinking back tears.

"Which is it," he asked, "A boy or a girl? Do you know?"

Chi-Chi smiled. "Mmhmm!" she told him and nodded again.

"So which is it?"

"Mmhmm!" Yamcha blinked in confusion before Chi-Chi held up two fingers.

"You mean you're… y-you're…" Yamcha started to fall backward before Suno, Bulma, and Krillin rushed to catch him. He immediately recovered and threw himself into Chi-Chi's arms again, laughing his head off.

OoOoOoO

Suno turned on the television one afternoon when she and Gohan got back from school and was surprised to find Krillin on the screen, standing in a grassy field and wearing a T-shirt and jeans with a freshly shaven and waxed head. He was holding a football in one hand which he threw offscreen before speaking.

"Hi there," he said amicably, "I'm Krillin, though some of you might know me better by my nickname, 'The Bald Tiger'." Krillin started walking through the field with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "I've known MP Giran for a long time. He's a man of character and honest values. He believes in the same things you and I do and loves the same things about our kingdom that we do. During his years in parliament, he's pushed for big reforms in our economy, our energy plans, and our impact on the environment. And I know that, if elected King, he'll work even harder to make the changes needed for a Kingdom that our children will one day be thankful to inherit. So when you cast your vote next Friday, pull that lever for Giran. I know he's got my vote." Krillin stopped in front of a stump and put one foot up on it and held out his arm for an eagle to land on.

"My name is Giran and I approve this message."

OoOoOoO

Everyone was sitting on the lawn of the Capsule Corp compound and enjoying the nice, cloud-free starry night. That in and of itself was a treat for the Namekians but Dr. Brief had set up a large projector screen and was showing the people of Namek some classic Earth cinema.

"He told me enough," the blonde-haired young protagonist seethed between clenched teeth. He was battered and bruised, with the stump of one hand shoved into his other armpit. "he told me _you_ killed him!"

"Why doesn't he grow his hand back?" Dende whispered.

"Humans don't regrow our limbs," Gohan whispered back.

"No," growled the menacing antagonist in his deep voice and black armor, " _I_ am your father." Three hundred voices gasped as one.

OoOoOoO

Bulma tugged at the hips of her dress slightly to keep it from creasing and sat her hands nervously on the desk in front of her. It was the first time she'd been to visit the King since her father had brought her along back when she was a little girl. And back then, the King had been a dog. It was probably, she realized, a bad day to try that big new "floofy" hairstyle she'd been thinking about. Oh, well. She still pulled it off.

"Ms. Bulma," King Giran began, "As I understand it, before this administration, you were named Capsule Corp's royal liaison in matters of the Supernatural and Extraterrestrial, is that right?"

"Yes, your majesty," Bulma replied with a nod that made her big triangle earrings jangle. Maybe those weren't the best choice, either.

"Well then," Giran said, "Seems you've got quite a bit t'talk about, haven't you?" Bulma nodded again, smiling slightly.

"I certainly do, your majesty," she agreed. "I'm… really not sure where to begin."

"Perhaps," one of Giran's advisors, a dolphin-man in a double-breasted green suit, put in, "You can begin with the aliens who _blew up East City."_

"Oh, right," Bulma muttered. She took a moment to look down at her hands and gathered her thoughts. "So," she began, "There was this guy called Raditz…" She told them everything, from the Dragon Balls to Piccolo really being an alien to Freeza. Well, she left out the stuff about God being an alien. And she eventually got them to agree that it was for the best if the Dragon Balls' powers and the existence of Dragon Radar technology was kept _well_ out of public knowledge. She also refused to divulge her own knowledge of the Dragon Radar. That stuff was probably best-kept unused except for extreme situations. She also told them that Goku was the same species of alien as Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz, and they all agreed that it was best if the rest of the world didn't know that either. Goku was something of a hero, after all.

"And you're certain that this Freeza won't attack Earth?" Girran asked. Bulma gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Nah," she assured them, "He's dead." After all, a planet blew up on him, right?

OoOoOoO

Four more months had passed and Porunga was used to wish Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu back to life. When they arrived, everyone was surprised to see that Launch's green hair nearly reached her ankles and Chaozu had grown a thick pair of mutton chops.

Tenshinhan had the same amount of hair as usual: none.

Everyone was there except for Chi-Chi and Yamcha, who were at home with their newborn children, a girl named Shouronpo and a boy named Ocha. They were a beautiful pair of big, young, healthy babies that were born with thick heads of black hair. Puar was working double time as a caretaker and entertainer. Ocha had already tried to grab Puar's brightly colored tongue on several occasions.

OoOoOoO

The Crane trio moved back to their cabin and were surprised by how good of a job Puar had done in maintaining it while they were gone. The house was dusted and the fridge was clean and he had even mowed the lawn a couple of times. Of course, a clean fridge also meant an empty fridge, so it wasn't too long after they returned that Chaozu had to go grocery shopping. That was when Launch found Tenshinhan lying on the couch in a rare moment of relaxation, reading a magazine.

"King Crimson makes no goddamn sense–" Ten muttered to himself before Launch plucked the magazine from his hands and set it on the coffee table. "Hey!" he protested, which was quickly followed by an "Oof!" as Launch sat on his washboard abs. "Can I help you?" Launch smiled down at him, running her hand up and down his arm.

"We've been through a lot together, haven't we?" Launch asked in an affectionate tone, her hand moving up to stroke his face. "You helped me when I thought I was lost, Ten. You… you took the broken pieces and you helped put them together. I… I love you, Tenshinhan." She blushed slightly, never having said it out loud.

"I love you too, Launch," Ten replied, smiling up at her and blushing for the same reason. Launch's hands moved down toward Ten's waist and he felt a flutter in his stomach.

"Soooo," she purred before one hand rested on his knee and the other moved to his ankle, "You gonna marry me or am I gonna have to break your fucking leg?" Ten broke out in a cold sweat and his face turned a similar pallor to Chaozu's.

OoOoOoO

Four more months passed and Earth's Dragon Balls were finally usable again. Kaiou had found a planet with living conditions nearly identical to Planet Namek's and had passed the information along to Bulma, who had written it down for Puar.

"I guess this is goodbye," Dende said to Bulma, Suno, Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan before hugging each of them in turn. "I'm very glad to have met all of you!"

"Hey, never say never," Suno teased playfully. "Who knows what might happen?" Kami was speaking with Moori and the two elders shook hands.

"It was quite enjoyable," Kami said, "To meet more of my own kind. Farewell, brother."

"And I," Moori added, "Was happy to have met another Grand Elder. I shall heed your words, my friend." Then Moori turned to Puar. "We're ready." Puar nodded excitedly and looked down at the Dragon Balls. With all the action Porunga had gotten, he'd kind of gotten a little jealous that he had to wait so long to summon Shenron.

"Eternal Dragon Shenron," Puar cried, "I summon you!" The Namekians gathered and gaped in awe as the sky blackened and lighting flashed and Shenron appeared. They had never seen any other Dragon but Porunga.

"You who have gathered the Seven Dragon Balls," Shenron boomed, "Speak your wish and I shall grant it."

"Please send the Namekians, except for Kami and Piccolo, to the planet with the coordinates…" Puar frowned down at the numbers and _really_ didn't want to mess this up. So he just floated up to Shenron's face and held it in front of one of its eyes. "You can read this, right?"

Shenron sighed. "It is a simple matter." Then its eyes flashed red and the Namekians suddenly vanished from sight. "Farewell." They watched as the Dragon Balls flew off again. A full year, Suno realized, and no sign of Goku.

OoOoOoO

A year had passed since the Namekians had been wished to their new planet. High above Earth's atmosphere, however, an oval ship hovered as a new extraterrestrial prepared to make Earth it's home.

"It's a dreadful little place, isn't it?" asked the goliath of a monarch that was King Cold. His obsidian horns glinted in the ship's artificial light and his velvet cape was draped over the massive throne he sat upon. "Is this the planet you're so terribly interested in, my special one?" he asked the being who came up to his knee. "We could destroy it now."

"No," Freeza growled, his mechanical tail swishing and his fist whirring as he clenched it. His artificial third heart beat steadily in his chest and his robotic toes clicked slightly as he curled and uncurled them in anticipation. "I want Son Goku to see the new me. Then I'm going to destroy everything she loves. Only then, in her last _pitiful_ moments, will I end her life." He smiled wickedly down at Earth. "And she will know the price of defiance."


	75. Tales of the Lost Son! BONUS

Chapter Seventy-five

Tales of the Lost Son! Cooler and Goku!

I am Cooler of Arcosia. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.

I am the firstborn son of Cold, King of the Arcosian Empire, and his Queen Subsera. From the moment I came into the world, it was foretold that I might one day have the strength to surpass my father. Which I knew meant that one day I must kill him. This is not cruel nor is it treacherous. It is simply the way of our people: power belongs to the strong. My father was even accepting of this eventuality. From the moment I could walk and speak, I was trained to rule. I was taught all the courtesies and the prose, the posture and the noble airs. I was taught to fight. I have always enjoyed fighting, in truth. Not merely the visceral thrill of combat but training as well. Honing my skills, increasing my strength, learning new ways to bolster my power. Salza, my oldest and staunchest companion, has often called me "The Most Immaculate Fighter in the Universe", although I know he merely boasts on my behalf.

He's not wrong, of course.

The world was simple. Every day, I grew stronger, swifter, more cunning and more wise. My father sent me to different worlds to study under the finest minds in the universe. Before my twelfth birthday, I was already a Grandmaster of Tarcotur, a game as many times more complex than chess as I am more complex than an amoeba. The universe would one day be mine.

Then everything changed.

 _He_ was born.

I will never forget that day. I will never forget how my mother screamed as he was brought into the world. The last sound she would ever make. By that time, I had already learned how to sense energy. So great a power appearing so suddenly nearly drove me mad. I watched with confusion and dismay as my father scooped him out of the slime and the bits of his shell and held the infant proudly over his head. A small, squirming, squalling little thing. Alabaster white and so freshly born that his biogems were still jelly-like.

"My second son," King Cold had cried proudly, "Freeza!" Everyone cheered when my father stood upon the parapet and held him out for the entire universe to see. How happy we all were. How foolish. I do say "we" because I did truly try to be happy for my brother's birth. I wanted to be his friend. Then everything turned wrong. He was violent and temperamental, as all children are, but he also had incredible power as I had never seen. As had never been seen in any mortal in recorded history. It was all that father and I could do to subdue him even as a child. His power grew seemingly without effort. Special rooms were built in the palace to pacify and control him, although he was told that they were built for his comfort. He infuriated me with his every waking moment. All the work that I had done throughout my life to become as powerful as I had and he eclipsed me by simply existing. The fact that I had been bred to be a king and all of my dreams to rule the universe with a katchin bootheel on its throat… what did they matter now that we lived in a universe where Freeza existed?

To make Freeza complacent, we gave him the illusion of power. The Planet Trade Organization is merely a branch of the Arcosian Empire itself. The universe is vast beyond measure and half of it belongs to our family. You cannot grasp the size of the universe. What you believe you can understand is perhaps a tenth of a thousandth of its true size. My father held ten times that much in the palm of his hand. By keeping Freeza in the dark, we made him believe that the Planet Trade Organization was the bulk of our power, in yet another piece of our campaign against him. Ah, but I have forgotten to tell you when the campaign began. This is my foolishness.

My father was more observant of his violent behaviours than I had believed him to be, as I discovered one day when he invited me into his solar. This was not long after Freeza exterminated the Saiyans. A terrible waste. Not of life, of course; I've destroyed a few races myself. No, no, it was a waste of _resources._ The Saiyans had been incredibly useful and would have continued to be so for quite some time. And why did he do it? Because he feared the legends of our ancestors. Super Saiyans and Super Saiyan _Gods._ Honestly, what did we ever have to fear of the latter? The idea that six good-hearted Saiyans could exist… But back to my meeting with my father.

"He will kill you," my father told me, apropos of nothing.

"He will," I agreed. It was our way, after all. Power belongs to the strong. My birthright meant little so long as Freeza had power surpassing my own.

"Then he will kill me," my father added, "And bring us all to ruin." Freeza could not be taught and he could not be reasoned with. He _acts_ a gentleman when forced to but an act is all it is. When he doesn't get his way? He destroys a planet. My father and I both knew that even if no mortal force could stand against my brother, he would gladly burn our empire to ash as long as no one tried to take away his toys. Yet we also knew that there was a higher force that could strike Freeza down and take our empire with him.

Ah, I see I have erred again. No doubt you are confused as to why I, an Arcosian, would speak of a "higher power". While it is true that our people cannot conceive of a supreme divinity above ourselves, my father has entrusted me with a sacred truth that was passed down from his father and his father before him and so on. A secret known only to the king and his heir. We know that there _is_ a God.

I was only a boy the first time my father took me to stand in His presence. It was during the beautiful time, the time Before Freeza. We came to a neutral world, the two of us, a flock of servants, and the finest chefs in my father's empire. That was a strange company although I soon understood why.

First I saw His Attendant, the Angel. The one called "Whis." I had not yet learned how to sense energy, so all I knew about him was that he was strange. With his blue skin and his tall white hair and his strange clothes, all I could think of him was that he was… off.

"King Cold," Whis declared as the servants prepared a table and chairs, "Prince Cooler–" I wondered how he knew my name, "I invite you to behold the presence of The God of Destruction: Beerus the Destroyer." One moment there was nothing.

Then He was sat before us.

Even though I could not sense energy, I knew that I was beholden to immeasurable power. His half-lidded, yellow eyes looked into my soul. The air seemed to shimmer around Him, as if reality itself trembled before His presence. I could not imagine the power of a being so great. The power over life and death that He held in His hands, to destroy worlds with a word. He was like nothing I had ever seen. He is a light and all else is dark. As beautiful and terrible as the dawn. This first meeting was exactly when I understood what the lessons in courtesy and civility and manners were for. We Arcosians may be the most powerful mortals in the universe and a King may stand above even them but there are those to whom even a King must kneel.

I have only met Beerus twice- He tends to spend quite a lot of time either sleeping or destroying- yet even in those few meetings I had an almost instant and powerful feeling for him. It was not love but something else, something… higher. A reverence or an awe that I have never felt for any mortal being.

"Where is this other son of yours," Beerus asked my father on the second meeting, "This Freeza? I hear he's the most powerful mortal ever born and I must say that I'm rather intrigued." I still remember how my father broke into a terrified sweet at the very mention of my mercurial brother.

"You must forgive me, Lord Beerus," he replied with bowed head. "Young Freeza is not yet prepared to stand before you." Beerus only chuckled.

"Well, you had better get to teaching him," he teased. "I'd like to meet him the next time I wake up."

My father and I both knew that if Freeza were to kill us both and come to power that he would never be able to understand the superiority of Beerus's power, especially with his insane thoughts of godhood. He would challenge Beerus and be slaughtered and, as punishment, Beerus would destroy our worlds, if not the entirety of the Empire.

"You cannot allow him to take the throne," my father told me bluntly.

"Of course," I agreed, "But what can I do?"

"You must train," he told me, "And you must kill him." So our play began. I left the Empire in a self-imposed exile, taking only my Armored Squadron, my own ship, and a hundred of my own foot soldiers. I travelled the uncharted corners of the cosmos, exposing myself to gravities and climates so severe that it put even my Arcosian durability to its limits. Apparently during my absence, Freeza took a bride and got her with child, a repugnant brat named Kuriza who is every inch his father.

I had to kill him as well.

For five years I pushed myself beyond my limits and every day I could feel my power climbing. But there was something holding me back, some mental block in my way.

Then, to my horror, I discovered that Freeza was attempting to make himself immortal. I immediately mobilized my forces and returned to civilized space, although "civilized" was a stretched term. Some filthy backwater planet in the Western Quadrant called "Namek." That was where a planet was _supposed_ to be. Instead, we found, to our surprise, a field of ash and my brother's mutilated corpse among the ruins. I brought him onboard the ship and delivered him home.

Would it have been easier to kill him there? Of course.

Should I have killed him on the operating table when my father was restoring him? Possibly.

But I would not do this. Not out of "love" or "honor", which are the foolish moralities of lesser beings, but because when he died it had to _matter._ I would not be able to secure my throne if it was not indisputable that _mine_ was the ultimate power in the universe. If Freeza were to die "mysteriously" or "tragically" then, even if I sat the throne until the end of days, there would always be the whispers.

"Oh, if Freeza were alive, Cooler would not hold this power." "If Freeza were alive, he'd show Cooler what for." "If Freeza were alive…"

So I immediately left Arcosia and returned to my training. Yet always I hit a wall. Always I reached my limit. And since I knew Freeza's power against my own, I knew that it was never enough. In a final act of desperation, I found a planet that orbited a neutron star. I threw myself into the star. You cannot imagine the gravity of a neutron star. How it crushes you. How it pulls you down. I thought I was going to die. I was sure that I was doomed. I raged and despaired. I cursed my pride and my vanity and stupidity even as the weight pulled me down into the star's surface and I could feel the heat consume me.

There, at the moment of death, at the absolute depths of my self-loathing, I finally broke through. I transformed. I broke free of the star's grip like ripping through a cloud. I was larger, stronger, and my bone armor had grown more fierce and imposing. I could break the speed of light under my own power and nearly flew home without my ship. Of course, I went back and collected the ship because, well, it's mine. I wasn't going to leave it in the ass-end of the universe.

When I returned to the civilized universe, my worst fears had come true. Someone _else_ had killed my father and brother. Some "Super Saiyan." So they were real. And my extended family had taken to squabbling over the throne and the empire and who had the best claim to serve as regent until Kuriza came of age. While they were squabbling, the Federation was tearing our empire, _my empire_ apart. In three years after Freeza's death, the Empire shrank to a third of its former glory. This could not stand. It _would not._

I can still remember their faces as I walked into the throne room. Nearly a hundred squawking, rambling fools fell silent as they felt my presence. I remember Kuriza sitting high upon the throne of my ancestors, nearly identical to his father. Only his gems were red where Freeza's had been purple and his skull gem came to a point. He was also, if possible, even smaller than Freeza. His mother Eis stood beside him. It was the first time I had ever met her and she was unusual for our people. Her horns were curved, her skin was a mottled green, her gems were white, and her armor was gray. There was nothing of her in the son at all. Very confusing.

"I am here," I declared with my voice echoing off the chamber walls, "To take my throne."

They fought me, of course.

They died.

I am not ashamed to admit that I killed my family. Power belongs, after all, to the strong. Although I do have to admit that Kuriza forced me to transform. It seems he had been an even greater prodigy than his father. He could have been a powerful warrior if I had died in that neutron star.

So here now I sit, with the golden circlet upon my brow and the cape across my shoulders. The circlet is made from gold harvested in the vacuum of space and the cape is made of fabrics woven from the most valuable gems of every planet in the empire. Although many of the fabrics are "free" now. I must reclaim all that which was lost.

Then I must have more. I will expand the Arcosian Empire until every star in the sky belongs to me.

I cannot stop training. I must master this new form. I will not be a fool like my brother, who let his power burn out and bleed because he was arrogant and stupid. I will become more powerful than any Arcosian ever.

Then I must have _more._ If other beings could defeat Freeza then he cannot be as all-powerful as we believed. If Super Saiyans, are real I must surpass them. First, I will kill the one that killed my brother and father, for the principle of the thing. Then I must push myself ever further. For if Freeza can be surpassed, even He may be surpassed. The universe will be mine to command. To control.

I am Cooler of Arcosia. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.

OoOoOoO

Hey everyone, Goku here! Man, it has been a _crazy_ few months since I landed on Yardrat. That's where I wound up after I left Namek. Everything was kinda, y'know, exploding, so I just started pushing buttons until the Ginyu pod I stole took off. I just kinda crashed into Yardrat, which honestly hurt me more than the whole fight with Freeza did after I turned Super Saiyan (but don't tell him that, I think he's kinda sensitive about being strong). Between that and the damage I'd taken before turning Super Saiyan, I was pretty messed up. But the people of Yardrat took me in and patched me up. The Yardrat...ians (they never actually told me what they were called) are a bunch of bug-eyed, pink-skinned people with big wrinkly, pink heads and blue spots where hair should be. I know they sound weird but they were actually really nice! I especially liked their outfits.

They took me to Tsukemen, who was their greatest healer, and she covered me in some kind of weird purple goo that made my whole body tingle. Then she used some kind of magic to heal all my wounds. At least I'm pretty sure it was magic. Then they gave me clean clothes once I was washed and healed. They all wear these puffy white shirt with frilly collars and red pants, plus armor pieces that cover their chests, waists, and one shoulder. Though I don't really know why they had armor considering that they're not really big fighters. I'll get to that later, though.

Once I was healed and clothed, it was time to eat! And man, the Yardrat _really_ like to eat. Almost as much as me! I mean, their food looked kinda weird, like a lot of melons with tentacles and purple meat, but it still tasted really good. Besides, it was their planet, who was I to judge? And all of this was before they even asked who I was or why I was there. The people of Yardrat are _super_ friendly!

Finally, though, they took me to Soumen, the leader of the Yardrat people. Soumen had a tall white hat with a blue gem on the top that basically said he was in charge. He was like the chief of Suno's village but, y'know, for the whole planet. I figured out their language (I've always been pretty good at learning languages for some reason) and told him my whole story. Soumen told me that it would take a while for them to fix my ship but that I could stay on Yardrat as an honored guest until I was ready to leave. Which was fine with me because I still had to learn how to control my power as a Super Saiyan. I explained that to them, too, and for some reason the words "Super Saiyan" made them _really_ nervous.

"If you love fighting as much as you say," Soumen told me, "And if it is help you seek, then I shall send you to Soba, our greatest warrior." I was really excited at the idea of meeting another planet's greatest fighter and immediately agreed. Soumen took me to the mountaintop Soba lived on and I was surprised how different he looked from everyone else. His skin was green and he was muscular and tall and he wore black pants and a white cape. With his pointy ears and bald head, he looked a little bit like Piccolo!

"I am Soba," he introduced himself, "And I am Yardrat's greatest warrior."

"I'm Son Goku," I introduced back, "And I'm pretty strong, too!" So he challenged me to a spar. That didn't go so great for him.

It turns out that Yardrat's greatest warrior… iiiiiisn't so strong. I mean, he put up a pretty good fight but I'm pretty sure if I'd used Kaiouken I would have killed him. Even so, he asked me to turn Super Saiyan.

"I really don't know how," I admitted, "It just sort of happened. And even if I knew how, I don't think I want to yet. I'm… afraid of what I might do."

"You will always be afraid," Soba replied, "Until you try." Soba always made a lot of sense. Talking to him was kind of like those three years I spent training with Kami. So I put myself back in the spot I'd been when I transformed the first time. I remembered Krillin's death and Freeza's laugh. Most of all, I remembered what he said.

 _'I think one of your brood should go next.'_ It all came back to me then, the fury and the hatred and the power. I tried to control it, tried to hold it down, but I could feel myself slipping almost immediately. Then Soba grabbed me and the next thing I knew we were on another planet. I was so startled and confused that I lost my anger and dropped out of Super Saiyan.

"Where are we?" I asked as I looked around the different stars in the dark pink sky. "How did you do that? What was that?"

"We are on Minasirith," Soba told me, "A planet in the Eastern Galactic Quadrant. And this," he grabbed me again and we were back on Yardrat, "Is Instant Transmission. My people's greatest technique. I am its greatest master."

Well, you know me. As soon as I heard the word "technique", I just _had_ to learn it. The way Soba explained it to me was that Instant Transmission could take you anywhere, instantly, as long as you could sense someone's ki. I mean, he used the word "essence" but what he described was ki. I know there may not _seem_ like many battlefield applications for that kind of teleportation but I think I can figure something out.

Every day we sat and we meditated. It's kinda funny, I always thought meditating was boring when I trained with Kami but when we started doing it I realized that I had missed it. Especially since I had to turn Super Saiyan before I meditated so that brought an extra challenge to it and I _love_ a challenge. I wondered when Soba was going to teach me about Instant Transmission but one day I realized that meditating _was_ teaching me. I opened myself back up to the ki channels of all living things and expanded my consciousness so that I could sense things across huge distances, even whole galaxies away. After that, it was just about focusing on one spot in particular and focusing my energies to project them across that distance. I _think_ that's what the fingers are for but I never really asked. Yardrats have two less fingers than we do so they only put one finger to their heads but I used two. Again, I'm not really sure why, it just kinda felt right.

A few months have passed and I've finally gotten control of my Super Saiyan powers and I've mastered the Instant Transmission technique. Although, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if I have it totally down. I haven't practiced with it across huge distances so I think I'll just take the Ginyu pod so I don't die in the vacuum of space or anything.

I say my goodbyes to the people of Yardrat and hop into the space pod. It's kind of funny that the ship has Earth in its computer, although it's called "Terra" for some reason. I dunno. I just push a few buttons and it blasts me off into space. Man, I can't wait to get home! I wonder what everyone's been up to.

* * *

Namek Saga:

Kiwi – 9,000

Vegeta – 12,000

Vegeta (Post Zarbon Zenkai) – 14,000

Vegeta (Post Burter Zenkai) – 40,000

Vegeta (Post Krillin Zenkai) – 100,000

Dodoria – 10,000

Zarbon – 11,000

Zarbon (Transformed) – 13,000

Krillin – 1,800

Krillin (VS Recoome) – 13,000

Krillin (VS Freeza) – 20,000

Gohan – 1,700

Gohan (VS Recoome) – 13,500

Gohan (Post Jeice Zenkai) – 20,000

Gohan (VS Freeza) – 25,000

Gohan (Post 2nd Form Freeza Zenkai) – 70,000

Gohan (Rage) – 90,000

Suno – 2,000

Suno (VS Guldo) – 13,200

Suno (VS Freeza) – 21,000

Nail – 20,000

Guldo – 9,000

Recoome – 15,000

Burter – 14,000

Jeice – 16,000

Ginyu – 27,000

Ginyu (Goku's Body) – 10,000

Goku – 20,000

Goku (Kaiouken x2) – 40,000

Goku (Post Ginyu Zenkai) – 100,000

Goku (Kaiouken x10) – 1,000,000

Goku (Kaiouken x20) – 2,000,000

Goku (Super Saiyan) – 5,000,000

Piccolo – 4,000

Piccolo (Post Fusion w/ Nail) – 80,000

Freeza – 55,000

Freeza (2nd Form) – 80,000

Freeza (3rd Form) – 100,000

Freeza (50% Final Form) – 2,000,000

Freeza (100% Final Form) – 4,000,000


	76. Who is this New Hero?

Chapter Seventy-six

Freeza's Revengeance! Who is this New Hero?

Suno and Gohan were leaving their school after an ordinary day of class had let out and were getting ready to head home. Suno had papers to grade and Gohan had homework to do. After that, they were going to spar for an hour or two before dinner. Those plans were suddenly dashed as they felt an _incredibly_ powerful and _nightmarishly familiar_ ki pressing down on their minds.

"Oh no…" Suno muttered weakly as she and Gohan turned their heads to the sky.

"That's not good," Gohan added. His mother nodded and they quickly changed into their gi before taking off into the sky and toward the direction of the ki.

OoOoOoO

Several miles away, Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu had been enjoying some downtime in their mountain home, playing a video game.

"DIO is _so broken!"_ Launch protested sourly as she furiously worked the controls.

"That's because you're just mashing buttons," Ten retorted calmly as he carefully worked his way through combos and kicked Jolyne in the face. Chaozu was waiting to play next.

The good times came to a stop when they, too, suddenly became aware of the massive power level rushing toward the Earth.

"That's probably Freeza, isn't it?" Tenshinhan surmised. They'd never actually sensed Freeza's ki before but there weren't many other beings that could be so incredibly powerful and malevolent. Or at least, so they hoped.

"Yeah," Chaozu agreed glumly. It looked like it was time for death number three. Meanwhile, Launch had taken advantage of Ten's distraction and won the game.

"Launch!" Ten barked angrily as he turned his focus back on her and glared at her in irritation.

"Aw, c'mon," Launch said with a laugh, "I _had_ to!" Then she sighed and turned off the machine. "C'mon, we better get going." The three went out the door and flew off toward the massive ki. They didn't know _what_ they could do but they weren't just going to hide and let others deal with it.

OoOoOoO

"Did you sense that?" Krillin asked Roshi as he walked out of the Kame House kitchen. He'd been trying one of his licensed protein shakes and had had to wash his mouth out in the sink. He _really_ needed to do that _before_ he agreed to put his face on things.

"Yep," Roshi replied as he idly flipped through a women's Taijutsu magazine. Apparently Ranfan was World's Champion. Good for her.

"The others are probably going to check it out," Krillin remarked after he walked into his room and changed into his gi.

"Yep."

"Guess I'd better join them," Krillin said as he walked out the door and flew off the beach.

"Yep," Roshi muttered several moments after Krillin had left. He kept his keister firmly on the couch. What was he, an idiot?

OoOoOoO

Vegeta was getting out of the shower of his quarters in the Capsule Corp building after a long workout in the gravity chamber when he felt Freeza's unmistakeable power bearing down toward him. He stood in the bathroom, naked and dripping wet, with a steely expression on his face as his fists balled tightly at his sides. _This_ time, he swore to himself, he would win.

"Woman," he called down the hall, "Where is my combat outfit?"

"Still in the pile of dirty clothes you left it in!" Came the reply from Bulma's lab. Vegeta's eyes widened and a vein quivered in his temple.

"You mean you didn't launder them?!" he asked irritably.

"What do I look like," she called back, "Your slave?!"

"YES!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Vegeta sighed and grabbed a drying cloth to dry himself before leaving the bathroom and going into his sleeping chamber to rummage through the closet. It was getting rather sparse so he'd have to just wear whatever the first thing he found was. He pulled out… a pair of yellow pants. He stared at them for a moment and gave serious considerations to burning the entire building to the ground. Then he sighed and pulled them on. Hopefully whatever shirt he grabbed wouldn't clash too garishly.

Bulma, for her part, was testing the first batch of scouters she'd been commissioned to make by the Royal Government. There were many uses for scouters for law enforcement and disaster relief purposes; they could be used to find hostages and criminals or those caught in collapsed buildings, avalanches, and other natural disasters. Between Raditz's scouter and the specs she'd dug out of Krillin, Gohan, and Suno's armors; Bulma was going to make a _killing_ from all of this alien stuff in the last two years.

It kinda made up for all the actual killing that the aforementioned aliens had done.

Bulma pushed that out of her head as she affixed one of the scouters to her right ear and tapped a button to turn it on. It gave her the Battle Powers of all the Capsule Corp employees, which were all in the single digits, and Vegeta's, which was 120,000. She expanded the range and was hit with another rush of single digits, which was all of the people in West City. She also noticed several high Battle Powers, which she figured were her friends, all heading toward one direction. Then, without warning, she got one number in particular that skyrocketed higher and higher. The scouter started to flash red and she quickly threw it across out of her open window where it exploded harmlessly in the courtyard down below

If you ignored the screams of Brett from R&D. Seriously, the guy was cursed. You couldn't throw a paper airplane without it hitting him in the eyes.

The row of scouters behind Bulma started to flash red as well and she immediately capsuled them and flung them out the window as well. The capsule blew up and that hit Brett, too. Bulma sighed and slipped on her jetpack to fly out the window toward the direction the others had been heading in.

"Probably gonna get a call from the King's people for this," Bulma muttered irritably under her breath. What the hell did Giran expect _her_ to do about it?

OoOoOoO

"And then the monkey girl and all her friends defeated the evil demon king with the ultimate techniques: teamwork and friendship!" Yamcha closed the picture book and listened to the applause of entertained infants. It sounded a lot like snoring. As Yamcha tucked his children in for their afternoon nap and kissed Shouronpo and Ocha on their heads in turn, he reflected on how weird it was that he was technically a character in a storybook. Although his character's name was different and was a literal wolf boy, just like how Goku was a monkey, Krillin was a tiger, and Roshi was a turtle.

Then again, the publishing company that _made_ the "Legend of the Monkey Girl" series was owned by Capsule Corp so Yamcha supposed he shouldn't be _too_ surprised.

Yamcha walked out of his children's room and shut the door gently behind him before walking into the living room to find Chi-Chi on the couch going through their mail.

"Anything interesting?" Yamcha asked as he swung his legs over the back of the couch and sat down beside her. She smiled and sifted through a few of the letters.

"There's a thank-you note from that Sultan whose daughter we rescued last month," she began while handing the elegant stationery to Yamcha. To his surprise, the words were written with a literal gold ink. "And there's a letter from Hercule's manager asking us to get in touch with the 'Bald Tiger', since he isn't returning their calls to promote a fight between the two of them." Yamcha chuckled and tucked the letter into his back pocket. He'd show it to Krillin later and they'd laugh. "Then we've got bills and…" Chi-Chi paused, setting the envelopes down and smiling at Yamcha.

"What?" he asked and leaned back slightly as she continued to stare. "Do I have something on my face?" Chi-Chi giggled and shook her head.

"I just… I still can't believe you cut your hair." Yamcha laughed as Chi-Chi ran her fingers through his much, much shorter locks. On her own part, Chi-Chi had changed her hairstyle into a huge mane of curls.

"Hey," he reminded her, "Ocha's a puller. It was either I cut it off or he ripped it off, y'know?" They shared a laugh that was cut short by the sudden surge of ki that raced through their minds like a lightning bolt. They looked at each other forlornly for a moment and Yamcha started to get up off the couch.

"Wait," Chi-Chi pleaded as she reached up and put an hand on his shoulder. Yamcha sighed and reluctantly pulled away.

"I can't," Yamcha told his wife apologetically. "I don't know how much good I'll do but I… I just can't sit here and hide. I couldn't hide from Piccolo or the Saiyans and I won't hide now." Chi-Chi nodded and stood up next to him.

"I know you can't," Chi-Chi said softly as she cupped Yamcha's face in both her hands and looked down into his eyes. "What I _meant_ was 'wait for me'." Yamcha smiled up at her and gently pushed her hands down.

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Yamcha said even as he held her hands in both of his.

"I wasn't there for you last time," she replied sullenly, "But nothing's going to stop me from being there now. So I'm not asking you, I'm _telling_ you. I'm going." Yamcha smiled up at his wife and stood up on his toes to kiss her on the lips.

"Hey Puar," Yamcha called as he made for the door, "Hold down the fort for us, okay? Gonna go battle some aliens!"

"Sure thing!" Puar called back. Then as soon as the door shut, he flew over to the phone and dialed. "Hey Korin, it's Puar. Yeah, the humans left. Wanna come over and play poker?"

OoOoOoO

When Suno and Gohan reached the area that Freeza's ki was coming from they were surprised to find Piccolo was already there, standing on a high plateau that overlooked the ravine that Freeza's ship had landed in.

"Jeez," Suno mused as she and Gohan landed beside the Namekian, "You got here fast."

"Well I already live here," he reminded them casually.

"You can move in with us if you want," Gohan offered as he had several times before."Our couch has a foldout bed." Piccolo rolled his eyes and gave Gohan a good natured smirk.

"I think I'll pass." Bulma landed a few seconds after and was in the middle of a conversation with King Giran by the sound of things.

"-Am aware that a giant spaceship has landed, your majesty. Yes, I'd say the safest thing to do right now is to keep quiet about this, your majesty. My friends can handle it. No, I highly doubt it's Freeza, your majesty." Then she turned off her earpiece and turned to the others. "It's Freeza, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Uh huh."

"Mmhmm."

"Well good," came the voice of Tenshinhan. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd wasted all that time training with Kaiou." The others looked up to see Ten, Launch, and Chaozu flying down to meet them.

"Besides," Launch added, "I've wanted to see what this Freeza bastard looks like for almost two years now since no one would shut up about him."

"If any human's getting a shot at Freeza," Krillin called from high above, "It'll be me!" He landed in the center of their group dramatically and the sun glinted off his shiny bald head. "I still owe him a receipt from last time." Before Suno could say what they were all thinking, Yamcha and Chi-Chi arrived, still in t-shirts and jeans, and said it for them.

"This is great and all," Yamcha observed casually after he and Chi-Chi touched down, "Real nice that the gang's all here. But do we have any kind of, y'know, plan?"

"Well, I could–" Krillin began to say before the voice they were all dreading butted in.

"Whatever your plan is," Vegeta cut in tersely as he landed behind the group, "It will get you all killed. _My_ plan, conversely, is much better." They all turned slowly to look at Vegeta… and immediately had to call on all of their martial arts skill to restrain their instinctive reaction to laugh their heads off. Except for Bulma, who lacked any such training and _did_ laugh her head off. Vegeta was dressed in a pair of bright yellow pants, a bright pink button-up shirt, and a pair of black dress shoes. Vegeta merely rolled his eyes at their snickering. "If you're quite done," he muttered dryly as he pushed through them to stand at the edge of the plateau and look down at Freeza's ship, "As I was saying–" He was interrupted by everyone bursting out into laughter once they saw the _back_ of his shirt. "WHAT?!" he snapped while keeping his back to them.

"V-Vegeta," Krillin stammered out, "Have you seen what it says on the back of your shirt?"

"Obviously not," Vegeta growled. "What is it?" Bulma had managed to compose herself to snickering and took a picture of the back of Vegeta's shirt with her phone and showed it to him. Across his back, in bright red block letters, it read "BAD MAN". To their surprise, Vegeta chuckled. "Well," he mused, "It's not wrong."

"Okay, 'Bad Man'," Suno breathed out once she'd regained her composure, "What's the master plan?"

"The Namekian, the Brat, and I are the most powerful ones here," Vegeta began, "Obviously Freeza came here looking for Kakarot so he won't expect anyone else. If we all attack at once and use the element of surprise to our advantage, we might be able to seriously injure him." There was a long pause.

"Seriously," Krillin asked drily, " _That's_ your plan? Just everyone charge in at once?"

"Do you have a better one?"

"Yeah. I blind him and cut him in half!"

"Uh, excuse me," Chi-Chi said suddenly, "What about that _other_ large ki? The one that's not as big but is still giving me a headache to try and focus on?" Before anyone could say anything, the ship opened up. Two dozen armed and armored PTO soldiers came marching out of the ship, followed by a heavily-cyborgified Freeza and, as far as Suno, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo could tell, a _second,_ purplier Freeza in his second form.

"Huh," Vegeta muttered as he rubbed his chin. "That complicates things."

"Why?" Krillin asked. "Who's the other guy?"

"Freeza's father," Vegeta explained, "King Cold."

" _That_ doesn't sound good," Gohan observed with his mother's dry sarcasm. Bulma, meanwhile, was looking at Freeza through her binoculars.

"Huh," she muttered. "So _that's_ what he looks like? I've got a box full of him at home."

"That's what _I_ said the first time I saw him like that!" Suno replied with amused astonishment. Bulma turned to her in surprise.

"Wait, _you_ have a box?"

"Well, yeah, how else do you buy them?"

"Wait, what're you talking about?"

"What are _you_ talking about?"

"Oh will you both _shut up?!"_ Vegeta snapped. "I need to think!" He tried to blot Bulma out of his mind as she got another call from King Giran.

"He did WHAT? Well, yes, your majesty, I know I said Freeza was dea– yes, I _know,_ but… no I _don't_ know where Goku is, but we can handle–" Before Vegeta could try and formulate a new plan, however, Chaozu pointed down into the ravine.

"Uh, hey," he observed, "Who the heck is that guy?"

OoOoOoO

"Must we _really_ wait for her to show up, my little prince?" King Cold asked wearily as he looked up at the baking yellow sun in the blue sky above. "The air on this planet feels so horribly _greasy._ Can't we just blow it up and be done?"

" _No,_ father," Freeza objected sternly, his voice reverberating slightly with a mechanized tinge from the cybernetic reconstruction of his throat and lungs. "I _told_ you! I have to have my revenge! I want to see the look on that stupid monkey's face when I kill this planet she loves so dear before I kill her!" Although Freeza himself was already getting bored. Where the hell _was_ she? She seemed to have a scouter buried in her head back on Namek so he knew she could sense his Battle Power! Was she not here? He'd soon find out. Using his superior Arcosian cybernetic enhancements, Freeza assumed control of every satellite and video feed on the planet, broadcasting his face all over the globe. "Attention, feeble cretins! I am Freeza, the Dominator of the Universe! I understand that your hero, Son Goku, calls this planet home! She has one minute to appear and face me or I will destroy this world!" Freeza then ended the transmission. No sooner had he said that, however, than a blue-haired, young, pink-skinned humanoid seemed to appear from nowhere in front of Freeza's soldiers.

"Is _this_ Son Goku?" Cold asked his son. Freeza groaned and rubbed at his temples.

"No, father," Freeza muttered, "This is obviously a male." Then he took another moment to examine this stranger who had appeared from nowhere. He wore a blue half-jacket over a black shirt, black pants, yellow boots, and had a sword strapped to his back. All in all, he looked _very_ strange. "Who _are_ you?" he asked. To his surprise, the young man chuckled.

"My name isn't important," he said as he began to unsheathe his sword. Then, before the blade was entirely out of its scabbard, he put it swiftly back in. Before Freeza could even ask what the hell the point of that had been, every soldier's head rolled off their shoulders, a moment before their bodies crumpled to the ground. That was… impressive speed. "But it's a Super Saiyan you're after, right?" The young man smirked and brought his hands down to his sides. "Well then, you're in luck." Freeza laughed.

"Oh, how droll!" Freeza quipped as he continued to laugh. "I must say, my good man, I don't think I've ever heard _that_ kind of a bluff before! You must have quite the death wish to mock the mighty Freeza!" He continued to laugh but his underlying fear turned it into something of a bray. He… he had to be bluffing! No Saiyan had blue hair! There… there couldn't be _two_ of them! Then there was a flash of light and the young man's smirk turned into a scowl. Bits of gravel floated into the air, followed by his minion's corpses and huge chunks of earth.

He never screamed. He never roared. He just… started to change. His hair flitted upward and flashed golden and his body was cascaded in a yellow flame. His eyes turned steely and teal.

"They… _do_ exist," Cold muttered in numb shock. Freeza began to back away slowly, his body trembling with fear.

"Th-those eyes," he muttered, "He… he has the same… the same eyes!"

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Suno muttered to Gohan as they all watched in stunned amazement, "When your mother gets home, she and I are going to have a _serious_ talk." Vegeta, meanwhile, was somewhere between stunned disbelief and blinding rage. Who the hell was this _brat?!_ Where had he come from? How was _he_ a Super Saiyan?!

OoOoOoO

The Super Saiyan cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as his smirk returned. "Looks like you've seen a ghost," he called in a mocking challenge. "I guess that makes sense, since you're about to be one." What blood there was in Freeza's veins that hadn't been replaced by coolant boiled and he seethed with rage.

"You will not mock me!" he bellowed as he charged. The Super Saiyan met his charge with a flying kick that sent Freeza crashing through their ship and ripped it in half. King Cold tried to attack while the Super Saiyan's back was turned and swung down with a chop that was sure to crack his skull in half. The Super Saiyan brought his arm up to block and, in a seamless motion, unsheathed his sword and cut off Cold's arm. Then he spun around and kicked the King in the chest to send him flying back. Freeza came roaring out of the wreckage of the ship and ducked the Super Saiyan's sword as he flung it at him, attacking with a barrage of relentless punches and kicks. The Super Saiyan dodged and blocked them all before driving his elbow into Freeza's gut. Freeza coughed and sputtered as the wind was driven out of him before the Super Saiyan jumped up and drove his knee up under Freeza's chin, cracking the cybernetics that held together his jaw. The Super Saiyan was behind Freeza in a flash and kicked him in the back to send him careening into his father, causing them to collide in a tangle of limbs. They hopped to their feet and retaliated with a twin energy blast from their three remaining palms. The Super Saiyan held out his hand and the sword sailed back dutifully into his outstretched fingers like a boomerang. The Super Saiyan swung the sword forward and held it out in front of him, causing the blast to diverge in two directions along the edge of the blade. He charged through the blast, literally cutting right through it, before he emerged between them.

"I-impossible," King Cold protested, aghast with horror. "No metal should be able to withstand our power!" The Super Saiyan smirked as he hung in the air between them.

"You don't know my mother," he retorted. Then he hit father and son with a split kick that sent both sailing in opposite directions. The Super Saiyan followed after Cold and effortlessly avoided his desperate, flailing kicks. He grabbed Cold's cape and wrapped it around his head before effortlessly slicing it off. The cloth muffled the King's sputtering gasps before the Super Saiyan flip-kicked his severed head into the sun.

"Father!" Freeza cried out as he watched his father's corpse slump to the ground. He snarled and fired a barrage of energy blasts at the Super Saiyan but he held his sword out and spun it quickly in his fingers, scattering the blasts in all directions.

OoOoOoO

"Look out!" Krillin cried as the pink ki blasts sailed just overhead. As everyone dove to the ground, Krillin looked down at the battle with growing worry. This new Super Saiyan _was_ on their side, right? ...Right?

OoOoOoO

"Sorry you won't get to see Goku again," the Super Saiyan called over the whine of his spinning blade and the din of reflected blasts, "But I'm just about bored with you!" Then he hurled his sword at Freeza as hard as he could, who deflected it with his metal forearm to send it stabbing into the dirt where it quivered on the spot.

"You dare to trivialize the mighty F–" was as far as Freeza got before the Super Saiyan was on him and slugged him across the jaw with a right hook. He hammered Freeza with a relentless barrage of punches that kept him off-balance and snapped his head this way and that, making his eyes spin around in his head.

OoOoOoO

' _Huh,'_ Piccolo thought curiously as he watched the strange warrior's onslaught, ' _That looks like my fighting style.'_ He didn't know it but Vegeta was thinking the same thing.

OoOoOoO

The Super Saiyan finished his attack with a twisting uppercut that sent Freeza flying high into the sky.

"Now to finish it!" the Super Saiyan called up as he brought his hands in front of him, weaving intricate patterns in the air. Freeza managed to gain control of his ascent and raised one hand overhead with a finger pointed in the air.

"I'll teach you to meddle with me, you filthy monkey!" A massive ball of burning orange ki hovered over his fingertip like a miniature sun. "Now die!" He flung the ball down with every ounce of hate in his being. The Super Saiyan watched the giant ball rushing towards him and brought his hands forward.

"Burning Attack!" he roared. The yellow-orange ki blast shot forth like an arrow and collided with Freeza's attack, puncturing through it and causing it to burst like a balloon. The blast collided with Freeza and sent him hurtling out into space, past his father's severed head, before he crashed into the sun.

' _Not… fair! It's… not… Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiii–'_ and, damning his life's indignities to the last, Freeza was swallowed up by Earth's sun and died. His body was shoved further and further into the heart of the sun until it burnt into cinder and ash.

The Super Saiyan powered down immediately and turned toward the plateau where the others had been perched.

"Hello up there," he called. "I'm Trunks!" Before any of them could say anything, he was standing in front of them. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions–"

"You're damn right I do!" Suno and Vegeta snapped simultaneously. Trunks held his hands up defensively, clearly not having expected such vehemence.

"I'll explain everything," he assured them, "After Goku gets here." Piccolo chuckled bitterly.

"How long do you expect us to wait for answers, then?" Piccolo asked. "Because it's been almost two years and she hasn't come back."

"Oh, that's okay," Trunks replied easily, "She'll be here today!" He paused to look at his watch. "In another… fifteen minutes or so, actually! Right here!"

"What," Launch asked sarcastically, "Are you from the future or something?"

There was a suspiciously long pause.

"Does anyone want something to drink?" Trunks asked as he fished through his pockets. "I know I've got a fridge capsule in here somewhere." They noticed that he hadn't answered the question and ignored it to accept the offer of a free beverage. It certainly didn't help their suspicions that most of the drinks looked unfamiliar and those that _did_ look familiar had different logos. While everyone milled around with the nervous anticipation of the promise that Goku might actually be showing up, Gohan noticed that their mysterious new friend had disappeared. Gohan searched around and found him hiding behind a large boulder with his face buried in one of the sleeves of his jacket.

"Hey," Gohan said softly as he tapped Trunks on the arm, "Are you okay?" Trunks quickly rubbed his eyes in his arm and looked down at Gohan.

"Y-yeah," he breathed out despite the red puffiness around his eyes, "I-I'm fine."

"I'm Gohan, by the way." Gohan said helpfully and held out his hand.

"I know," Trunks sighed and smiled as he shook the younger boy's hand. Gohan gave him a knowing smirk.

"You're from the future, aren't you?" Trunks gawked and Gohan smirked. "My mother's a big fan of that one time-travel show with the guy in the police box. And the movies with the old guy and the kid and the car. So I guess I kinda notice that stuff." Trunks grinned sheepishly and looked down at his boots.

"Guess I didn't really cover my tracks, huh?" Gohan just pointed at his can of HETAP, a drink that did not yet exist. "Heh… yeah. Don't tell anyone yet though, okay?"

"It'll destroy time and space?" Gohan asked.

"Something like that." They walked back out from behind the rock just as Krillin pointed excitedly up at a glint in the sky.

"Guys," he called while practically bouncing up and down with excitement, "Look!" The glint of white grew steadily and steadily larger, turning into a star that streaked across the sky and headed straight for them. Everyone cried out and dove out of the way as the space pod barreled into the ground where they'd been standing only a few moments before. In Trunks' defense, he _had_ said that she'd be landing _right there._

Everyone gathered around the crater for a few moments and waited with bated breath as the pod's door slowly opened. A hand came out of the pod and gripped the side of the ship as someone pulled themself out.

Goku emerged from the space pod in a positively _ridiculous_ outfit and grinned from ear to ear as everyone (except Vegeta) cheered.

"Hi, everyone!" she greeted cheerily. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

A/N: For those wondering about the blue hair, it's not because of Super. If you can find pictures of Future Trunks from colored by Toriyama, you'll see that he always had blue hair.


	77. Goku Returns! An Omen from the Future!

Chapter Seventy-seven

Goku Returns! An Omen from the Future!

Everyone stared at Goku in open-mouthed astonishment for a moment and she stared back at them. "What's everyone looking–whoa!" Goku's question was interrupted as Gohan and Suno dove down into the crater and tackled her into the dirt.

"Goku!" Suno cried happily as she hugged Goku as tightly as she could.

"Mom!" Gohan exclaimed, burying his face in her stomach. The three hugged and laughed happily as Goku stood back up as effortlessly as if Gohan and Suno weighed nothing at all. She hopped out of the crater and hugged Yamcha, Launch, and Krillin as well. Ten and Chaozu shook Goku's hand eagerly while Chi-Chi and Piccolo gave her polite nods. Only Vegeta and Trunks stayed away from the welcoming party. Once Gohan and Suno finally untangled themselves from Goku, Launch gave Goku a quick punch on the arm.

"Jeez," she teased, "You cut it close, huh?" Goku looked at her curiously as Launch rubbed her knuckles.

"Whaddaya mean?" Goku asked. Bulma pointed over Goku's shoulder to the burning wreckage of Freeza's ship behind her.

"You just missed Freeza and his father, King Cold," Vegeta explained. "You and your stupid mercy almost killed all your friends." As he spoke, Goku turned around to look at the ship, then turned back around and shrugged.

"Huh," she muttered casually, "So that's what I sensed. I was gonna take care of it but, as soon as I noticed it, their ki vanished. Who took out Freeza and his dad? Was it Vegeta or Piccolo?" Then she gasped exuberantly and clapped her hands. "Gohan," she asked excitedly, "Did you turn into a Super Saiyan?"

"No," Gohan admitted awkwardly as he turned back to gesture at Trunks, "He did." Goku looked at Trunks and cocked her head to one side.

"...Who the heck are you?" she asked. Everyone except for Trunks face-faulted, which made Goku laugh and made Trunks smile bashfully.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Yamcha said as Chi-Chi helped him to his feet, "Since he seemed to know you. He knew your name and that you'd show up here today." Goku grinned and walked over to Trunks to shake his hand enthusiastically.

"Hiya there," she greeted excitedly. "So you turned into a Super Saiyan?"

"Y-y-y-yes," Trunks stammered out, his whole body shaking from how eagerly Goku was shaking his hand.

"Neat!" Goku exclaimed. "I didn't know there were any other Saiyans beside me and Vegeta." Suno put her hand on Goku's shoulder to get her to stop shaking Trunk's hand and Trunk's eyes rattled around in his head once she let go.

"There aren't," Vegeta growled. "Except for my brother and another dumb cow but they're at opposite ends of the galaxy. Which is why I want to know what in the nine Hells he is." Trunks shook his head to clear it and blinked a few times to finally clear his vision and focus on Goku again.

"I'll explain everything," Trunks told her, "But first I'd like to speak to you in private."

"What's so secr–" Krillin began to ask before Goku immediately cut him off.

"Okay!" Everyone rolled their eyes and shrugged as Trunks flew off with Goku following behind him. Goku was, if nothing else, usually pretty trusting.

"What the heck is she _wearing?"_ Bulma muttered as they watched the pair fly off.

OoOoOoO

"So what'd you want to–" Goku started to say once they landed before Trunks let out a roar as he immediately transformed into a Super Saiyan and attacked. His sword shone brightly in the sun as he swung it in a lethal arc that bore straight down toward Goku's skull. Goku transformed effortlessly and stopped Trunks' attack with a single finger. Trunks continued his assault undeterred, striking from every angle, moving so fast that he seemed to be everywhere at once. He filled the air with a silvery haze as he struck swiftly and precisely, a whirlwind of destruction and razor-sharp beauty.

Goku, by contrast, never moved from that spot and, in fact, didn't move any part of her body except her right arm. Trunks grabbed his sword in a two-hand grip and swung for Goku's neck with all his might. Goku extended a second finger and caught Trunks' sword mid-swing between her fingertips and effortlessly yanked it from Trunk's hands before casting it aside to stab into the dirt, quivering as it buried nearly to the handle. Trunks stared in bewilderment from his empty hands, to where the sword was, to Goku and back. Her fingers were unharmed. He hadn't even managed to damage her sleeve.

OoOoOoO

The others had been watching all of this with stunned astonishment. Those that had been to Namek were the only ones with even a hope of actually following anything while everyone else saw a pair of golden blurs.

"And that Trunks kid took out Freeza like he was nothing," Launch reminded them, her eyes as big as dinner plates. The others nodded.

"Guess Goku's been training," Krillin remarked, "Wherever she's been." Vegeta watched silently and ground his back teeth.

OoOoOoO

"Are ya done?" Goku asked. Trunks slowly nodded and closed his mouth before he picked his sword back up. He tossed it onto the air and tilted his head slightly to the left as it flipped end over end nearly half a dozen times and slid smoothly back into its sheath. "Hey," she added as she pointed at Trunks' hair, "Does mine do that, too?"

"Y-yes," Trunks stammered out, clearly not expecting that question. Goku grinned and ran a hand through her spiky golden hair.

"Neat!" She powered down and Trunks did the same. "So how do you know my name? And what's yours, anyway?"

"My name is Trunks," Trunks began, "And I know you you are because… I'm from the future." He waited to see Goku's reaction, no doubt expecting some level of skepticism or disbelief.

"Neat," Goku repeated, which made Trunks laugh. His mother had certainly painted an accurate picture of Goku's personality. "So if that movie with the robot from the future Suno liked gives me anything to go by, you're here because something in the future went bad. What happened?" Trunks blinked and stared at Goku for a moment. Between Goku and Gohan, Trunks had clearly underestimated how receptive popular culture had made the concept of time travel. Then he shrugged and started talking.

"I come from twenty years in the future," Trunks explained. "Over the course of the next three years, a series of androids created by Dr. Gero, formerly of the Red Ribbon Army, will be unleashed." Goku frowned at that but didn't say anything out loud because she didn't want to interrupt. Still, she was disappointed to hear that the Red Ribbon Army came back. "After the first five are defeated, Gero attempted to use the Cyborgs 17 and 18, who we called Lapis and Lazuli, to attack us. Thankfully, a confrontation was avoided and we were able to get them on our side. Well, I say 'we' but I was only about a year old at the time."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Goku told him. "So what happened?"

"I'm getting to that," Trunks told her. "These androids aren't the real danger. They're a distraction. The real enemy is a bioandroid named Cell, composed of the genetic material of all those who fought the day of the Saiyan attack, as well as Freeza and his father Cold."

"So it's… like our kid?" Goku asked as she scratched the back of her head, clearly struggling somewhat with the concept.

"That's one way to look at it," Trunks supposed before continuing. "Cell absorbs whole cities before anyone notices, growing stronger with every person it absorbs. It's hard to tell exactly when and where it started but my mother thinks its first attack was in Gingertown. Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Ten, Launch, and Krillin try to fight Cell but it absorbs them, growing stronger still. Eventually, Cell finds Lapis and absorbs him as well, causing a transformation that it called 'Semi-perfect'." Trunks watched Goku's fists tighten with every friend that will die and, already dreading what she will do next, forces himself to press on. "Cell will continue to absorb people, nearly wiping out the human race, before it finds Lazuli at your home, with Suno. It… it absorbs them both."

"And where am I?!" Goku demanded angrily with her fists clenched so fiercely that she could feel nails digging into the flesh of her palms. "How could I allow Cell to do all this? To absorb my friends, my wife? How does this happen?!" Trunks sighed and ran a hand through his blue hair. This was the awkward part.

"Because by the time Cell arrives, you're already dead," he explained. Goku's anger faded slightly and she looked at Trunks in confusion. He knew what she was thinking. 'What could kill me?' "In two years, you'll die of a heart virus that my mother theorizes you contracted from constant exposure to chemicals in the Yardrat atmosphere that are harmful to your biology."

"Oh," Goku muttered as her hands opened again and rested slack at her sides. It wasn't that dying scared her or anything. She'd done that already. It wasn't even being told that she was going to die. People told her that all the time, although usually it was more of a threat. It was more the idea that there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't have anyone to fight or beat up or anything. It wasn't like she could punch a virus. Her fists were way too big! More than that, though, now that she knew what this 'Cell' would do, she hated the idea of leaving everyone to face it themselves and the idea of losing Suno.

"The good news," Trunks went on, "Is that it's only transmittable via fluids and only affects Saiyans. Otherwise everyone here would have caught it from you." Goku didn't seem too impressed by that so Trunks fished in his pants pocket for something. "And the better news," he added as he produced a small bottle of purple liquid, "Is that my mother synthesized a vaccine to combat the virus. If you take it, you shouldn't get sick." Goku grinned immediately and took it eagerly from Trunks' hand.

"Awesome," she declared excitedly. "Man, your mom must be really smart! Who is she?" Trunks smiled bashfully and looked back toward the group.

"She's someone you know very well," Trunks told her. "My mother is–"

OoOoOoO

"What do you think they're talking about?" Chi-Chi asked as they all continued to stare. She wasn't sure how she felt about hanging around like this. She felt like some kind of eavesdropper or a snooping neighbor. Like Gladys, always peeking over their hedge wall to try and steal her turnips. One of these days she was going to catch her and–

"I dunno," Krillin muttered with a shrug, "Super Saiyan stuff." Then he turned to Vegeta and smirked. "Any idea what that kinda stuff might be, 'Bad Man'?" Vegeta growled and a vein twitched in his forehead. The only thing keeping Krillin alive at that moment was the knowledge that Vegeta knew he would never be able to strangle him before Goku got back.

"That Trunks kid looks _really_ familiar," Suno muttered as she scratched her chin, "But I don't know why. Bulma, you got any ideas?" Bulma shook her head.

"We only give those Capsule Corp jackets to employees," she told Suno, "But I have a feeling I'd know if someone like _that_ worked for me." She grinned and bit her lip while Piccolo chuckled to himself and his ears twitched. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," Piccolo told her dismissively. "Just remembered a joke Moori taught me for some reason." Vegeta drowned them all out and fixed his steely gaze on Kakarot and the strange brat, his ire growing with every second.

OoOoOoO

"Bulma's your mother?!" Goku repeated in astonishment. Trunks nodded, wearing a slightly softer and more amused version of Vegeta's same steely expression. "Wait…" Goku muttered as the gears started to turn in her head. "So _I_ can't be your dad… do any other Saiyans show up in the next couple years?" Trunks shook his head. "And Gohan's _way_ too young. So… so that means that your dad is… is…"

"Yes," Trunks finished for her, "Vegeta is my father." Off in the distance, Piccolo laughed uproariously.

"Jeez," Goku remarked as she rubbed at her chin, "I never really saw Vegeta as the dad type but… eh." She shrugged. "Should I go tell 'em the good news?"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Trunks snapped in the most emotion he'd shown since he'd arrived. He even yelled like Bulma, so forcefully that it blew Goku's hair back. Trunks immediately collected himself and cleared his throat. "I just mean… that's not a good idea. That could irreparably damage the timeline. I might not _exist_ in this time."

Goku nodded. "Okay," she said, "I got it, fair enough." Then she added, "Man, we kinda got off-track there. So what happens after Cell absorbs Lazuli?"

"As you might have guessed from the name," Trunks said, "After it absorbs Lazuli, Cell becomes Perfect. Gohan tries to fight it but, even as a Super Saiyan, neither he nor my father could really damage Cell." That worried Goku more than she thought it would. Being a Super Saiyan seemed like it was the most powerful she would ever be. If _two_ Super Saiyans couldn't defeat this Cell, how strong _was_ it? "While Gohan, Piccolo, and Vegeta train in hiding, Cell wipes out most of the planet's population and starts replacing it with Cell Jr's, bioandroids like itself. I was about five years old when this started happening. Once they were strong enough, they tried to fight Cell again. All three of them failed. Piccolo and Vegeta were absorbed and Gohan was forced to retreat."

"Which means that there's no Dragon Balls left to wish anyone back," Goku observed sadly. Trunks nodded and continued his tale, although at this point it was clearly getting to the part that was hard for him.

"Gohan started training me while my mother, Bulma, started work on a time machine to try and fix the awful mess that the world had become. The plan was always for Gohan and myself to go back together. That… that didn't work out." Trunks bit his lip and Goku could see his eyes starting to well up. "I… I was stupid and I thought I'd gotten strong enough to fight Cell on my own. I went to one of the last major settlements, Penguin Village, where Cell was attacking. But Gohan knocked me out and went to fight Cell instead, saving my life. When I got there, the village was completely empty and Gohan was… Gohan was…" Trunks thought he'd buried it. The grief, the pain, the loss and the guilt. He thought he had buried it so far down that it couldn't hurt him anymore. But all it took was talking about it _one time…_ "Seeing Gohan caused me to go Super Saiyan," Trunks muttered in a voice thick with sorrow and self-loathing. "If I'd been able to do that before… if I'd been strong enough when he needed me, he might… might st-still be…" Goku put her arms around Trunks and pulled him in for a hug that stunned him into silence. Trunks hugged her back awkwardly, clearly not used to the gesture. He hadn't really ever hugged anyone but his mother. Goku patted his back gently and Trunks' grief subsided.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked softly. Trunks nodded and Goku let him go. "So what're things like in the future now?" she asked gently. Trunks cleared his throat and wiped his eyes before he started speaking again.

"Not good. Myself, my mother, Ocha, and Shouronpo–"

"Wait, who are those last two?"

"Yamcha and Chi-Chi's twins."

"Awww, they had twins? Yay! ...Sorry, keep going."

"We are the only ones left with any chance of defending humanity, or at least what's left of it. I think there are about a thousand people left on the planet, if even that many. So my mother had me go back to the past to see if I could fix the present. Well… my past, your present, my present, your future."

"So if we defeat Cell here," Goku asked, "That means that it won't exist in the future?" Trunks shook his head.

"My mother doesn't think time travel works like that," he explained. "More like by going back in time, I've created a branching path that's separate from my own time."

"So… us beating Cell won't help you?" Goku asked with a clear tint of confusion to her voice.

"No," Trunks admitted, "But there is a way you _can_ help me. Since the principle of time travel will allow me to go back to my own timeline a second after I left it, I was wondering if I could stay here for the time being and maybe train with you, to help you prepare to fight Cell in this timeline and get strong enough to defeat Cell in my own time."

"Sure," Goku told him with an eager grin, "That sounds great! C'mon, let's go tell the others." She flew off with Trunks following quickly behind.

"But don't tell them too much," Trunks reminded her. "I'd like to keep existing, after all."

"Right, right, no problem," Goku assured him. "So… this heart medicine. Is it grape flavored?"

"...Excuse me?"

"I mean, it's purple, right? So it's grape!"

"I… really wouldn't know."

OoOoOoO

Trunks and Goku rejoined the group a few moments later. As soon as Goku opened her mouth, however, Piccolo cut her off.

"Trunks is from the future," he stated matter-of-factly. "He never knew his father. Over the next three years, we're going to be attacked by androids of something called the 'Red Ribbon Army'. Then we're going to fight a bioandroid named Cell and it will kill us all and consume nearly every living thing on this planet. Also, Goku's going to die of a heart virus in less than a year but Trunks gave her some medicine." He looked at Goku and Trunks and smirked. "Did I miss anything?"

"What the… but I… how did… when did you?" Goku stammered out in shock. Trunks made similarly confused almost-sentences and Piccolo chuckled.

"Did you think these were for holding up my turban?" Piccolo asked as he flicked at his big ears. He gave Trunks a knowing look and Trunks was grateful that Piccolo left out the specifics of his parentage. Meanwhile, Suno strode right up to Goku and, despite being shorter than her wife, crossed her arms and gave her best authoritative glare.

"Goku," she told her firmly while tapping her foot, "You're gonna take that medicine _right now_ and you're not getting _anything_ until you do." That particular emphasis let Goku know that Suno wasn't just referring to dinner and she immediately unscrewed the medicine's white cap and chugged its contents. She gagged and shuddered and made a face, even sticking out her tongue.

"Bleh," she groaned, "It's not grape! It tastes awful!"

"Is it worse than dying?" Suno asked.

"No…." Goku admitted reluctantly.

"Wait, sorry, hang on," Krillin interjected, "Back up for a second. Let's get back to the part where this Cell thing kills us all. How do we make that _not_ happen?"

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem," Trunks assured him as he reached into one of the pockets of his jacket. "As long as Cell doesn't absorb Lapis and Lazuli, it won't be strong enough that Goku and m-Vegeta working together won't be able to defeat it if they train." He handed a picture to Krillin and the others crowded around it.

It was a picture of the group, although a few things were different. Goku wasn't there, Gohan was a few inches taller, and there was a pair of black-haired toddlers, presumably Ocha and Shouronpo. Shockingly, Vegeta was in the picture, albeit as far in the background as possible and apparently there under protest, judging by his sour expression. Also there was a young man and woman in the center of the group who looked to be about Trunks' age. The young man was dressed in a black polo shirt with khaki slacks, with an orange bandana around his neck, and green socks just visible between the hem of his his pant legs and his brown wingtip shoes. The young woman was wearing a blue dress, black leggings, a pearl necklace, and a pair of black ballet flats with yellow socks. The pair had almost identical faces, the same icy-blue eyes, the same easy smiles and the same haircuts. Although where his was jet black, hers was an almost platinum blonde.

"I'm guessing that's them?" Tenshinhan asked, tapping the teens in the center of the picture.

"Yes," Trunks told them with a nod. "I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the androids but they were all destroyed before I was born or when I was very small and I never exactly got any chance to take a picture of Cell."

"Can you give us a description?" Chaozu asked.

"I know its face easily enough," Trunks assured him, "I see it whenever I close my eyes. A green nightmare with wings so black they don't even shine. They just drink up all the light in the world. Pink eyes that catalog every facet of your existence and despise it all. An unstoppable demon with the face of death…" Trunks trailed off when he realized that everyone had taken a step or two away from him and blushed, embarrassed. "S-sorry," he stammered, "I just… it's a serious topic, I guess."

"No worries," Launch assured him with a grin, "We'll just keep an eye out for any green monsters." She gave Piccolo a sidelong glance and smirked. "Present company excluded." Piccolo just rolled his eyes.

"Wait," Chi-Chi interjected, "I'm sorry, I'm confused. If this all hasn't happened yet and this Gero person hasn't actually created these androids, why don't you all fly over and beat him up now?"

"And deny myself a challenge?" Vegeta asked with a scoff. "You are as dense as your husband." Chi-Chi and Yamcha bristled at the shared insult.

"Besides," Gohan added, "We don't even know where this Gero guy is."

"I do," Bulma said. "My dad used to know him. I think he said something about visiting Gero once or twice in some creepy-ass lab out in the mountains near North City. You guys could just fly over there and blow up the whole mountain range."

"I dunno," Goku sighed, "I just don't think I'd feel okay killing a guy who hasn't actually _done_ anything yet."

"Call it a crazy hunch," Suno muttered bitterly, "But if he was working for the Red Ribbon Army, I doubt he's been working in soup kitchens and puppy shelters. Add me to team 'Kill him now'."

"On the other hand," Krillin put in, "Having someone _else_ to kill will at least keep Vegeta from going after us."

"I'd advise you not to put too much faith in that idea, bald one," Vegeta warned him icily. Krillin took several steps away from him to the point where he was hiding behind Goku. In the end, a vote was held, with everyone but Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Suno voting in favor of training for three years and fighting Cell then.

"Kakarot," Vegeta asked once that was taken care of, "How did you escape Namek? And what did you mean earlier when you said were going to 'take care' of Freeza and Cold?"

"Getting off Namek was easy," Goku explained, "I used one of the Ginyu's pods. It took me to a planet called Yardrat where they healed me and gave me these neat clothes!" She gestured to them and the indifferent mumblings did nothing to dissuade Goku of their neatness. "They also taught me how to do this!" Goku pressed two fingers to her forehead, concentrated for a moment, and vanished. She appeared a moment later with a witch's hat sitting cockeyed on her head.

"Is that… Baba's hat?" Bulma asked. Goku's grin widened.

OoOoOoO

Meanwhile, Roshi was still sitting and still reading his magazines when his telephone rang. "Mmyes?" he asked as he picked it up.

"GOKU STOLE MY HAT!" came the shrieked reply from the other end, nearly startling Roshi off the couch.

OoOoOoO

"That," Tenshinhan muttered in astonishment, "Is some serious speed." He smiled to himself, knowing that his third eye allowed him to copy it.

"Can you teach me that, mom?" Gohan asked. It would sure make going to school and running errands easier. Especially once he got older and got accepted into one of the nicer schools in the big cities. Goku grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Sure!" she told him before she blinked and remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said before turning to Suno. "Trunks is gonna stay with us for a while and train so he can get strong enough to beat Cell in his own timeline. Is that okay?" Suno smiled and gave a little shrug.

"Why not?" she asked. "I always expected that I'd have to start cooking for _three_ Saiyan appetites sooner or later. Just… maybe not this soon and not already this grown-up."

"I don't want to impose," Trunks told her quickly. "If it's too much trouble, maybe I could… see if I could stay at the Capsule Corp building. Or something." Suno shook her head and gave Trunks a dismissive wave.

"Nah," she assured him, "It's fine! Our couch has a fold out mattress." Goku grinned and turned to Vegeta.

"Hey, you wanna train with us, too?" she asked eagerly. Vegeta glowered at her and his face screwed up in disgust.

"I would rather eat both of my arms," he spat. Goku looked at Trunks and shrugged and he just shrugged back.

"So we'll all train for the next three years," Piccolo decided, "And we'll meet back up in the Gingertown area. When these other androids attack, whoever's closest will have to deal with them. Agreed?" Everyone nodded and Vegeta immediately flew off back toward Capsule Corp. Before the Son family plus one could start to head out, however, Suno snickered and flicked a finger at Baba's hat still on Goku's head.

"Don't you think you should put that back?" she asked. The dawning realization on Goku's face made Suno laugh as she realized Goku had completely forgotten about it. One second she was there, then she was gone, then she was back, sans hat. "That's better." With that, the foursome flew off. "Just so you know," Suno called over the wind, "I can't let Gohan stop going to school for three years! He can train all he wants in the summers but you're going to have to make time during the school year! And you have a garden that you need to get back to maintaining, missy!"

While this discussion was going on, Trunks was staring at the grown down below as it rushed past with an almost-childlike look of excitement and wonder. He'd never seen so much… life! The green trees and fields, the clear blue waters, the dinosaurs roaming across it all. He'd inherited a world of fire and cinders but this… was this what the world used to be like? It was beautiful and it filled him with determination. Whatever it took, he'd put the world back the way it used to be. It was a determination that was further compounded later that evening when Trunks and Gohan flew up to Korin Tower. It was Gohan's idea, since he'd said that Goku had been looking at Suno funny since the moment they'd walked into the house.

Trunks didn't know what that entailed and he hadn't _wanted_ to know.

When they got there, Gohan introduced Trunks to Korin and explained his situation. Korin was less surprised by the time traveller than Trunks was by the talking cat.

"Sounds pretty bad," Korin surmised and stroked his whiskers. "Is there anything I can do for ya, future-boy?"

"Actually," Trunks said, "There is. I was wondering if I could have some senzu beans? The senzu plant withered and died in my timeline and I was hoping I could take some back to plant them." Korin's ears twitched thoughtfully and he shrugged.

"Eh," he muttered, "Why not? Be right back." While Korin shuffled off they waited and watched the sun set. The sight of it took Trunks' breath away. He'd never seen the sunset without a sky that was choked by smoke and ash. It was so… beautiful.

' _I'll make it right,'_ Trunks swore to himself as he rubbed a tear from his eye. ' _I'll get strong enough and I'll make the world right. For you, Gohan. I promise.'_


	78. Training for the Future! Android Attack!

Chapter Seventy-eight

Training for the Future! Android Attack!

 _Three Years Before Cell Attacks_

Piccolo sat atop a tall plateau out in the wastelands where he lived and meditated silently, listening to the sound of the wind blowing across the sunbaked earth and contemplating how he should prepare for Cell's coming. There was no child for him to kidnap so that meant that he would have to train with others. For half a heartbeat, he considered going to the Capsule Corp building and training with Vegeta before immediately discarding the idea. Then his mind went to a dark place.

"If this 'Cell' can kill Super Saiyans," Piccolo muttered to himself as he turned his gaze skyward, "The level I'm at now won't be anywhere near enough. I may have to…" Then he stopped himself and shook his head as if to dislodge the idea from his mind. "Ridiculous," he reprimanded himself. "I couldn't run the risk of losing myself. Besides, what would happen to the Dragon Balls?" Then he sighed and stood up, having come to a decision. "I'll go train with the Sons and Trunks," he decided as he dusted off his pants and cape before flying off into the sky. He was looking forward to sparring with Gohan again.

OoOoOoO

Not long after Piccolo's departure, a pillar of light roughly two meters in height suddenly appeared in the middle of the desert. A green-skinned humanoid stepped out of the pillar and surveyed the area around him as the pillar faded away. Swirling black tattoos covered his face and neck and a crown of small, jagged white horns came out of the top of his head. He was dressed in the purple and white suit of the Galactic Patrol.

"This is Flash Parsec," the patrolman spoke into a communicator in his wrist, "To Patrol Command. Successfully ported onto the planet 'Terra' at the landing site of Freeza of the Planet Trade Organization with all of my bits intact." Flash clicked his boots together and they gave a soft warbling sound as he lifted off the ground and flew toward the site of Freeza's destroyed ship, his dead men, and the headless corpse of Freeza's father, King Cold. "Definitely signs of a struggle," Flash reported as he used a wrist-mounted scanner to sweep the area and paying special attention to Cold's corpse. "No sign of Freeza himself, though. Switching to Quantum Pulse and Thermal scanning." He pressed a series of buttons on his glove and the scanner's sweep turned blue, highlighting the area and giving a recreation of the encounter like pages from a comic book. He followed the arc of Freeza's body and scratched his chin for a moment before returning to his communicator. "Freeza has been killed, Commander." He paused for a moment for a response. "Yes, actually killed. Well, he went into the sun this time, ma'am." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "No, ma'am, I didn't mean any insubordination." Flash assured the Commander in his most lackadaisically apologetic tone. "Yes," he went on as he looked at the outline of the sword wielding humanoid Freeza had fought, "It looks like he was killed by a Super Saiyan. Yes, _another_ Super Saiyan." Flash paused and nodded. "Alright. Beginning phase two of the mission: establish contact with Son Goku." He clicked his heels again to give them a little more speed and flew off into the bright blue sky. ' _Blue,'_ Flash noted idly. ' _Definitely nothing like Dathomir.'_

OoOoOoO

The first day of training, which Piccolo had arrived just in time for, was going to be nice and easy. Or at least, that was what Goku promised. Then again, it was easy by _Goku's_ standards.

"I wanna see how much you guys have developed over the last couple years," she explained as they all warmed up and stretched. "I haven't really gotten to see how you've all progressed since, y'know, I died. And Trunks," she added as the future boy took off his sword and jacket, "I really don't know anything about your strengths or how you fight. So let's see what you've all got!" She grinned, turned her back to them, and got into a runner's stance. "So we're gonna start with a run around the planet! I'll set the pace!" Suno and Piccolo frantically pulled off their weighted clothing as Trunks and Gohan got into runner's stances of their own. "Ready, set, go!"

Goku took off ahead of them in a golden-blue blur with the other four racing behind her as fast as their legs could carry them. Unsurprisingly, Suno was the first one out and collapsed in the front yard after five laps at Goku's rather manic pace. Gohan made it ten laps before he gave up next, with Suno having recovered enough to bring him out a glass of lemonade. Piccolo was the next to fall and hesitantly accepted a lemonade of his own. Trunks managed to keep pace with Goku for a full twenty-five laps, with the pair joining the others back on the lawn. Goku had worked up a light sweat and was grinning ear to ear with her hands on her hips. Trunks' hair was a bit dishevelled, his eyes were wide, and he was panting slightly.

"That was a great start, guys!" Goku told them all encouragingly.

"Yeah," Trunks gasped out, "Nuh-no problem! I could… do this all day!" Goku laughed and slapped Trunks on the back, nearly knocking him into the grass before Gohan caught him.

"Nah," she said as Gohan helped Trunks keep his balance, "That's enough running for today. Now we're gonna break into sparring groups! I hadn't really expected Piccolo to show up," she admitted, "But it actually works out better now! Suno can keep time since she's waiting for Krillin to get here. We're gonna fight for fifteen minutes with no r–" she paused when she sensed a strange new ki and the five looked to the sky as a strangely-dressed green man appeared in the sky above them and waved as he descended. To Suno and Gohan, at least, the outfit was slightly familiar.

"Hey there," the green man introduced himself. "I'm Officer Flash Parsec of the Galactic Patrol."

"Huh," Suno muttered as she eyed him curiously with one hand resting on her hip. "I was wondering when another one of you guys would show up. But why not send Quantos or Geco?" Flash looked at Suno for a moment and shrugged before returning his attention to the group.

"They're too close to the case," Flash explained. "I need to speak with the Saiyan Son Goku," he told them, "And whichever is the other Super Saiyan that killed Freeza." Trunks held up his hand like a student who'd been called for roll.

"That'd be me," Trunks explained. Flash nodded and fished into one of the pockets of his belt, producing something that looked not unlike a flask and taking a quick swallow.

"So I just need to make sure that neither of you Super Saiyans is gonna leave the planet and kill anyone and then I can get the hell outta here." Gohan and Suno were taken aback by Flash's rather blunt and cavalier attitude, a sharp contrast to Quantos and Geco.

"Freeza and his men are the only people I've ever killed," Trunks informed Flash. The officer looked at Trunks with one eyebrow raised and chuckled.

"Well you sure know how to start off at the top, don't ya?" he remarked. Trunks gave a shrug and Flash looked at Goku. "What about you?"

"I mean… I've killed a lot of people," Goku admitted, "But only in fights. And because they're bad. But I haven't killed anyone in a while."

"I can vouch for that," Suno put in.

"I have the memories of my father, who Goku killed," Piccolo added. "Though, in her defense, he had taken over the world and was planning to kill everyone."

"Well," Flash told them, "Since you haven't razed any civilizations, you're both off to better starts than the Super Saiyans we've got on record, so I guess that's fine. What about Vegeta? We know he's still alive. Is he a Super Saiyan?"

Goku shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied, "But… he might not be far off. I don't think he's leaving the planet anytime soon, we've gotta fight this Cell guy in a few years. And I don't really think there's anything in space for me, either."

"I'll be leaving this timeline once Cell's defeated," Trunks added. The officer eyed them both for a moment and scratched at his horns.

"So wait…" Flash muttered as he looked at Trunks, "Are you… from the future?" Trunks leaned backwards as Flash leaned into his personal space.

"Y… yes?" Trunks admitted cautiously. Flash looked at them both for a long moment before sighing the sigh of a man who lacked the energy to deal with this and who wasn't paid enough to pretend to have the energy. He took out his flask again and took a long pull from it before taking something out of his other pocket that looked like a purple seven-pointed star with the Galactic Patrol's symbol on it and handed it to Goku.

"Well if you or Vegeta plan on leaving the planet in the near future," he explained, "Please use this to contact the Patrol beforehand. Now with my job done, I'm gonna get outta here." A pillar of light appeared behind Flash and he began to fall backwards into it.

"Wait," Suno said suddenly and Flash planted his feet to stop himself from falling. "What's happening with the PTO now? Who's in charge now that Freeza and his dad are dead?" Flash smirked and shrugged.

"Well, with Cooler missing," he began, "Control of their empire falls to Freeza's son Kuriza. But he's barely a hatchling so the rest of Freeza's extended family is probably gonna fight over the regency. That'll keep 'em all busy long enough for the Patrol to actually be useful for a change. See ya around." Then he fell backwards into the pillar which blinked out of sight. They all looked at each other for a moment to process that information.

"So," Goku exclaimed as she clapped her hands eagerly. "Let's spar! I'll start with Piccolo," she decided, "And Trunks can pair off with Gohan. Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" The idea of sparring with Gohan made Trunks strangely nostalgic, even if this Gohan was much younger than the one who trained him.

"Just so you know," Piccolo told Goku as he cracked his neck, "I'm going to win this one." Goku shot him a grin.

"I dunno," she teased, "The record's two-to-one in my favor." Piccolo rolled his eyes and got into a fighting stance as Goku, Gohan, and Trunks did the same while Suno found the timer on her phone.

"Fighters ready?" she asked in a playful imitation of Ken from the Budoukai. Everyone nodded and she threw her hand animatedly into the air. "BEGIN!"

OoOoOoO

Suno let out a warrior's cry as she threw out a roundhouse kick at Krillin, who just managed to duck under the kick and jump over Suno's follow up sweep kick before throwing out a chop of his own aimed at Suno's throat. She grabbed Krillin's wrist and forearm in both hands to block the strike and twisted her hips to throw him overhead. She followed him up into the air, throwing out a kick that caught him flush in the chest to send him even higher into the sky. To her surprise, Krillin rolled forward and rocketed down toward her headfirst, headbutting Suno right in the stomach and driving the air out of her. Krillin followed up with a kiai out of the top of his head to launch Suno into the dirt and drove his knee down toward her, Suno just managing to roll out of the way of the impact and coming up with a jab that Krillin met with a jab of his own.

The battle between the two strongest humans on Earth raged for several minutes on the very island where Krillin and Goku once trained as children under Master Roshi, the sound of crashing waves intermingling with the sound of crashing limbs and ki blasts. Eventually, the warriors battled to the point of exhaustion and sat on the shore to relax with recover their strength.

"So is Yamcha coming or what?" Suno asked around a mouthful of apple. Krillin shook his head and waited to finish the carrot stick he was eating before he replied.

"Nah," he told her, "Said he was training with Chi-Chi today." Suno snickered and Krillin grinned. "Hey, that's what he told me, alright?" Suno nodded and they stared out at the ocean for a little while and caught their breath. "So how's Goku and everyone's training coming along?" Suno gave a little shrug.

"It's good," she said evasively. "It's… it's coming along good. Everyone's getting stronger and Piccolo doesn't seem to mind sleeping over. Apparently he sleeps standing up or just _really_ doesn't wanna share a bed with Trunks." Suno looked away and scooped up a palm's worth of sand, watching as it slid between her fingertips. "What?" Suno asked irritably when she realized Krillin was staring at her.

"C'mon," he said simply.

"'C'mon' _what?"_ Krillin put a piece of celery into his mouth, folded his arms and waited, crunching on the celery as he looked at her. Suno sighed, letting her head drop as she brought her knees up to her chest. "I just… it's weird now and a little upsetting. I wanted to train with my family but before we even started I realized that I was so far behind that everyone would have to hold back so much that they'd lose much more progress than I'd gain. Back on Namek, I was still able to contribute. I've just never felt so… _in the way_ before."

"Yeah, well, I've never had that problem." Krillin said helpfully. Suno shot him a look and Krillin held up his hands defensively. "No, I mean… I've never really pressured myself to be the hero, y'know? Or to be someone for people to count on. I was never as strong as Goku or Piccolo. Heck, if I'd died instead of Ten or if he'd come to Namek with us I'd probably still be behind him. I just do my best and try to help out as much as I can. Sometimes I cut off Vegeta's tail, sometimes I get stabbed in the stomach. We just do what we can, y'know?" Suno nodded and rested her forearms across her chest.

"Do what we can," she echoed. "I guess you're right. I mean, that's why we decided to train together, right?"

"Right," Krillin agreed as he stood up and shook the sand off his pants. "Not like either of us is gonna be fighting Cell, right? Just punch an android in the face if we're lucky." He held out his hand to help Suno up to her feet and she accepted it with a smile.

"ROUND TWO!" Suno declared, catching Krillin by surprise and flipping him end over end to skip across the sea.

OoOoOoO

It was a chilly November afternoon at the Wolf and Ox household, several months after Goku's return. As Yamcha finished raking up the leaves in the back yard, he could smell the uniquely cold scent of snow in the air and he looked up at the gray sky with a smile. He couldn't wait to see the kids' faces when they saw their first snow. Yamcha went inside and started making a cup of hot apple cider, smiling as he heard Chi-Chi doing flash cards with the children in their room.

"And what is this color?" he heard Chi-Chi ask.

"Reh, reh!" Ocha happily exclaimed.

"Very goo–" Chi-Chi started to say before exclaiming, "Shou! Don't eat that!" Yamcha snickered as he heard the familiar gurgling sound of Shouronpo gumming her crib, followed quickly by the grunting of Chi-Chi pulling Shou by her ankles to try and stop her.

As Yamcha poured the hot cider into his favorite old mug (though his second-favorite since Chi-Chi got him a "World's Best Hubby" mug for his birthday), he was contemplating going in and helping her when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked out the window and saw a tall, silver-haired man standing on the sidewalk with his back to the house. He definitely wasn't dressed for the weather, Yamcha noticed. In contrast to Yamcha's own scarf, sweatpants, wool cap and jacket; the man was wearing grey boots, green pants, brown workman's gloves, a yellow vest with nothing under it, and some kind of trucker's cap. Yamcha thought that the man looked weird but not, he decided, especially evil. As the man continued to stand there, Yamcha wondered if he was looking to buy the house in the neighborhood that had just gone up for sale.

As the man turned around, however, Yamcha decided that, no, he wasn't here to buy a house. What changed Yamcha's mind? The Red Ribbon Insignia on the front of his hat and the left breast of his vest. Yamcha walked outside, mug in hand, and walked up to meet the man.

"Hiya there," he said amicably. "Something I can help you with?" The man's blue eyes focused on Yamcha and he was pretty sure he heard a "click" when the man blinked.

"Howdy," the man greeted in a surprisingly heavy Southern drawl. "I'm designated Android 13. I was designed by Dr. Archimedes Gero to protect mankind from all alien threats, specifically the alien Son Goku and all them what fraternize with her." There was a brief silence where Yamcha wondered how the heck Gero knew that Goku was an alien. "That'd be you, pardner," 13 said in the silence.

"Yeah," Yamcha answered drily, "I figured as much."

"Now y'all _will_ be tellin' me where I can find Son Goku," 13 declared firmly. "If y'tell me now, yer death'll be painless. Otherwise I'm 'onna hit ya til ya give me the information I need and then I'll beat ya t'death. If y'die before this information is given, I'll question yer family in a similar manner." That got Yamcha's attention and he held the mug tightly in both hands. Seeing Yamcha's response, 13 showed his first hint of emotion and smirked. "So you gonna comply?" Yamcha took a long sip of his hot cider and looked mournfully at his old mug.

Then he swung with a backhand and smashed the mug into the android's face, driving ceramic chips and piping hot liquid into his cheeks and eyes. While 13 cried out in shock, Yamcha lunged with a flying kick that sent them both through several picket fences, hedge fences, and brick walls. Each time they went through, Yamcha gave a quick "Sorry!" to the neighbor whose property he'd damaged. 13 went sprawling into the grass as Yamcha got into a fighting stance.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life, partner," Yamcha declared as 13 got to his feet, "And it's not going after Goku. It was when you threatened my family!" He charged forward and slugged 13 several times across the jaw with left and right hooks, each hit staggering 13 back a few feet before he finished with a left jab that sent 13 crashing into a tree.

"Yer a lot stronger than the doctor's projections woulda suggested," 13 admitted as he rubbed at his jaw. Yamcha threw a roundhouse kick to the side of 13's head that smacked into the android's gloved palm when the android blocked him effortlessly. "But not strong enough."

"Ah crap," Yamcha muttered before 13 swung him hard by his leg to send him sailing across several people's backyards and smashing into someone's greenhouse. Yamcha picked up a potted plant and smashed the pot into 13's face as the android was on top of him in a flash. 13 was completely unfazed as he hauled Yamcha up to his feet and lunged in for a headbutt. Yamcha brought up his forearms to block, wincing from the pain of the impact before bringing his feet up to shove 13 away. He unloaded with an all-out assault of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows; throwing everything he had into the attack. 13 blocked them all with a methodical and mechanical ease before clapping Yamcha around the ears and knocking him senseless.

"I have extensive knowledge'a yer fightin' style hardwired inta my databanks," 13 explained helpfully as Yamcha staggered away. "Ya can't beat me." Yamcha fumbled around for something to hit 13 with and grabbed something, swinging it hard and smashing it against the android's face. ….It was a rake and broke uselessly against the android's face, without even making him blink or dislodging his hat.

"Damn it," Yamcha muttered in a clear case of mixed priorities, "Now I owe Dale a new rake." 13 rolled his eyes and punched Yamcha hard in the stomach before tossing him up into the air. Yamcha managed to catch his breath and flew to avoid the series of red energy balls 13 blasted up at him. He wasn't sure _what_ they were but, since the guy didn't seem to have any kind of ki, the balls couldn't be made of ki, either.

"Let's see if you can dodge this!" 13 bellowed as he spread his arms out wide and a large, spiraling ball of red-pink energy formed between them, growling larger as 13 opened his arms wider. "SS Deadly Bomber!" He lobbed the ball at Yamcha, who dove out of the way of the attack to try and avoid it. However, to Yamcha's shock, the blast continued to track him.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Yamcha muttered as he kept swerving serpentine to try to escape the android's attack. Try as he might, however, the blast tracked him doggedly. Wondering if he might be able to destroy the blast with one of his own, Yamcha turned around with his hands already together. "Kamehame–" the Deadly Bomber, however, was faster than Yamcha had anticipated. "Ah, crap," he muttered before bringing his arms up to block. The blast hit Yamcha dead on and exploded in a burst of red light, sending Yamcha spiraling to the ground with a trail of smoke following him.

Chi-Chi heard the explosion and looked up from feeding the babies to see a fading red light like a firework. Seeing that Yamcha wasn't anywhere in the house, she put two and two together with a sigh and set Ocha and Shouronpo down on the couch.

"Puar," she called as she closed up her shirt, "Keep an eye on the kids!" Then she got up from the couch and started rooting through the mess of toys and games that filled the living room. "Where the heck is my axe?"

"So," Android 13 said as he landed in the yard Yamcha had crashed into and was moseying his way over to Yamcha's smoking body, "Y'got any last words 'fore I skin ya alive, boy? Obviously I'd prefer if those words were Son Goku's address."

"Just one, actually," Yamcha grunted as he dug his fingers into the dirt and dragged himself into a crouch. Then he looked up at 13 with a smirk and a mischievous glint in his eye. "Kaiouken!"

"Kaiouwha–?" 13 started to say as a red aura flared around the former bandit before Yamcha shot up and drove his elbow into the android's chin, snapping his head back. Yamcha followed with an axehandle blow to the side of 13's head that spun him around and a roundhouse kick to the back of his head that sent him flying.

"Actually," Yamcha said as he continued his assault and chased after the android, "I've got three more words! Wolf Fang Fist!" His strikes came at a blistering speed as he hammered the android with blow after blow, his hooked fingers digging into the synthetic flesh and exposing the metal underneath. He drove both palms into 13's chest hard enough to indent his chest and send him flying back before drawing his palms back to his sides. "Kamehame–" Once again, however, Yamcha's attempt at a finishing blow was stopped as the red aura faded away and all the agony burning in his muscles came screaming towards the surface of his consciousness. "Oheverythinghurts!" he gasped out suddenly before 13 was on top of him again.

"Now y'gone and did it," The android growled, now looking several shades of pissed off. "I've lost mah trucker hat!" Then he grabbed Yamcha by the throat with one hand and delivered several rapid-fire punches to his ribs. Then, without a word, 13 shoved Yamcha's head down through the tarp covering the pool of the house they were fighting behind and held Yamcha's head under the water. As Yamcha's kicking and flailing grew less animated, 13 allowed himself a smirk.

Then, screaming toward his left like a bat out of hell, Chi-Chi charged in and swung her giant axe as hard as she could, smashing it into the side of 13's head and cutting a deep gash into his endoskeleton to break his grip, digging into the circuitry. Then she swung again, this time cutting into his indented chest to send him flying away. Chi-Chi threw her axe down while the android was incapacitated and pulled Yamcha out, her husband hacking and spitting and gasping for breath as his head came out of the water.

"Yuh-you should… shouldn't have done that," Yamcha gasped out as he shook water from his hair and struggled to his feet. "I-it's too dangerous for you to be out here." Chi-Chi smiled at him and cupped his face in her hands to kiss him gently on the lips.

"I told you before," she reminded him in a tone that could only be described as affectionately stern, "I'm never going to let you fight alone again." Yamcha smiled at her and moved in to kiss her again before they were both alerted to the horrible metallic screech that was Android 13 attempting to speak. "I think it's time to send him to the scrap heap." Chi-Chi said with a grin. Yamcha was so proud he could have kissed her. His wife's first quip. Instead, he just nodded and flared up another Kaiouken while doing his best to ignore the pain.

"Just like we practiced," he reminded her as they both assumed the stance. She laid her hands on top of his and Yamcha could feel her energy pouring into and mixing with his own, amplified by the Kaiouken passing between them.

"Love love…" They said together as 13 growled and staggered toward them, slowly building up to a last manic charge. "Kaaa meee… haaaa meee…" 13 shrieked again and lunged, his hands outstretched for the kill. "HA!" Yamcha and Chi-Chi thrust their hands out, a spiraling double-helix of blue and pink ki beams rushing forward to strike Android 13 and blasting him into oblivion.

After making several promises to their neighbors to pay for various destroyed pieces of property to be repaired or replaced, Chi-Chi helped Yamcha limp back to the house and let him collapse onto the couch while she checked on the babies. Yamcha weakly fumbled for the phone on the coffee table and dialed the Son household.

"Hey Gohan," he muttered painfully after the other end picked up. "How's the training going? Oh, mom's trying to help you go Super Saiyan? That's neat. Piccolo's there too? That's neat. Hey, can you tell Trunks the first android showed up? Yeah, me and Chi-Chi took care of him. I'm gonna take a nap for a week." Then he hung up and dialed another number. "Hey, Krillin? Yeah, gonna have to postpone tomorrow's training. No, I'm not chickening out. _I'm_ the one in this conversation who beat an android. Yeah, okay, I'll tell Chi-Chi you said hi. You and Suno have fun." Then he hung up the phone and immediately passed out.

OoOoOoO

The Son family and company awoke that morning to a world covered in a blanket of white. It was the first time in either Trunks or Piccolo's lives that either had seen the stuff.

"This gives me an idea!" Goku declared excitedly. Everyone got bundled up (Piccolo needed several layers) and headed outside. "This'll be a great way to work on our reflexes and our blocking," Goku explained while making a snowball. "It'll be like throwing ki at each other but without anyone getting hurt!"

"What're you suggesting, Goku?" Suno asked. She had a pretty good idea but she wanted to make sure she was understanding right. Goku's grin grew even wider and she had made a giant pyramid of snowballs in the blink of an eye.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" And so began an all-out snowball war between the five parties, with temporary alliances constantly forged and broken. The only rules were that ki couldn't be used at all as that would melt the snow and that wasn't fun. It was also against the rules to put rocks, ice, or sticks in the snowballs or to aim for the face because that would hurt.

"I don't really get it," Trunks called over the sound of snowballs zipping past his head, "How do you win this game?" He threw a large ball he'd made in both hands at Gohan, who kicked it away.

"You have to be the last one who can feel their fingers!" Suno explained helpfully as she lobbed a snowball at Trunks that went right through his afterimage. Piccolo smirked to himself as he gathered up a huge mound of snow into a lasso he'd made with his extended arm, chuckling as he raised it high overhead to throw at Suno and Trunks while they were throwing snowballs at each other, only to be shocked by Gohan dropping a snowball down the back of his pants. Piccolo cried out in shock and dropped the mound of snow on his own head as Gohan laughed his head off. Piccolo's head popped out of the snow and he glared at Gohan.

"Do whatever it takes to win, right, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked defensively as he helped pull Piccolo out. "That's what you taught me, right?" Piccolo grinned and gave his pupil a mitten-clad pat on the head as Gohan helped shake the snow off of him.

"Hey," Suno said as the snowball throwing died down, "What happened to Goku?" Everyone stopped and realized that she was right. No one had seen Goku in about fifteen minutes.

"I've got another question," Trunks added as a massive shadow fell over them. "What happened to the sun?" Everyone looked up into the sky to see Goku floating high above them with a massive snowball in both of her hands. Except that massive did not do the snowball justice. Words like "colossal" or "gargantuan" fail to encapsulate its magnitude. It was probably the size of a small moon.

"What is she doing?" Piccolo muttered in a small voice. Trunks, taking after his mother, was too confounded by the logistical and scientific impossibility of what he was seeing to be properly terrified.

"Here it comes, guys!" Goku called down, her voice echoing and amplified by ki. "SNOWKI DAMA!" Then the snow-planetoid started falling toward them.

"RUN!" Gohan cried. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Everyone scrambled to avoid the monstrosity barreling down toward them while Goku let out a good natured but circumstantially terrifying laugh.

The fallout from the mushroom cloud of the Snowki Dama carried snow all the way to Kame House and Papaya Island.

* * *

A/N: Just to avoid any confusion with the timeline, at this point Cooler is still training in space. He doesn't finish his training until after the three years are up.


	79. Vegeta's Time has Come!

Chapter Seventy-nine

Androids Strike Again! Vegeta's Time has Come!

 _Two Years Before Cell Attacks_

"Your left's open!" Goku shouted at Trunks as she came in with a kick aimed at his left side. Trunks brought his elbow down to block the kick but then Goku uppercutted him under the chin. "You left yourself wide open from your chin down!" She lectured as Trunks rubbed at his chin. He nodded and went on the attack, unloading with a furious barrage of rights and lefts that Goku blocked with her forearms. He went for a feint kick to the side to try and break her focus but Goku moved to block it with her raised leg and blocked Trunk's actual elbow with her forearm before driving her palm into Trunks' chest to drive the wind out of him. "Your feints are just a little bit slower than your real strikes. It telegraphs that you're not really attacking. You've gotta go all-out with your feints as much as your real hits so that they can't tell the difference." Trunks nodded and they went back to the fight.

"Finish Buster!"

"Kamehameha!"

While Goku continued to tutor her first real student, Gohan and Piccolo were engaging in a fierce struggle, not unlike when they were preparing for the Saiyans' arrival. But with less dinosaurs in the immediate area.

"Come on," Piccolo bellowed as he blocked and deflected a series of machine-gun like kicks from Gohan that were spread from face to legs, "Give me all you've got!" Piccolo grabbed Gohan by the ankle and flung him into the forest, sending him crashing into the trees. He chased him into the forest with blistering strikes, ricocheting him off the trees and the ground, launching Gohan away before pulling him back with his stretching arm and finishing with a kick down into the dirt that blasted a crater in the ground and uprooted several trees. Piccolo waited for a few minutes with his arms folded patiently. "Come on out," he called, "I know you're not–"

Before Piccolo could even finish his sentence, Gohan came bursting out of the Earth behind him, clutching a tree in both hands and swinging for the fences at Piccolo's head. A stream of spittle flew from Piccolo's mouth as Gohan's tree cracked him across the jaw and exploded, sending Piccolo flying. Piccolo bounced end over end painfully against the ground as Gohan chased after him and punted him up into the air. Gohan charged a ball of Ki and lobbed it at Piccolo, who watched as the ball whizzed past his head. It hadn't even come _close_ to hitting him.

"Come on," Piccolo lectured sternly as he and Gohan charged toward each other, "I know your aim's better than that!" They met in an explosion of punches and kicks, Gohan not backing down or flinching from the conflict, even when Piccolo hit him full-force in the stomach and face. Piccolo went for a roundhouse kick that Gohan ducked under before flying off to Piccolo's left and throwing another ki ball that missed. "You're getting sloppy!" Piccolo chastised as he fired back a ki ball of his own that Gohan deflected. He should have dodged, however, as the distraction left him open when Piccolo charged forward and elbowed him in the gut. "Are you even _trying?"_ Piccolo demanded. Surprisingly, Gohan smirked despite his pain.

"I am," he responded as he grabbed Piccolo by the collar. Then he pulled his head back and headbutted Piccolo across the bridge of the nose, sending him flying back. "And you're right," Gohan added, "My aim _is_ better!" Then he snapped his fingers and the ki balls that had "missed" came roaring back at Piccolo, hitting him in the side and the back and sending Piccolo forward into a dropkick that sent him crashing through a mountain, cracking it in half. When Piccolo didn't surface immediately, Gohan flew down to the rubble and started pushing rocks out of the way to find Piccolo… _smiling._ "Mr. Piccolo," Gohan asked suspiciously as he held out his hand for Piccolo, "Are you alright?" Piccolo chuckled and took Gohan's hand, letting the boy pull him out of the rubble.

"I'm fine," Piccolo assured him. "Just thinking about how much you've grown, Gohan. You don't back down, you don't freeze up. You think and you plan ahead and make counterattacks. You're becoming a real warrior now. I'm proud of you." His smile widened and he ruffled Gohan's red hair. "You're not the brat who cried when I threw him at a mountain anymore," he said in a tone that was almost playful. Gohan pushed his hand away and smiled back.

"You ready to start again," Gohan asked, "Or do you need a minute?" Piccolo looked at him curiously and Gohan shrugged. "If I'm growing up," Gohan pointed out, "You're growing _old."_ Piccolo rolled his eyes and elbowed Gohan in the ribs.

"Shut up and get back into your guard," he grumbled, "Before I shoot you in the chest."

Meanwhile, Goku and Trunks had stopped for a break, sitting in the grass and drinking from large, cold bottles of water.

"Be honest," Trunks said after taking a sip, "How terrible am I?" Although he could tell that he'd made enormous progress in both his strength and technique in the year that he'd been training with the Son Family, whenever he sparred with the adults, especially Goku, he still felt like he was hopelessly outclassed in terms of ability.

"You're not terrible," Goku assured him. "You've got a _lot_ of power and raw potential. You just need to refine it. There's a lot of big gaps in your technique and defense but that's why you're here, right?" Trunks nodded as Goku tilted her head back and took a long drink of water.

"Gohan trained me as best as he could," Trunks told her, "But even he admitted that he'd still had a lot to learn. The problem was that there was just… no one left to teach him." Goku smiled and gave Trunks a pat on the knee.

"Don't worry," she promised him, "Everything's gonna be fine this time." Then she flopped down into the grass to watch the clouds pass overhead. Trunks sighed and tugged on the silver chain on his neck that was usually hidden by his jacket and the sword belt that went across his chest. He pulled it out of his shirt and opened the locket attached to the chain, looking at the picture inside with a wistful sigh. A faint blush spread over his cheeks before he heard a movement in the grass and felt a rush of the wind coming toward him. "SURPRISE ATTACK!" Goku cried. Trunks fell onto his back and rolled away to avoid getting kneed in the face, hiding the locket away as he tumbled and got to his feet before he pushed off the ground and flew at Goku to attack her with a flying kick. He'd definitely have to be more careful when taking out that locket in the future.

After all, Goku and Suno might not necessarily be fans of Trunks having a picture of Gohan that he looked at in that way.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta snarled under the rigors of two hundred fifty times Earth's gravity, sweat sliding down his muscles and his singlet at lighting speed and crashing down to the floor like tiny lead weights. He stood with his feet planted in the center of the Gravity Chamber, throwing out jabs and hooks as fast as he could and willing himself to go faster when he reached his peak. Without ever pausing, he immediately backflipped through the air but the gravity nearly made him fall face first before he maneuvered himself to land in a crouch on one knee, grunting with the impact. He forced himself back to his feet and began to run around the perimeter of the Gravity Chamber, his legs burning with every lap as he dug into his reserves of energy and forced himself to run faster. He dug his feet with a grunt and began to run up the wall, across the ceiling, down to the floor, and back up the walls; channeling his ki to hold himself in place as gravity tried to rip him down.

' _It's not enough,'_ he thought whenever he felt his body start to falter or cry out in protests of pain. ' _It's never enough!'_ He could not rest as long as the power of the Super Saiyan eluded him while Kakarot and the brat from the future held onto the power. ' _The power_ must _be mine! It is my destiny!'_ He came to another stop in the center of the room and gathered a large ball of ki in his hands, drawing from his reserves of defensive energy so that, if he didn't manage to block it, it would actually injure him. He drew his arm back and threw as hard as he could in an arc, sailing around behind him. Vegeta pivoted and smacked the ki ball away, sending it on another arc to go behind him again, this time even faster. He turned again to smack it away again, back and forth, each time the ball coming faster and faster. The last blast came nearly too fast and he brought his hands up to try and hold the blast back. His feet scraped across the floor as the ball pushed back and, pushing with as much energy as he could muster, he hurled the ki ball against the wall, causing it to explode and ripping a hole through the Gravity Chamber. The rupture caused the gravity to return to normal and Vegeta collapsed into a seated position as the red light faded away and the crushing weight sloughed off of him.

"Hey!" Bulma's voice came as one of the woman's insufferable drone robots floated in through the hole in the wall and Vegeta rolled his eyes as he gasped for breath. The mongrel's glowering face hovered on a holographic screen in front of him as the drone floated up to Vegeta. Once again, through some bewildering act of sorcery, she'd changed her hair. Going by the fashion magazines Vegeta had idly flipped through, apparently this was called an "undercut". "As long as you're not paying rent, paying for food, doing your dishes, or washing your own clothes; the _least_ you could do is not wreck my tech!"

"Cease your prattling, mongrel," Vegeta grumbled as he began undo the wrappings around his hands and feet. Even as they argued, other drones were working to repair the damage Vegeta had done to the Chamber. "The lion does not concern himself with the buzzing of the vermin."

"Oh kiss my ass, you dickweed!" Bulma shot back defiantly. "You're a king of, like, _three_ people and two of your 'subjects' could kick your ass!" Vegeta scowled and Bulma smirked. "Yeah, how's the training going, by the way? You don't look too 'super' yet." Vegeta growled and bared his teeth, grabbing the drone in both hands and crushing it. He tossed the crumpled metal over one shoulder and staggered to his feet before stumbling wearily out of the Gravity Chamber. He would shower and take an hour, two at most, to recuperate before he returned to his training. The machines would be finished repairing the other machine by then.

As Vegeta wandered back to the main Capsule Corp building, he walked past the launchpad where the mongrel patriarch had built a twin to the ship Kakarot had used to reach Namek. Apparently, tomorrow he was going to display the ship to this planet's so-called "King", a dragon-man of some kind, to show his company's advancements to curry favor and money that he didn't actually need. Workers scurried over it like insects, fueling it and polishing it and making last-minute adjustments. While he walked, Vegeta thought to himself and wondered why he hadn't killed Bulma yet for her impertinence. The practical version of it, he assured himself, was because if he killed her, the facilities would be denied to him and it would hinder his training. Not to mention that Kakarot would be cross with him, since she seemed to hold Bulma in high regard for some damnable reason, and he still was not yet strong enough to defeat her, though he was loath to admit it.

' _Some day,'_ he assured himself, ' _I_ will _surpass her. Then she will fall to her knees before her King.'_ Entering his room, Vegeta noticed a parcel on his bed and a note from the mongrel matriarch.

"Mr. Vegeta", the note began, which was already more respect than the others gave him so she would die last once this Cell business was finished, "I understand that you're a fighter like Bulma's friend Goku but you don't have any fighter's clothes of your own. Well, I happen to have a little bit of talent with a sewing machine so I made you a little something. I hope it fits, I had to do all the measurements by eye. Love, Panchy!" Vegeta looked back down at the parcel and considered it curiously. A gift… he'd never received a gift before. Well, he had, but those were different. This was the first time he'd been given a gift without threatening to murder someone or without them swearing him fealty. It made him feel… strange. He pushed the thoughts from his mind and stripped down before heading into the shower.

As the scalding water ran over his aching muscles, Vegeta's thoughts drifted back to Bulma. The true reason that he had not killed her, he was forced to admit, was that he admired her, even respected her. He found her tenacity as endearing as it was infuriating. He could kill her a thousand times over with a particularly violent sneeze and yet she never shrank away from his insults and always stood her ground, giving back verbal jabs in equal measure. She might not have the strength, he decided, but she was a Saiyan in spirit.

On the other end of the Capsule Corp building, Bulma considered Vegeta as she tinkered with her scouter designs. He was obnoxious, boorish, violent, and self-centered to the point of having a messiah complex. He was probably the most reprehensible person she'd ever met. But still, there was something about him…

"Admit it, girl," Bulma sighed as she pulled off her work goggles and her gloves. "He's _you."_ It was weird to admit that you had similarities to a spacefaring mass–murderer but there were certain qualities that Vegeta had that she couldn't help but find in herself. His pride, his vanity, and definitely his entitlement; these were all negative qualities that Bulma had been forced to confront about herself since, appropriately, the day Vegeta and Nappa had shown up. She'd been trying to get rid of them but they were still there. There were _better_ qualities, too, she admitted. Although, with Vegeta, you had to grade "better" on a curve. His dogged, unshakeable determination was something she found admirable, even endearing. His tireless, endless pursuit of self-betterment, even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Even if he could barely walk after one of his psycho training sessions, he'd be back in there in an hour and cranking the gravity up higher. "Plus," she added, "He's pretty damn hot." Sure, he was shorter than her but she had sometimes fantasized about being taller than her dream man. He had a shitload of scars, too, but scars could be sexy. He was travelled, experienced, _royalty._ He had a lot of the qualities she'd imagined that boyfriend she was going to wish for having. "...What the hell," she finally decided with a shrug. "Just… what the hell?"

Several hours later, as the sun was setting and turning the sky a dazzling mixture of pinks, purples, and oranges, Vegeta staggered into his room and began to strip down, looking forward to a good soak in the bathtub and a few hours black, dreamless sleep. That was, of course, until he felt the woman's presence behind him.

"What the hell are y–" he started to say as he turned but he stopped when he saw her. She was wearing her lab coat and hugging it tightly to her chest. She had a look in her eyes and a smile on her lips that made Vegeta take a step back. She entered the room, making him take another step back. She shut the door and dropped the lab coat to the floor, revealing the smooth, pale skin underneath… and nothing else. She moved across the room to him in three quick strides and then she was kissing him, her mouth on his, her tongue against his lips. She grabbed a fistful of his thick black hair and pulled him deeper into the kiss while he was still stunned. It took Vegeta a few seconds to even process what was happening then he smiled a smug smile that Bulma found simultaneously infuriating and irresistible before he kissed her back, his hands on her, pulling her close.

Quite some time later, They both lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, practically stuck to the sheets with sweat. They was red from their scalps down to their chests, panting, their hair a mess, with bite marks along their necks and shoulders and long scratches along Vegeta's back. Neither one could really feel their legs. ' _Whoa,'_ They thought. It was the best either one could come up with.

The next morning came to Vegeta in a slow, dull haze. He dimly became aware of the extra weight in his bed, the heat of a body pressed against him, and the feeling of someone in his arms. Also, he was staring at a head of blue hair. As he slowly began to recall the events of the previous night, he smiled and pulled Bulma closer to him, her back to his chest. That was until Vegeta looked at the clock on the wall and, to his horror, realized that it was eleven in the morning. He had overslept his usual start by _seven hours._ This, Vegeta decided, was unacceptable. While he enjoyed the woman's company and might, in time, even grow to find a genuine affection toward her, that would be time wasted. If he was ever going to become the Super Saiyan, he had to drown everything else out. He disentangled himself from Bulma and moved across the room in a burst of speed without her ever stirring, then grabbed the still-unopened parcel and was out the door.

OoOoOoO

"Right this way, your majesty," Dr. Brief was saying to King Giran and his Minister of Engineering. "If you'll come around the corner you'll see Capsule Corps' cutting edge advancements in lightsp–" then there was a terrible rumbling that knocked the Doctor, the King, and everyone else on the premises off of their feet. Dr. Brief watched in horror as his prized vessel roared up into the sky and winked out of existence. He turned back to King Giran and chuckled nervously. "W-well," he said, "You saw it jump to lightspeed…" Giran growled and flashed his fangs and those chuckles became _exceedingly_ nervous.

OoOoOoO

Bulma sighed and stretched as she slowly got up out of bed before immediately being hit by a wave of soreness from head to toe. She quickly sat back down on the edge of the bed and groaned. She felt a certain… squishiness as she fully woke up and sighed.

"No big deal," she decided with a shrug, "I'll just head over to the drug store later and–" then it hit her, like the missing piece of a puzzle finally falling into place. The blue hair, the serious face, the Capsule Corp jacket, the Super Saiyan… "Oh… oh shit."

OoOoOoO

"Oh…" Vegeta muttered as he stared out the window at the rapidly-disappearing earth, "I see." Then he shrugged and his stunned expression changed into a self-satisfied smirk. "At least it was _my_ bloodline that killed Freeza."

"Greetings, your majesty!" the artificial intelligence chirped as it came online. Finally, Vegeta thought, the proper respect. "Although I must admit," it added, "I had not expected someone so… mammalian. I had been programmed to address someone with, well… _scales._ And wings!" Well, so much for the proper respect.

"What is the _bare minimum_ amount you have to talk?" Vegeta asked gruffly as he began doing his stretches under the normal pressure of Planet Vegeta's gravity.

"Well, ah, yes," the ship stammered, "I _was_ programmed for companionship and conversational stimulation to avoid the madness of extreme, deep-space isola–"

"I came out here _for_ extreme isolation," Vegeta grumbled as he finished stretching and began to dress. "Is there something you can do _besides_ talk?"

"Ah, of course!" the ship replied happily. "I am fully stocked with a library of twelve hundred films, fifteen thousand novels, and three and a half _million_ songs from across the cen–"

"Music will do," Vegeta snapped. "Just find something. Then raise the gravity to two hundred and sixty five times that of planet Earth." Vegeta finished dressing and tied the black belt tight around his waist. Black sandals, black fingerless gloves, blue pants and a blue vest that was tied shut with a blue belt. It… wasn't bad. Earth combat garb was a tad too loose and flowy for Vegeta but he would adjust to it. The music started and, despite himself, Vegeta started tapping his foot. It was catchy. _Maddeningly_ so. Then the gravity kicked in and it mostly took his mind off the music.

"Up in the club, just broke up, doin' my own little thing. Decided to dip, now y'wanna trip, 'cause another brother noticed me." _Mostly._

"If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it," Vegeta found himself muttering through gritted teeth. "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it, don't be mad once you see that he want it…"

OoOoOoO

Back on Earth, Tenshinhan and Launch sat in Full Lotus position under a waterfall in their underwear. They channeled their ki to keep the thousands of pounds of water from so much as touching them. It was good focus, Tenshinhan had said. There was more to training than just punching each other in the face. Launch had suggested that if they _really_ wanted to test their focus, they could sit in Lotus _Blossom_ position together. Ten had turned red and she'd laughed.

"Guys," Chaozu called, using ki to amplify his voice to be heard over the rushing water. "Guys, get in here! The show's about to start!" Launch and Tenshinhan immediately rushed out from under the waterfall and hurriedly pulled on their clothes before flying back to the house and onto the couch. While they were waiting for the next part of their favorite series to get animated, they'd discovered a new favorite series. Launch and Chaozu liked it for the awesome fight scenes and the hilarious jokes while Ten appreciated the fantastic animation quality, the powerful score, and the amazing voice acting.

The other two were pretty sure that Ten _also_ liked it because the strongest man in the universe was bald.

No sooner had the theme song belted out its final "Hero!" then a pair of blurs, one large and gray and one small and purple, came crashing through the front of the house and into Launch and Ten respectively, carrying them off into different directions into the mountains. It happened so quickly that it took Chaozu several seconds to even realize that he was the only person on the couch.

"Shit," Chaozu muttered with a sigh as he looked around. He picked one of the two holes in the roof at random and flew out of it. "I swear to Kami, if I have to blow myself up again…"

OoOoOoO

Launch burst out of the rubble she'd been knocked into in a boiling rage that was so fierce that it literally began to melt the rock under her feet. "Do you know…" she growled, "How long… I've been waiting to see the Garou fight animated?!" Then she saw what her attacker looked like and was too… _bewildered_ to be angry.

He was an _enormously_ tall and muscular man with a long, braided black ponytail that hung over one shoulder. He was taller than Piccolo and wider in the shoulders than Tenshinhan, neither of which were things she thought possible. He had ashen gray skin, brown gloves, a brown belt across his chest that connected to a single brown shoulder pad, black-tipped yellow boots, and a green… _kilt?_ Or maybe it was some kind of dress? Either way, the only thing that gave Launch any clue as to what she was looking at was the golden buckle clipped onto his… half-a-toga? With the symbol of the Red Ribbon army emblazoned and shining on the metal.

"So… you're an android?" she asked. The man said nothing and only got into a fighting stance with a sneer. "Not much of a talker, huh?" No response. She shrugged and smirked. "I'm used to it," she admitted. "My boyfriend's not too chatty, either." She cracked her knuckles and got into her guard. "Let's see if I can make you squeal." Then she roared out a challenge and charged at the android, who barreled toward her silently and menacingly like a freight train.

OoOoOoO

"...What, exactly, am I looking at here?" Ten asked as he stood ankle-deep in snow on a mountain peak. It was a fair question. Across from him, smirking and with his arms behind his back, was a short, purple-skinned man with pink lips. He wore a ludicrously wide green hat with a red ball on the top, yellow-framed sunglasses, earrings, and a yellow-and-blue jacket with blue pants. Most ridiculous of all was his enormous red bowtie, which had a large, white 'R' on each end.

"Shit, man, you're not too bright, are ya, Tenshinhan?" the short man asked. He was barely taller than Chaozu. "The name's Android 15, ya dig? I was designed by Dr. Archimedes Gero t'protect the Earth from all alien threats, 'specially Son Goku, Vegeta, their progeny, the alien Piccolo, and all those that consort with 'em." Then he pointed a finger at Ten and his smirk widened. "And that _especially_ includes your punk ass as my scans indicate that your genetic makeup's twelve percent extraterrestrial DNA." _That_ was news to Ten.

"Excuse me?" he asked, all three eyes widening. The 'e' had barely passed his teeth when Android 14 launched himself across the snowy field like a dart and barreled head-first into Ten's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying. Ten bounded out of the snow with a snarl and charged the diminutive demon with one fist drawn back. "Kaiouken!" he bellowed and the red aura flashed into life around him like an inferno. He swung his fist, crashing it into 15's face… who took it on the cheek and then slowly turned Ten's fist back. Ten stared in shock and, as 15 drew a hand and backhanded him across the snow, he had a rare expletive moment. ' _What the shit?'_ Ten barreled through the snow until he hit the rock of the mountain and came bursting out of it in a rage. 15 immediately kicked him under the chin and snapped his head back before he smashed one of his tiny purple palms into Ten's collarbone, causing him to gasp in pain. ' _Damn it,'_ Ten thought as 15 grabbed him by the arm and swung him around into the mountain. ' _I hope Launch is having better luck than me.'_

OoOoOoO

' _Damn it,'_ Launch thought as she pulled herself up to her feet. _I hope Ten's having better luck than me.'_ So far she'd gotten a black eye, a couple of bruised ribs and a busted lip and all she had to show for it was a couple of dents in the android's abs and a chunk of grey skin ripped off to show the silver bones underneath. "Okay, asshole," Launch muttered as she spat out some blood, "Try this!" The android barreled towards her and Launch got down in a low crouch. Then, as the android came right on top of her, she smirked. "Kaiouken!" the aura red aura came to life around her and she shot between the robot's legs before spinning around and kicking him in the back of his left knee as hard as she could. The android staggered and Launch even saw his leg buckle for half a second, which was all that she needed. Her hand immediately shot out and grabbed the ponytail to yank it as hard as she could down into her upraised knee. Her knee met the base of his spine with an almighty "CRACK!" If he'd been a person, he'd never walk again. The android didn't even grunt, merely swinging back one of its huge arms fast enough to take off Launch's head… if she hadn't ducked. She went under his arm and came up with a spear strike, driving her fingertips up between his ribs. They punched through synthetic skin, between metal, and into the wires with a satisfying "Crunch!" Before Launch could grab anything, though, the android's other hand grabbed her by the throat and yanked her away before throwing her hard into the ground. As she skidded across and felt skin tear from the gravel, she added "tailbone" to the bruised bones. She got to her feet, wincing as the red aura faded away. Not good.

The android looked down at the hole in his side as some kind of blue ooze slowly started to seep out. Probably coolant or some shit. Then he looked back at her with that unchanging icy stare. "Futile," he told her bluntly in a deep and stoic voice. Still, it was a word.

"We'll see about that, shitborg," Launch muttered in defiance as she grit her teeth. "Kaiouken!"

OoOoOoO

Ten wiped blood from a cut under his left eye as Android 15 dusted off the sleeves of his coat and smirked. "Man, I thought you were supposed to be bad," 15 told Ten in a mocking tone, "But this ain't shit. Dawg, just tell me where Son Goku is 'cause I got places to be. Namely at her place killin' her." Ten grit his back teeth to force down his irritation and smirked.

"Sorry to keep inconveniencing you," he apologized disingenuously, "But I'm not going down without a fight!" Then he lurched forward and grunted with effort as a second pair of arms bubbled into existence out of his shoulderblades. Then he arched back and a _third_ pair of arms burst forth from his lower back, along his ribs. 15 stared at him, mouth agape, and slowly pulled down his shades.

"Shit," he muttered, "That's messed up." Ten grinned and got down low into a fighting stance, all six arms moving synchronously.

"Watch this," he challenged in a guttural tone. "Kaiouken times three!" The flames reached even higher and he charged at Android 15 like a rocket, his arms battering the android from all angles and catching him off guard as he hit every inch of the android's body. He brought all six hands together in an axehandle blow and swung as hard as he could to send him crashing into the mountainside, snow and rock rolling down in an avalanche that Ten quickly flew to escape. 15 burst out of the snow a few seconds later, his hat and sunglasses gone and his jacket torn. Without his hat, Tenshinhan could see the glass bubble of a braincase underneath. He could see the intricate machinery moving deftly and the twinkle of lights. Funnily enough, three or four wires came out of the top of the dome like Chaozu's hair.

"Alright," 15 snarled and glowered as he grabbed his jacket, "Now you've fuckin' pissed me off! You are _dead,_ son!" He ripped his jacket apart and cast it down into the cascading snow below. To compound upon the bizarreness of his design, he was also extremely muscular. Wearing only his dress shoes, blue pants, and enormous bowtie, 15 now looked like the world's most niche male stripper. "Hope you ready to die, tri boy," 15 spat venomously. Tenshinhan smirked and got back into his six-armed guard.

"Not today." They charged and hit one another with the sound of a thunderclap.

OoOoOoO

As the android drove the point of his toe up into Launch's chest and she had to fight the instinctual urge to puke out her entire digestive tract, she wondered if she would have been better off as a schizophrenic criminal-slash-maid all along. The thought was gone as soon as the back of her head hit the mountainside but that might have been a concussion. Her whole body was on fire from the Kaiouken and she was _pretty sure_ she'd burst a blood vessel in her left eye.

The android stalked toward her emotionlessly and implacably, looking in far better shape by comparison. She'd slightly widened the hole in his ribs and he staggered slightly from all the kicks, knees, and elbows that she'd driven into his legs but that was the most she'd been able to get out of him. That and she'd ripped off all of his hair and the skin on his face.

"Final statement," he stated in a tone that was _almost_ inquisitive. "Deliver location of Son Goku." Launch smirked and shook her head. The android shrugged and drew back a fist. Then they heard a tremendous rumbling off to their left that made both human and machine turn and stare.

Thundering toward them like a stampede and carrying several metric tonnes of rock, ice, snow, and trees behind him in his psychokinetic wave was Chaozu. Launch leaped into the air as Chaozu came to a screeching halt and every last ounce of his cargo barreled into the android. He flew up to meet Launch and winced when he saw her.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "I know, I look like shit." They both looked down at the rushing rapids of debris below them and Launch sighed. "Won't hold him for long."

"The hell is he?" Chaozu asked.

"One of the androids," Launch explained. Chaozu gave a half-shrug and accepted it on face value.

"Got a plan?" he asked. Launch winced painfully, as if the very act of thinking was bruising at this point, until inspiration struck her as she reflected on the hole she'd made.

"How good's your telekinesis these days?" she asked. "You think you can hold him?" Chaozu glanced away evasively and gave a little shrug.

"For like… two seconds?" he guessed. Launch could tell he was being generous and sighed.

"It'll have to do," she muttered. Especially because right after she said that, the android came bursting out of the snow, every last inch of skin and clothing stripped clean off of his body. "Okay," she muttered, "Wait until I tell you." Then she started gathering ki, zoning herself out like Ten had taught her long ago. She closed her eyes and opened herself to the universe, expanded her mind as far as it could go, transcending all pain. Then she brought it all back down again, down into herself and even deeper, confining herself and all of existence into a single speck. She gathered her energy down into that speck, down into the tip of the index finger of her outstretched hand as her other hand slowly drew back in a smooth motion across her chest.

"Laaaunch…" Chaozu called nervously. She could hear the shriek of metal slicing through the air as the android barreled toward them, could feel the very air vibrating around them. She'd only have one clean shot.

"Now!" she cried as her eyes snapped open. Chaozu flung out his hands and the android came to a stop maybe five feet in front of them as a flash of golden ki twinkled on Launch's fingertip, a thin golden line stretching across her arm, her chest, and into her other hand. "Take this," she called out, "Dodonya!" She let the bolt of ki fly and it slid effortlessly into the hole in the android's chest and not a moment too soon as it broke through Chaozu's psychic hold. Then it stopped again and it started to bubble like boiling water. To Launch's immense satisfaction, the robot shrieked and squealed in pain before exploding violently into a glorious ball of fire. Launch and Chaozu stared at the explosion for a few seconds before nodding to one another approvingly and fist bumping.

"...We better go find Ten," Chaozu said suddenly. Launch nodded and the pair flew off toward his ki as fast as they could manage.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan screamed in pain as 15 squeezed him in a bearhug, pinning all six of his arms to his side and driving the wind out of him. Their powers had been frustratingly matched, even with the Kaiouken time three, and now Ten was burnt out and paying for it.

"Scream all you want, bruh," 15 called over Ten's howls of pain and the sound of crunching bones. "You gonna die either way. Then Imma kill the shorty and, if 14 ain't already done with 'er, I'll see if I can get y'green girl to tell me what she knows. Hell, I figure I can get her to scream one way or another, y'know?"

Somewhere underneath all of Ten's blinding pain, there was rage and it was that rage that gave him clarity. The clarity to realize that two-thirds of the arms that the android was trying to crush _didn't exist._ "What the–?" 15 muttered as the uppermost arms slid out of his grasp and back into Tenshinhan's back. Then they popped out again and jammed into 15's eyes and Tenshinhan became _extremely_ happy for the pointers Yamcha had given him in ki manipulation and control while they'd been dead.

"Taiyoken!" Tenshinhan roared as the full, concentrated energy of the Taiyoken surged down his arms and into _each thumb._ 15 yowled as the delicate hardware inside his eyes burst and ruptured and broke his grip to clutch at his smoking eyes. Ten smirked and kicked 15 in the chest as hard as he could, sending the little man flying off. "And for the record," Ten gasped out, "Launch wouldn't have gone _nearly_ as easy on you as I have." Then each of his fingers glowed as if he was preparing for the Dodon Barrage… and he clenched his fists, causing them to glow white like stars. "Kaiouken times four!" he roared and charged as he drew his fists back. He could see 15 squinting and glaring at him as he tried to find him with his damaged eyes and smirked as he brought his fists forward. "Dodonken!" Each punch hit 15 with explosive force and Ten punched a thousand times a second. Despite the severity of the situation, Ten just couldn't help himself. "DOOOOOORARARARARARARA!" He kept on punching until 15 was nothing but shrapnel and punched the shrapnel until it had dissolved completely into ash. Then, finally, he allowed himself to collapse face-first into the snow. "Now those," he murmured, "Were _serious_ consecutive punches." He chuckled. His first quip and no one was around to hear it. Then he passed out.

A few seconds later, Launch and Chaozu arrived. "Jeez," Chaozu remarked sarcastically as they picked up Tenshinhan's unconscious body between them, "Looks like we missed all the fun." They'd caught a glimpse of it as they were coming over the peak of one of the mountains in the range and, since Launch was stronger than Chaozu, she'd been able to keep up with it a _little_ better. Having watched, and heard, Ten's display, there was really only one thing she could say.

"Greato daze yo, koitsu wa!"

OoOoOoO

Several months of training in complete isolation had passed and, although Vegeta had grown stronger, he still had not broken through the barrier. He wasn't. Good. Enough. He was taking a break and attempting to take his mind off of his frustrating failure by engrossing himself in some highly entertaining Earth cinema. It was the story of a lovable and dashing rogue forced to work with insufferable do-good heroes in the pursuit of his ultimate glory. Vegeta could relate.

"You cheated," the annoying pretty-boy hero protested.

"Pirate," the rogue reminded him with a cavalier shrug. A thunderous impact shook the ship and Vegeta groaned before turning off the movie. Just as it was starting to get interesting...

"Ship," he growled, "What the hell is going on?!"

"It appears," the ship said as Vegeta got up off the couch and headed for one of the viewports, "That a meteor shower has entered the ship's vector. It shouldn't do any _severe_ damage to the hull, by all projections, although we won't be able to make the jump to hyperspace in it." That was troubling. Vegeta had gone as far out as six months in hyperspace would take him and had been floating in empty space for the last three months. "We could sit it out," the ship suggested, "Or circumnavigate the storm, although either one would alter the timetable of our return by several months." Vegeta sneered in derision. He did not _have_ several months. He was _not_ going to be late for Cell's arrival.

"We will do no such thing," Vegeta said firmly as he watched cosmic debris hurtle past the viewport at impossibly dangerous speeds. "I'll deal with this myself." He flared up his aura to capture the oxygen around him and walked to the door, overriding the safety precautions to force it open before flying up onto the roof and blasting every meteor that came near the ship, attempting to wipe out the entire field. He grunted with exertion, his blood pumping as the thrill of a life-or-death situation coursed adrenaline through his system. _This_ was what he'd been missing! What he'd done to get stronger when serving under Freeza, pitting himself against impossible challenges and diving face-first into certain death, coming out the end feeling more alive than ever.

Then he saw it. The mother of all asteroids. It was _a thousand times_ the size of the ship. He would have to do more than destroy it or break it apart. He would have to atomize it to keep from being destroyed. He let out a roar and flew at the asteroid, slamming into it with his shoulder and pushing against it to try and slow it down. Then he pressed his palms flat against it and blasted it with everything he had. He blew a chunk out of it but, maddeningly, the majority of the mass remained untouched and it kept on coming. Vegeta drew on his reserves of power and blasted it again, and again, and again. He kept blowing chunks out of the asteroid but couldn't manage anything else. Vegeta began to realize, to his horror, that he was reaching into the ki he'd been using to hold onto his oxygen, which was already starting to run out.

He was going to die. Out in space, alone. Not felled by an enemy or an army, not an assassination attempt or even an illness. He was going to die of his own hubris and stupidity. He would never become the Super Saiyan.

"No." He ground his teeth and dug his bloody hands into the stone. "No, no, no!" Vegeta slammed his head down into the asteroid, the rush of warm blood down his face only further fueling his fury. He would _not_ die like this! "This is not my limit!" He roared into the cold and uncaring vacuum of space. "I was made for more than this! I am the King! I am Vegeta! I! Am! VEGETAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" And with a lion's roar, everything went white. He screamed and bellowed with fury as his irises turned teal and his hair surged into gold and his aura exploded all around him. With one final cry of rage and defiance and triumph, the asteroid burst apart and was blasted into oblivion from the sheer force of his power. He had finally done it. He had finally achieved his destiny. The King had come into his throne. Vegeta had become a Super Saiyan.

OoOoOoO

Halfway across the universe, at that very same moment, the Prince of Saiyans let out his first cry as he came into the world. He was quickly washed up and swaddled and the doctor and nurses were each handed large envelopes of cash to swear that they'd _never_ seen his tail. Bulma let out an exhausted sigh as the baby was gently put in her arms. Not only was childbirth an exhausting experience and the second–most painful one of her life (seriously, that ionic torch hurt like a _motherfucker)_ but it had also been the most frustrating.

"An' that quack called himself an obstetrician," she muttered as the baby nuzzled up against her chest and started searching for a nipple. She'd spent half of her own labor telling other people what to do. If nothing else, Bulma decided, this was motivation for her to get the cloning research back on track so that the next time she had a kid, she could deliver it herself. Still, though, it wasn't all bad. Bulma looked down at the baby and smiled at him as he nursed, his brown tail flicking happily. She brushed a thumb over the wisps of blue hair and he looked up at her with her own bright blue eyes, if already _very_ serious. "Welcome to the world, Trunks."


	80. Countdown to Destiny!

Chapter Eighty

Countdown to Destiny! The Final Androids Awaken!

 _One Year Before Cell Attacks_

Vegeta powered down from his Super Saiyan state easily and smirked confidently to himself. He had mastered the power. He _was_ the power. As a Super Saiyan, thirty times the gravity of Planet Vegeta put as much pressure on his body as Earth's gravity. It was effortless and intoxicating, his raw strength and power, the destructive force he commanded with every breath. Now it was time to put it to the test.

"Ship," he declared, "Set a return course for Earth. I have a bug to squash." He began to strip down from his gi to take a bath and a nap before adding, "And play something particularly victorious."

"Very good, your majesty," the ship replied cheerily as it hummed and jumped into hyperspace. After a few seconds of searching, it found a song that it believed would be to Vegeta's liking.

"Heeeere we are! Born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe!" Vegeta sighed contently and settled down into hot water and bubbles that came up to his chin.

" _Glorious."_

 _Seven Months Before Cell Attacks_

Gohan sighed as he looked down at his advanced calculus homework, the blank page sitting in front of him while he tapped his pencil ineffectually against his lips. While he'd always been a quick study and was able to adapt to and learn advanced concepts far faster than most people his age (or so his mother and Bulma had observed), even he had limits as to how much information he could process in a single afternoon. Especially with the sounds of sparring off in the distance. His mother was sparring with Krillin, he could tell, while his mom was sparring with both Trunks and Piccolo. Suddenly, though, one of the sparring sounds was missing.

"Hey, Gohan!" Goku exclaimed happily as she suddenly appeared in Gohan's window and causing him to fall out of his chair. "How's the homework coming?" Gohan pulled himself back into his chair and gave a half-hearted shrug.

"It's coming," he muttered unconvincingly.

"Need a break?" Goku asked while giving him a sympathetic smile. Gohan nodded but let out another exhausted sigh as he ran a hand through his red hair.

"I can't come out and spar, though," he pointed out. "Mother will notice." Goku grinned and passed Gohan a large bag through the window.

"I didn't say you needed to spar," Goku pointed out, "I said you needed a break!" Gohan looked into the bag and saw that it was nearly overflowing with superhero comics. Gohan grinned and set the bag down on his desk before throwing his arms around his mom's neck in a quick hug. "Thank you, mom!" he exclaimed happily. Goku grinned and gave him a quick hug back.

"Well, I gotta get back to training. You have fun!" Then she was instantly gone, leaving Gohan alone with his reading material. Gohan slid out of his chair and onto the floor, taking the bag with him. In a few minutes, he was lying on the rug and happily kicking his feet while flipping through the pages and reading aloud.

"Rider Kick!"

 _Six Months Before Cell Attacks_

The Capsule Corp ship popped out of hyperspace and slowly descended down toward Earth with the autopilot function carrying it precisely back to the landing pad it had launched from. Dr. Brief looked out the window of his lab and rolled his eyes before tapping the call button on his scouter to talk to Bulma.

"Your boyfriend is back," he grumbled. "Although I'm shocked that my ship is still intact. He blows everything else up…"

"Thanks, daddy," Bulma replied cheerily from her lab before tapping her own scouter to end the conversation. She put down her tools and stepped away from the electromagnetic fusion reactor she'd working on and bent down to pick Trunks up out of the bouncy chair he'd been sitting in while she worked. "C'mon, little guy," she said with a slight huff of effort at the density and heft of the infant before placing him in the carrier on her chest. "Time to go meet your daddy." Trunks giggled happily and wiggled his tiny toes.

Bulma was waiting with her hands on her hips as the door to the ship opened and swung down into a ramp that Vegeta walked down. To her surprise, he was actually wearing the gi that her mom had made him and actually seemed to have washed it and tried to sew up some holes he'd put in it.

"So," she asked tensely as she looked down at him, "You a Super Saiyan now?" Vegeta grinned smugly and puffed out his chest.

"As a matter of fact–" Bulma reached back and swung as hard as she could, slapping Vegeta across the face. He touched the red imprint on his cheek with an expression that was impressed as it was indignantly furious.

"You could have at least waited for me to wake up, asshole," she muttered. Vegeta smirked and shrugged.

"Why," he asked, "Did you think you were special?" Bulma let out a fuming whistle of air through her nostrils as Vegeta turned his attention to their son. "Hello, Trunks," he said before noticing the black cat-ear hat on his head. "What in nine hells is he wearing?" he demanded.

"My mom bought it for him," Bulma explained. "He likes it!" Vegeta rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the ears, plucking the hat off Trunks' head. "No wait, don't!"

"He looks ridicu–" Vegeta started to say. But, at the exact moment that Trunks felt air tickle his scalp, he threw back his head and wailed with all his might. The cry shook the windows in the Capsule Corp building and made car alarms go off. The ground shook under their feet and trees were yanked up by their roots. Vegeta grabbed his ears painfully and groaned in agony before quickly placing the hat back on Trunks' head. The crying instantly ceased and Trunks smiled and giggled again, waving his fat baby arms and legs.

"Told you he likes it," Bulma declared proudly while Vegeta grumbled and groused and checked his ears for blood.

 _Two Months Before Cell Attacks_

Piccolo grimaced and grit his teeth as he tried to sit in calm and contemplative meditation to focus and amplify his power. "Tried" being the operative word because he couldn't focus with the constant "swish-swish" of Trunks' baggy pants and the crinkling of grass under his boots with every step as the young man from the future paced around him.

"Will you just _sit down?!"_ Piccolo snapped. "Why did you even come out here if you're not going to meditate with me?"

"I can't help it!" Trunks insisted irritably, although he at least stopped pacing. "I can literally count down the days until the thing that destroys the world and kills you all shows up! I've come back in time and told everyone that they're going to die and they're just… okay with it! They're all so sure they can win but all I can worry about is that I won't be strong enough!" Trunks sighed and sat down on the grass beside Piccolo with a "thump!" "Are they right? Am I just… worrying too much?"

"No," Piccolo told him bluntly. "You're right. They're optimistic idiots. Nothing is certain. Cell could still be strong enough to kill us and this could all have been for nothing. There's no guarantees that we'll win or that justice will prevail or any of that garbage." Trunks stared at him in wide-eyed horror and Piccolo shrugged. "I'm a reincarnated Demon King who tried to enslave mankind. Forgive me if I'm not the most reassuring motivational speaker. You want empty platitudes? Go find Goku." Trunks looked down at his feet and Piccolo sighed before pulling off his turban and scratching his head. "Look… if you're really so worried, the only thing to do is to keep training. Worrying is wasted energy. It exhausts you and eats away at your motivation and time. If you spend all your time fretting that you won't be good enough to succeed then, when the challenge comes, you _will_ fail. Push yourself to your limit and overcome any barrier in your mind. Train until you can hold your enemies in the palm of your hands and grind them into dust!" Piccolo emphatically wringed his hand in the air to demonstrate and Trunks chuckled. "What," he asked.

"Nothing," Trunks promised, "It's just… well, I can kind of see why you and my dad became friends in my timeline." Now it was Piccolo's turn to stare in wide-eyed horror.

"That's it," Piccolo declared as he shoved himself to his feet. "Back to sparring. We _are_ going to kill Cell because I am never, _ever_ going to let that happen." Trunks laughed aloud as he stood up, "Makankousappou!" And then immediately had to dodge.

OoOoOoO

The feeling of cool sand against his back and the sound of crashing waves brought Gohan back to the waking world. He sat up painfully and started to sit up before immediately sitting back down because moving made him feel lightheaded. He looked around at the beach around him with dazed bewilderment. As his head cleared, his memories returned. He'd been sparring with his mom in the backyard and then she'd… hit him… with a Kamehameha. Gohan looked at the trench he was buried in and put the pieces together.

"Oh," Gohan muttered in understanding. "Oh jeez." It was about fifteen miles from their home to the coast. You never realized how far their beams went when they were usually being fired over the horizon or off into space.

"Gohan!" Goku cried as she suddenly appeared next to Gohan and nearly startled him out of his socks. Nearly three years later and Instant Transmission was _still_ taking some getting used to. "Are you okay?" she continued as she dropped into a crouch at his side. "You got your block up in time, right? You're not hurt too bad, are you?"

"I'm fine, mom," Gohan assured Goku as he groaned and slowly got to his feet, ignoring the hand Goku put out to help him up. He hadn't meant to be rude but he didn't like being babied, either. He could take care of himself. "I'm just… sorry I'm disappointing you," he added sadly as he looked down at his shoes.

"Disappointing me?" Goku asked in a tone of hurt confusion. "What're you talking about? You're doing _great!_ You've improved so much. I'm proud of you, Gohan!"

"But I'm not a Super Saiyan!" Gohan pointed out in self-irritation. "That's what this has all been about, right? Almost three years of training and I still can't do it! I let you down." Goku pulled Gohan to her and hugged him close while patting his back gently.

"Hey, hey," she whispered reassuringly, "It's okay. I spent my whole life getting to the point where I'd become strong enough to be a Super Saiyan. I didn't even know what a Super Saiyan _was_ until about four years ago! Besides, you're how old?"

"Nine," Gohan reminded her as he slipped out of her hug.

"Yeah, nine," Goku repeated with an encouraging grin. "When I was your age, I hadn't even met Bulma yet! You're literally _thousands_ of times stronger than I was when I was your age! I'm sure it won't be long til you're even stronger than me now!" Gohan's eyes went wide and his eyes went starry just like hers.

"You really think I could?" he asked.

"Of course I do," Goku told him. "I think you can do anything, Gohan! Let's get back to training!" They both got into their guards but dropped immediately out of them once they heard their gurgling stomachs. "But… maybe after lunch!"

 _Two Weeks Until Cell Attacks_

The day had finally come. Mankind looked into the sky one day with horrified eyes as the heavens above filled with thousands of starships that loomed menacingly overhead. The first strike was swift and brutal as they attacked the Royal Palace, blasting it off the face of the Earth like they had done to East City.

But before the space-faring green and tailed savages could begin the slaughter in earnest, they were beset upon by the Cyborg Red Ribbon Army, mankind's invincible protectors. And their greatest champion? Cell, The Ultimate Being!

"Your terror ends now, aliens," Cell cried triumphantly while throwing one of the warships into another warship in a glorious red-orange blossom of flame. "Because you underestimated the ingenuity and power of the human race!"

"Doctor Gero," a heavily-synthesized voice said suddenly that cut through Archimedes Gero's dream and brought him back to the waking world, "It is time to wake. Are you ready?" Gero opened his eyes with a blink and stirred in his sleeping pod.

Or rather, Archimedes Gero's brain sent a signal to his android body, which opened its eyes and began to move inside its chamber. All that remained of Archimedes Gero's mortal body was his magnificent brain, kept alive in a chemical bath inside a bubble of a nearly indestructible polymer of Gero's own design. Gero realized some time ago that, due to the unsafe conditions of his construction due to lack of funding, his experiments would kill him. Not wanting to die before he felt Son Goku's life drain away in his hands, Gero began to construct a mechanical body that was a replica of his own organic flesh. Torches dimmed his eyesight; acids corroded his flesh; poor hygiene matted his hair and made his teeth fall out; the radiation poisoned his blood and his bones; his own weaknesses and vices corrupted his lungs and his his liver. In time, only his mind remained untouched.

"To me, 19," Gero's brain thought the words and they came from the mouth of the robot as it climbed out of its charging pod. The alabaster automaton walked to Gero's brain and handled the dome with the delicacy of an expert surgeon, carrying it with smooth and graceful movements across the room before placing the bubble into the concave indent in Gero's skull. The mechanical manservant had helped in the surgery that had moved Gero's brain into the sphere that maintained his mind and consciousness.

"How do you feel, Doctor?" 19 asked. The robot was robust and rotund, with white skin, bright blue eyes, and golden hoop earrings. He was dressed in a pair of striped and plumed orange pants, white shoes with black tips, a black shirt with a yellow vest tied shut with a red string over a black shirt with puffed shoulders and yellow sleeves, a purple cummerbund, and a pointed yellow hat with the Red Ribbon insignia. Perhaps not the most intimidating of warriors but Gero had based his design off of a child's toy. He had found the toy on the outskirts of the ashes of East City when he'd entered the ruins to gather data and felt... inspired.

"I feel…" Gero began to say as his voice calibrated under mental command back to a more natural sound, "Alive." He flexed his fingers, bent his knees, and rotated his shoulders. He stretched his neck from side to side and was pleasantly surprised that it actually cracked. Gero pressed two fingers to his throat and felt a pulse. His eyes made no noise when he blinked and his chest even rose and fell to simulate the psychosomatic movements of breathing even if he no longer needed to. He inspected his naked form and ran his fingers through his long white hair before stroking his luxuriant mustache. "19," he ordered with a snap of his fingers, "My clothes."

As the android fetched his outfit, Gero reflected that a more vain man might have rebuilt a body in the image of his youth so that he might be forever young but, as Gero inspected the ruby quartz absorption gems embedded in his palms, he also looked attentively at every wrinkle, noting that they were exactly as he'd remembered them. Because Gero was not fighting for the perfect, for the young and the beautiful. Archimedes Gero was fighting for all mankind and had designed his androids to reflect that. The big and the small, the strong and the round, the young and the old, the sharp and the dull. His androids were the champions of Earth and every being that lived on it.

"Hrm," Gero muttered as his cyborg implants connected his brain to the various world media outlets, "So the King is a Dragon." Gero wasn't sure if that was better or worse than a dog. "And they've built a 'new' East City." A slap in the face to the threat of the alien menace. Archimedes grabbed a titanium wrench between his hands and bent it as effortlessly as if it were made of marshmallow fluff. "Excellent."

"Doctor," 19 announced, "I have returned." He held out a stack of clothes and Gero smiled and nodded appreciatively as he took the stack from his servant's hands. Gero dressed himself in a pair of black dress pants, white and black dress loafers, a white dress shirt, a black waistcoat with a golden chain in the pocket, black sleeve garters and a red bowtie. Finally, with a flourish, he put on his black stovepipe hat with the Red Ribbon logo embroidered on the brim. "Are you ready to proceed, doctor?" 19 asked. Gero rummaged through the personal effects he had left behind before permanently abandoning his physical body and slid his simple, golden wedding band onto his finger.

"Yes," Archimedes declared resolutely as he he balled his fists, "I _am."_ 19 nodded and the pair made their way out through the cave's hidden entrance before taking off into the sky. Bitterly, Gero reflected on how much his war against the Enemy had taken from him. He could not even enjoy the freedom of true flight. ' _It does not matter,'_ he thought to himself. ' _At_ last, _vengeance shall be_ mine!' The weak-minded fools considered the alien Goku some kind of "hero". The price of being bait would be the penance for their blind worship.

OoOoOoO

Suno was watching TV on the living room couch with the faint sounds Goku and the boys training in the distance while she sipped her rosehip and hibiscus tea. One of her favorite movies had just started playing on TV.

"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious sh–" But the wild-haired and lovably eccentric scientist was suddenly interrupted by the bespectacled face of Mann Blitzer, one of the most recognizable faces in news media.

"A breaking news development out of the southern hemisphere," Mann announced as a quarter of the screen was taken up by another screen that showed footage of a city under some kind of attack, with people screaming and cars exploding in the background, "A terrorist attack has been launched on Amenbo Island, just south of the Southern Continent. The source of the attack is unclear although eyewitnesses have reported seeing two flying men bearing the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army." Those three words made Suno's eyelid twitch and she shattered the mug in a fist, unphased by the piping hot water running all over her hand. She got up quickly from the couch and marched resolutely to the sliding glass door, flinging it open and tilting her head up toward the sky.

"Goku," Suno called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth, "Me and Krillin are gonna go beat up a couple more androids in the south!"

"Okay," Goku called back down, "Make sure to power up a lot if you're in trouble so we can come help!"

"Sure thing, babe!" Then Suno shut the door and picked up her cell phone. Krillin answered quickly. "Hey, Krillin. You see the news?"

"Yeah," Krillin replied, "I was just about to call you."

"Cool. Meet ya there?"

"Meet ya there." Suno hung up and dropped her phone before flying out the front door. The Red Ribbon Army had taken her father from her. They had terrorized her home. They'd killed so _many_ people all across the world. She wasn't going to let them come back and hurt one more person. Not as long as she was breathing.

OoOoOoO

As Gero incinerated another skyscraper with his heat vision, he supposed that at some point he'd tire of killing things with his eyes. Probably not for some time, though. While he blasted a group of fleeing civilians to slag, 19 plunged a fist down under the pavement and destroyed a transformer, wiping out power in half the city. A stupid man would wonder why someone who wanted to save mankind would kill so many. A painful necessity, the same reason that his ultimate creation had the capability of consuming life force. The world could not support a continually-booming population. There would need to be a culling.

In the middle of their mayhem, a red-and-blue streak smashed into the pavement behind them. Archimedes and 19 slowly turned around to see a redheaded woman with her hair tied back with a blue ribbon and wearing an ice-blue martial artists gi glared up at them from the crater she'd made with all the hatred in the world burning from her eyes.

"Ah," Archimedes observed calmly, "Son Suno. The one _literally_ in bed with the enemy." Her glare grew, if that was possible, _more_ hateful as she climbed out of the crater and a short, bald man in a black and orange gi floated down beside her and matched her stride after she exited the crater and the pair began walking purposefully toward them. "And the 'Bald Tiger'," Archimedes added with his arms clasped behind his back, " _Excellent._ Those closest to Son Goku. You will have the information I require so that I may hunt down Son Goku and exterminate her for the good of the human–"

And then Suno let out a bloodcurdling scream and launched herself at Gero, nailing him square in the chest with the damnedest flying kick in recorded history. Krillin and 19 stared at them both in open-mouthed shock before flying after them awkwardly and quickly as they could. The kick carried both of them off of the island and across the width of the Southern Continent before flipping forward and punching him down into the ground on the central continent. She continued to scream as she rained down jackhammer punches that tore a trench through the ground that was hundreds of meters wide.

"I! Won't! Let! You! Hurt! Anyone! Ever! Again!" Suno grabbed Archimedes by his hair and swung him around as hard as she could before launching him into the air. "Kaaameeehaaameehaaa!" She thrust her hands forward and the blast roared from her palms to blast the doctor head-on. Suno smirked but the smirk faded almost immediately as the light faded and she saw Gero holding one hand out, a glowing red light shining in his palm.

"Hmm," he mused as he began dusting himself off and straightened his hat. "I suppose I should thank you for providing a litmus test for the duress my energy absorption technology can maintain under. Not even a flicker of difficulty in this body's batteries." 19 flew into the airspace between Gero and Suno in a defensive stance and Gero gave a disappointed sigh. "Thank you for moving to defend me, 19, belated though it might be."

"I am pleased to serve, Doctor," 19 replied with as close to genuine emotion as he could supply. Gero sighed and waved for 19 to engage as Krillin flew down and landed beside Suno.

"Man," Krillin muttered, "For such a big guy, he's a _lot_ more aerodynamic than you'd think."

"I regret the eventuality of killing you," 19 told them earnestly, "But your association with the extraterrestrial threats makes you traitors to your planet. My directive declares that traitors must be exterminated."

"Well," Suno remarked sarcastically, "He's _polite."_ 19 reminded her of Eighter, in a very, _very_ limited sense. "Watch out for anything red on his hands and be careful about throwing ki at him. Looks like they can absorb energy." Krillin nodded and the pair charged to meet 19 as he barrelled toward them with a good-natured smile plastered across his face. It was a tricky thing fighting the android because of the gems on his palms. 19 was constantly grabbing, constantly reaching to try and grab them and suck the energy out of their bodies. They couldn't get too close or put too much force behind their kicks or punches because they had to pull back nearly as soon as they made impact.

"Hey," Krillin muttered as they pulled back and jumped to avoid one of 19's own non-ki energy blasts, "This guy's only got two hands, right?"

"Yeah," Suno agreed with a slightly confused expression, "Why?" Krillin smirked and flew high into the air.

"Get a load of this," he called as he thrust out his hands. A yellow ki bolt flew out of Krillin's hands down toward 19. Suno wondered what the hell he was doing. The blast was moving so slowly that 19 would be able to catch it. In fact, he was flying straight for it. "Kakusandan!" Krillin cried. The blast suddenly swerved upwards to avoid 19 before bursting apart into a dozen different ki blasts, all striking 19 at different angles. He might have caught one or two but the rest battered him around and kept him off-balance, doing the first real damage they'd managed to hit him with.

"Huh," Suno murmured with dawning realization, "I get it!" She brought her palms down to her sides with a smirk. Good thing she'd developed this particular technique, she supposed. "Kamehame…" Then she squeezed the blue-white ball down into her fist and flung it at 19 like a baseball. "Senbonhari!" A thousand needles of blue-white light flew from Suno's outstretched fingers and sliced through 19 like razor blades. Two of them sliced off 19's arms at the elbows and his hands fell to the ground, now useless. "Let's finish him off!" Suno declared.

"19," Gero called dryly, "Initiate Destruct Sequence!" 19 aimed the point of his hat at Suno and Krillin and flew at them like a rocket.

"Well," Suno remarked as she and Krillin stood side-by-side and moved in synch, "Wouldn't be the first time I had to blow up a nuke with a Kamehameha. At least this time I've got a friend."

"Kamehameha!" they cried as they thrust their hands out, curving the blast slightly to push 19 up and into the air so that he erupted in the sky like the world's largest firework.

"A pity," Gero sighed. "He was the most useful of my assets. No outlandish personality, no insubordination. He did what he was told. Although I suppose you'll do just as well." He cracked his knuckles and got into a boxer's stance as if it were the only fighting stance he'd ever seen. "For instance, I am telling you to _die."_ He flew at them and they flew down at him. They had the same issues against Gero that they'd had against 19, only because of Suno's Kamehameha, Gero was stronger than them. They had to fight even more defensively and Gero came dangerously close to grabbing one of them. Just feeling Gero's hand reaching for his arm made Krillin's skin crawl and he could feel the energy draining from his body.

' _Not good,'_ Krillin thought as drove both feet up under Gero's chin and pushed away as quickly as he could. ' _We definitely need a plan. If this guy absorbs energy, maybe he burns through it. If we can get him to drain his battery–'_

"I learned from the mistakes of my earlier models," Gero explained as if he were reading Krillin's mind. "Even if I never touch you, it will take ten thousand years for this body's batteries to burn up their reserves of energy." So much for that. "You cannot defeat me," he declared boldly. "My supreme mind has bested your treacherous strength!"

"Yeah," Suno asked as she jerked a thumb up at the sky, "Well what about them?" Gero looked up into the sky as Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Launch, Chi-Chi, and Chaozu came flying toward their position. "I was raising my power level all throughout the fight," Suno explained, "And I'd bet that Goku's bringing the rest any time now! So how about we just skip to the part where you give up?" Gero stared up at them, blood traitors and filth breeds all. They would be on him in seconds.

"Yes," Gero muttered with dripping sarcasm, "It seems you have bested me and my _evil_ ways with your friendship and teamwork." He slowly raised his hands over his head as if in surrender. "Congratulations, good has won the day a-HA!" he turned his palms toward each other and pressed the jewels together, the feedback loop causing an overload that made a blindingly bright red explosion. Gero turned while they were distracted and rocketed away as fast as he could, low to the ground so as not to be seen. His hat flew away but he ignored it. His hand nervously went to rub at the band around his finger but discovered that the feedback had caused it to melt into its constituent particles. He felt a bilious rage boil up at the back of his throat at the discovery. Just one more thing that the aliens and their sympathizers had taken from him. There was no choice in the matter. His back was up against the wall. Cell was not yet ready, all his other forces had been destroyed. He would have to awaken… _them._


	81. Awaken, My Androids!

Chapter Eighty-one

Awaken, My Androids! Gero's Inescapable Fate!

"Damn it," Suno swore as the red light faded and Dr. Gero was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" She grit her teeth and tried to sense his ki but felt nothing. He was just… gone! "No," she muttered as her knuckles went white. "No, this is _not_ happening! I can't… _we_ can't lose him! We have to find him and put him down before he hurts anyone else!" As she gripped handfuls of red hair in frustration, Krillin gave Ten a look and the triclops nodded with understanding. "But if we can't sense his ki, he could be anywhere! Oh God, even Goku can't find him if she can't sense him! Where do we start, what do we–"

"Kaiouken!" Tenshinhan cried before slapping Suno hard across the face. It brought her back to reality and Ten dropped out of the form while Suno held her cheek.

"Suno," Krillin said calmly and walked forward as Ten moved away, "Take a few deep breaths, alright? We _know_ where Gero is going, remember? Bulma said that his lab is somewhere in the mountains near North City. Now, if I were a betting man, which I am, that's where he's going to go so he can wake up Lapis and Lazuli."

"And if that's the case," Launch added, "We can just go home 'cause Trunks said something about there not being a fight. Maybe they killed him?"

Yamcha shook his head. "It's not that easy," he disagreed. "For one thing, the reason there's no fight might be _because_ we showed up. Even _if_ you're right and they turned on Gero, we can't just let them wander around. If the androids are anything to go by, these kids will be incredibly powerful. Call me crazy but if the guy's had to _make_ all of his fighters up til now, he probably hasn't had a stellar recruitment drive. They're probably lost, confused, and likely to lash out violently. We need to get to them before they get hurt."

"Also," Chaozu added, "If they're just wandering around, it'll be easier for Cell to find them."

"Right," Suno finally said in a much more relaxed tone. "You're all right. Thank you. I guess I just… I thought I'd let go of that anger in my life that came from the Red Ribbon Army a long time ago. I guess seeing those ribbons just got me crazy again." Then she smiled and rubbed her hands eagerly. "Let's get going, then!" Everyone gave a cheer and flew off toward the north as quickly as they could.

OoOoOoO

Archimedes flitted through the filters of his vision as he searched through the mountains for the entrance to his lab. However, frustratingly, the lab itself was hidden from most forms of detection. He supposed he'd been _too_ effective in making his secret entrance… a secret.

"I know it was around here somewhere…" Gero muttered as he felt around for the door handle disguised as a rock. He finally found the rock, an oblong with a large crack in the middle as opposed to the other oblong shapes that _didn't_ have large cracks in them. "Ah," he sighed as he pushed open the rock down the middle and pushed the red button inside. "There we are." The rock wall of the mountainside he was standing on rumbled and a section of it slid in half to reveal the dark tunnel leading into the lab, lit by the blinking of the various machines and the hum of machinery.

"Welcome back, Doctor," the computer said in his own voice. "Are the aliens dead?"

"No, computer," Gero grumbled disappointedly as he ran a hand over his dome and down to the hair at the back of his skull. "And 19 is destroyed. Activate Cyborgs 17 and 18."

"But Doctor," the computer responded, "You said that they were not to be activated. That they were dangerous and disobedient."

"I know what I said!" Gero snapped. "We are running out of time! Activate them, now!"

"Beginning Activation Sequence."

OoOoOoO

"So how were we going to find the lab?" Chi-Chi asked. "That Gero fellow didn't seem to have any ki." They were surprised to hear a loud whistle behind them and looked back to see Bulma flying toward them on her sonic discs with a blue-haired baby riding in a front carrier.

"I noticed you guys were powering up on my scouter," Bulma explained, "Though I couldn't sense whatever you were fighting and I wanted to check it out. Kinda sucks that Vegeta wouldn't come, though."

"Eh," Suno shrugged, "He probably would try to kill Lapis and Lazuli. Which we don't need."

"Yeah," Bulma admitted with a shrug, "You're probably right. Anyway, I thought an extra set of eyes might help, y'know?"

"Well thanks," Launch said amicably. "Always glad to have some he–"

"Plus I wanna ransack his lab after we kick his butt."

"Yeah," Yamcha muttered with a roll of his eyes, "That sounds about right."

"So anyhow," Chaozu interjected, "How are we gonna find this guy? Any plans?" Krillin moved forward and rubbed his hands eagerly.

"This is something I've always wanted to say," he told the others before triumphantly pointing up to the sky. "Let's split up, gang!"

OoOoOoO

They had lived in Purple City. He remembered that. The two of them and their parents, their father, Rubin, and their mother, Saphir. He'd had a parakeet named Lars and she'd had a dog named Sadie. The city got a little too crowded for him at times but they went camping every summer and learned how to fish and start a fire and pitch tents. Their dad would always buy fireworks for their birthday, the good ones from Nicky Town. They'd had a good life.

She remembered their time at high school. He'd been an ace student and on the fast-track to college while she was still deciding between truck driver or cage fighter out of high school. He ran cross country, did gymnastics, and played lacrosse and soccer; she played football, wrestled, and was into ballet and heavy metal; he liked nature for the sceneries he painted, she liked it for motocross. One of their only common interests had been their band. He'd played drums while she did guitar and lead vocals. They had a third friend on bass and a fourth on keytar.

The four of them also abridged popular cartoon series for internet fame with a fifth friend who was a tiger-boy.

She remembered a boy.

He remembered a girl.

He was a little short but definitely cute.

She was a fox. Literally, she was a fox-girl.

They remembered a fire. The alarm never off or anything, suddenly the house was just burning. They remembered panicking and screaming and looking for their parents but, before they could reach them, the entire house had exploded. He could faintly remember being woken up by a funny smell. Maybe gas?

Their parents had been only children and their grandparents had died before they were born but, rather than getting stuck in the foster system, they decided to make a run for it. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. They'd been dumb kids. All their money had been lost in the fire so anything they ate or wore had to be stolen, usually from dumpsters. They dug around in recycle bins to find bottles to sell for maybe five bucks a week. It had been a pretty awful few years. Lapis was mad at everyone and everything. Lazuli just… stopped caring. They were starving, filthy, and tired all the time. Then _he_ showed up. He had looked pretty bad himself. Lazuli was pretty sure he had cancer. Not that it mattered, really, because he promised to give them food and get them somewhere warm, clean, and safe. Even if he died the next day, at least that would be one night they spent warm. They got fed and slept in warm beds. That was the first good thing that had happened to them in a long time. It would also be the last.

He drugged them and took them to his lab. It was an awful place where he had cut them open and put strange, little, glowing balls inside their chests. He'd hooked tubes up to their bodies and the tubes were full of black gunk. It made their insides burn, tingle, and freeze all at the same time. He had run tests on them. The gunk had made them stronger and faster and able to fly. It was never enough for what he wanted, though. He'd always seemed angry and filled them with more gunk. Whenever he wasn't running tests or putting strange things into their bodies, they were watching the same footage over and over again. East City. Papaya Island. The attack on the Royal Capital. The moon blowing up. They watched footage of people fighting over and over. They recognized a few of them, like her hero Son Goku or his favorite fighter, Tenshinhan, and a bunch of other people. She remembered thinking the bald guy was kinda cute. The short one. Plus Piccolo, both versions of him, and that Saiyan guy. V… something. The one who'd been on the news.

"Kill them," his voice said over and over in their heads. "Kill them all. They have betrayed you. They have betrayed the Earth. They. Must. Die." Some days it made sense. Most days, though, they argued with the voice. Then they fell asleep for a very long time. Only it wasn't being asleep. It was being dead. One minute they'd been alive and the next minute there was… nothing.

OoOoOoO

"Activation sequence complete," the computer chimed. "Cyborg 17 is coming online."

"Well," Gero said as one hand slid backwards onto his workbench to reach for the deactivation switch while he kept an eye on the pods, "Let's see what prolonged stasis has done for their atti–" The boy's fists ripped through the pod like paper and he tore the door in half. "That was _expensive,"_ Gero groused. The boy ignored him and began ripping the nanomachine feeding tubes out of his arms and legs before violently grabbing the one at the nape of his neck and ripping it away. "So was _that!"_ Gero cried before groaning as precious and ludicrously-expensive nanomachines spilled onto the floor. There was a scream from inside the girl's machine and it shook for a few seconds before exploding. The girl was surrounded by a pink energy field that crackled as she glowered at him. "Mongrel idiots," Gero swore under his breath before adding aloud in a theatrically-cheerful voice, "Ah, good! 17 and 18, I see you're online and functioning. How would you like a field test? Those traitors I told you about are coming to kill me and I know you'd like to keep me a–" he paused when he saw that they were staring at themselves and, specifically, their clothes, "What– what are you doing?"

"What am I _wearing?"_ 17 asked as he tugged at the cuffs of the long sleeves of his white undershirt. Over that he was wearing a black t-shirt and over that a large orange bandana tied around his neck. He also had on blue jeans, blue sneakers, and green socks. The Red Ribbon sigil was stitched over the left breast of the black shirt.

"You," 18 shot back, "What about _me?"_ She gestured irritably to the denim jacket, black shirt with banded white sleeves, blue skirt, black leggings and brown sheepskin boots.

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Gero snapped. Why oh why had he decided to experiment on _children?_

"I look like I'm gonna go record a series of hit albums and then make out with a shotgun!" 17 groaned as he ran his fingers through his jet black hair and buried his face in his hands.

"I look like I got all dolled up to suck off my stepdad for money to go to the mall!" 18 added angrily before grabbing her jacket and throwing it on the ground.

"If we could get back to the people who want to kill me!" Gero growled through clenched teeth. Which, thanks to his mechanical body's heightened hearing, he was now acutely aware of.

"Hey, guys" he heard Launch say, "I found it!"

"How are you sure?" Chi-Chi called from a slightly further distance.

"It's the cave with all the blinking lights!" ...Why hadn't he shut the door?!

"Bulma," Krillin asked, "Should you really have a baby in something this dangerous?"

"Eh, he's Half-Saiyan," Bulma replied dismissively. "He's tough."

"Fields up, guys," Suno told everyone. "We might be able to beat up androids but I'm not so sure about cancer cells."

"Isn't that what Dragon Balls are for?" Chaouzu asked.

"Hey, what the shit is this?" 17 asked, pulling Gero back into the lab as he pulled on his shirt to look at the emblem. "RR? What's that? Are we in some kind of cult?"

"Wait," 18 said with sudden realization, "That's the Red Ribbon Army!" Then she spun on Gero and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "What the shit! Are we the Red Ribbon Army? Are we the bad guys?!"

"Enough of this," Gero roared as his hand found the deactivation remote. "I am in charge here! Cyborgs 17 and 18, you will do as I say! I am your creator! You will defend me from my enemies and the enemies of Earth!"

"'Creator'?" 18 asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "What the hell are you talking about, old man? Also, did you dress us? Because holy shitsnacks, that's creepy."

"19 took care of that for me!" Gero fired back in a tone that was almost embarrassed.

"Oh God," 17 groaned with a shudder of revulsion. "Is that the nightmare clown? Why the hell did you even build that?"

"You were nothing when I found you! You were weak and useless, just like the rest of the dregs of this planet! But I made you into something better! I made you into something great! Now, 17, 18, you will stop this insubordinate behavior–"

"Why the hell do you keep calling is that?" 17 demanded. "My name is Lapis!"

"And I'm Lazuli," 18 added. "Get it straight, Dr. Pedostein."

Gero held the deactivator up like a dagger over their heads. "You will not speak to me in this way! I am your creator! I am your God! One more word out of you and I'll send you both back into the nothingness I pulled you out of!" They glowered at him for a moment before slowly dropping out of their aggressive stances and hanging their heads in defeat. Gero let out a long sigh and smiled before straightening his tie. "That's better. Now then, 17–" Then the boy's right hand was rammed up against the roof of his mouth and the left was on his bottom jaw.

"I told you," the boy said chillingly as he stared into Gero's terrified eyes with icy calm, "My name is _Lapis."_ Then each hand pulled in an opposite direction.

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Krillin remarked as the gang slowly walked into the open mouth of the tunnel leading into the secret lab. "Let's just be ready for anything here, guys." As the person carrying a baby, Bulma was at the back of the line.

As they came out of the tunnel and into the main lab, they saw a young man and woman that could only be Lapis and Lazuli. Only Lapis was holding half of a Dr. Gero in each hand by the jaw and Lazuli had her foot on Gero's brain-bubble. They stared at the two of them and the two of them stared back. Lazuli stomped with a rather unsettling "Crunch" followed immediately by a "Squish!"

"Okay," Krillin admitted nervously, "Was not ready for _that."_

"Hey," Lapis said over his shoulder at his sister as he dropped the halves of Gero onto the ground, "Don't these look like the guys we're supposed to kill?"

"I guess," Lazuli said with a shrug as she wandered further into the lab, mostly to get brain off her boot.

"Whoa, hang on," Suno said quickly as she held up her hands in a non-threatening way, "We're not here to fight you."

"Why," Lapis shot back, "Because you'd lose?" Then he noticed Ten among the group and he broke out into a huge grin. "Holy crap! Tenshinhan! You're, like, my favorite fighter ever!" Ten actually _blushed_ and looked away bashfully.

"Wait, seriously?" Krillin interjected. " _He's_ your favorite?"

"I beg your pardon?" Ten retorted with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm just sayin'," Krillin replied, "You kinda spend all your time in the mountains. At least _I_ know how to market myself. I'm surprised he's even heard of you."

"I'm sorry, how many Tenkaichi Budoukai have _you_ won?"

"Touche."

"Hey bro," Lazuli called from the back of the room, "I found another one of these pods!"

"What's his number?" Lapis called back while staying where he was. These people made him… _angry._ Crap, he hoped he wasn't brainwashed.

"No number," Lazuli responded as she looked around the coffin-like machine and gave it a few kicks, "Just a note that says 'Do not open until world is safe'. Whatever the hell that means."

"Is it the old guy's handwriting?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, crack it open!" A few seconds later, Trunks and Piccolo arrived.

"Hey," Trunks panted out as he flew up behind the rest of the group, "Goku sent us ahead because she sensed you guys' ki rising. She's still training with Gohan, though. So what'd we miss?"

"Well, Lapis and Lazuli killed Gero," Suno explained. "Guessing that's what happened in your timeline?" She looked back and was surprised to see Trunks' stunned expression. "It's… not?"

"No," Trunks said emphatically. "I mean it _is_ but I guess it's just hard to think about them killing s-" he stopped and turned when he saw Bulma with _his infant self._ "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he demanded. "Why did you bring m– I MEAN A BABY. Why did you bring a baby?!"

"You said this timeline wouldn't affect yours, right?" Bulma asked. "So you'll be okay." The young man stared at her with his mouth hanging open and his eyes as big as dinner plates. "What," Bulma asked, "Do you think I'm an idiot or something?"

Meanwhile, Lazuli had turned on the 'Do Not Touch' box. "Beginning initial diagnostics–" Gero's computer voice started to say.

"Yeah, no," Lazuli decided as she kicked the lid off the box. "Hey, bro," she called as she looked down into the box, "Come take a look at this guy!" Lapis started walking backwards, keeping his eyes on the assembled group until he reached the box before turning around to look down into it.

"Wow," he muttered, "His outfit is _way_ cooler!" The twins looked down into the container to see a giant of a man with a red mohawk in a black suit and green armor with green bracers and boots and wearing a pair of small golden hoop earrings. He had a square jaw with a serious face and, as they saw when he opened them, incredibly bright blue eyes. He sat up slowly in the box and gripped the sides of it before climbing out.

"No weird tubes," Lazuli noted as she looked him over. "Looks like he's a robot." She looked up and _up_ as he got out of the box and towered over them. "You got a name, big guy?"

"I am Android designation 16," he replied in a deep and stilted voice. "Although I answer to the name 'Adrian.'"

"So _he_ gets a name," Lapis muttered as Adrian looked around the lab.

"Where is father?" Adrian asked. Lapis rolled his eyes and made a "Pffft."

"Jeez, he had you so messed up that you call him dad? Well don't worry, big guy. I iced him, so we're free now." Lapis made some attempt at a "cool" hand sign and Lazuli rolled her eyes.

"You are _so_ lame," she groaned. Adrian's eyes flickered with understanding as if he suddenly understood what the word "iced" meant. His hand was out in a flash and wrapped around Lapis's throat to yank him off of his feet.

"My programming prohibits me from committing violence except in cases of self defense or against Son Goku," Adrian explained as Lapis kicked his feet frantically. "Pray that these parameters do not change."

"S-sure thing, big guy…" Lapis wheezed out. Adrian dropped him dismissively to the ground and began walking around the room while Lapis gasped for breath and massaged his throat. "Thanks for the assist, sis," he muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome," she replied in a saccharine voice. Lapis rolled his eyes and stood up before looking at the others at the mouth of the cave again. "So that's three of us and…" he started pointing at them and counting. Bulma frantically shook her head and waved her hands, taking a few steps away from the rest of the group. "Alright. Three against eight." He turned to Lazuli while she cracked her knuckles. "Sound like good odds to you?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "That way I don't have to share." She turned her head up to Adrian who stood impassively behind them with his arms at his sides. "How about you, big guy?"

"I cannot attack unless provoked," Adrian reminded them.

"And if you _are_ provoked?"

"I will kill them."

"Awesome!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Suno interjected as everyone got into their guards. "Everyone, hold on! Seriously, we're not here to fight!"

"I'm kind of here to fight," Piccolo muttered, speaking for the first time since he and Trunks had arrived. He'd been waiting to see how things played out.

"Hey, wait," Lapis said as he rubbed his chin. "Are you guys friends with Piccolo? The demon guy who tried to take over the world? Are _you_ the bad guys?"

"Nice to see someone remembers," Piccolo replied with a slightly smug grin and his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're _really_ not helping," Suno grumbled with a bereaved sigh. Yamcha pushed his way to the front of the group with a sigh.

"Man you guys suck at this," he muttered under his breath before turning his attention back on Lapis, Lazuli, and Adrian. "Okay, let's all take it down a notch. I'm guessing you guys know who I am. What're your names?"

"Lapis…" he said reluctantly as he slowly dropped out of his guard.

"Lazuli," she said with a shrug before doing the same. Adrian chose not to answer.

"But I t–" Trunks started to say before Chi-Chi kicked him in the shin. She knew what Yamcha was doing. She didn't really understand all this time travel stuff but she was pretty sure that it would make the youngsters more willing to listen if they gave their names voluntarily than discovering that a group of strangers already knew who they were.

"Okay," Yamcha continued in a reassuring tone, "Lapis. Lazuli. Nice to meet you. Now I'm not gonna pretend like I know what you guys have been through. I can't even imagine what Gero's done to you. So if you wanna fight us… I get it."

"What?" The twins asked simultaneously.

"What is he _doing?"_ Launch whispered through pursed lips.

"Shh," Chi-Chi shushed her curtly.

"I get it, really. When you've lost everything and nothing makes sense anymore, you've got all this anger. Because all that's left is a hurt inside you that you don't know how to get rid of and you don't know what to do with it. So you want to get mad. You want to lash out. You want to hurt other people so you're not the only one feeling pain. I get it. Hell, I _did_ it. I don't do it anymore, though." Yamcha smiled and looked back over his shoulders at the others as he spoke. "Because I had people that helped me out. Good people. My friends." He turned his focus back on Lapis and Lazuli who had completely dropped their guards at this point. "Now I'm not saying we all have to be best friends or that you have to come live with us or anything. I'm just saying that we're willing to help you. Okay?" He held out his hand and the twins looked down at it, then at each other, and then back down at the hand.

"What the hell," Lapis said as he took Yamcha's hand. "Last thing I want to do is what that old jerk wanted anyway." Lazuli gave a noncommittal shrug but with a little bit of a smile. Everyone cheered and Chi-Chi pulled Yamcha into a hug once he and Lapis were done shaking hands.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered proudly. Yamcha smiled and hugged her back.

"This is unacceptable," Adrian declared bluntly. The others looked quickly at him and everyone prepared to fight. "I was designed to kill Son Goku. I _will_ carry these orders out." He turned and… walked through one of the lab walls. They watched him tumble down the mountainside at a breakneck pace until he rolled right on out of sight.

"Can he… not fly?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Looks like it," Chaozu observed. Lazuli shrugged but looked a little disappointed. She thought they were gonna be pals.

"So," she said as everyone walked out of the cave, "Did you guys have a car or…?"

"Wait," Trunks asked, "Can't you guys fly?" Lapis stared at Lazuli and she stared back at him.

"Oh shit," he muttered with sudden excitement. "Oh shit! That's right! Sis, we can fly!" His smile went from ear to ear and he threw back his head and let out a whoop of joy before rocketing off into the air. Lazuli shook her head and buried her face in her hand as if she was embarrassed to be seen with him. Her shoulders started to shake and it looked like she was crying before she dropped her hand to reveal that she was laughing her head off. She flew off into the sky after her brother in a burst of exuberance.

"Y'know," Krillin muttered as everyone watched, "Y'kinda forget sometimes how cool it is to be able to fly." Everyone took off after them in good spirits. For once, violence _hadn't_ been the answer.

At the mountain's base, Adrian finally stopped rolling. He got to his feet unscathed and shook himself off.

"Beginning diagnostics," his father's voice said in his head. "This will be delayed as you are no longer in your pod. Weapons check. One percent. One point five." Adrian began walking southward. He had just enough of a human personality to wonder how long it would take to get to his bioenergy scouters and jet rockets. "One point six percent."

"A long time," he muttered.

OoOoOoO

Just south of Brown Country, a monster took its first steps. Its three-toed feet made a soft "Kssh" with every step and its long tail swished against the dusty ground. The sun warmed its mottled green skin as it flexed its fingers and its long green wings. Its large slitted pupils opened wider as it sensed the life energy coming from the nearby town. Its beaklike orange mouth opened and it let out a rasping gasp as it ran its pink tongue ravenously over its lips.

It was _hungry._


	82. The Beast from the Future!

Chapter Eighty-two

The Beast from the Future! Three Super Saiyans!

The first place that the gang took Lapis and Lazuli to was the Capsule Corp building so that Bulma could run a few scans on the twins to see how Gero had changed them and how it might affect their health.

"I feel like I'm being sent in for a tuneup," Lazuli grumbled as she lay on a slab in Bulma's lab with electrodes at her temples and on her chest, a semicircular bar hovering over her back and forth, a thin green line of light running over her as the machine hummed softly.

"We're not cars," Lapis reminded her from a similar position. "Just think of it like a checkup to the doctor or something."

"I hated going to the doctor," Lazuli retorted. Some of the others watched while Bulma was running her tests, including Trunks, who held his younger self on his lap. Every now and then his gaze would drift down when he felt Baby Trunks' tail moving on his lap.

"Hey," Krillin asked, "Where's your tail?"

"Gohan cut it off," Trunks responded.

"Sorry," Gohan said automatically.

"But why?" Krillin continued. "Doesn't Bulma own the moon in your timeline? I thought that was supposed to keep you from turning into an Oozaru?" Trunks shook his head while stopping Baby Trunks from going for his sword.

"It's not that," Trunks explained. "Gohan never knew how to train me to remove the weakness from my tail, making it a huge weak point. So he cut it off." He looked down at the toddler's tail swishing around and smiled. "Sometimes I forget I ever even had a tail." While this was going on, Bulma's machines finished their scans.

"Give it to me straight, doc," Lapis asked melodramatically as he swung his leg around and sat on the slab. "How long have we got?" Bulma looked at the readout on her screens with an expression of growing disbelief and confusion.

"Uh… forever," she replied.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lazuli asked bluntly. Bulma shrugged as she looked back and forth between the data she'd accumulated and the twins.

"I mean, I've never encountered this kind of nanotechnology before. Gero may have been a piece of shit–"

"He was," the twins assured her in unison.

"But he was also a genius. So it's going to take me some time to figure out exactly how the nanites affected your bodies. Just based on these preliminary readings, though… yeah, you two are functionally immortal. You need to stay hydrated but, other than that, the infinite energy reactors he put in your chests mean you don't ever have to eat, sleep, or even breathe. You'll age but very, very slowly."

"Huh," Lazuli muttered casually. "Neat."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lapis interjected in an apprehensive tone that was more appropriate for this kind of bombshell. "So… we can't die?"

"I mean, if something was strong enough, yeah, it could beat you to death," Bulma replied bluntly.

"A little less neat," Lazuli remarked.

"Uh…" Lapis' face reddened, as if he were embarrassed to ask out loud. "What about kids? Can we, y'know, have them? Did the doc… I dunno, mess us up down there?" Lazuli rolled her eyes and blew a few strands of hair out of her face. Clearly she wasn't bothered one way or the other.

Bulma snickered and gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I mean, there's only so much I can guess on this first scan. I'm flying blind here. Especially if you keep your pants on. I mean, I could run more tests in the future," she added while looking over her shoulder at Trunks, Gohan, and Krillin, "And maybe some of you could go poking around Gero's lab for schematics or samples or something useful!"

"We'll get right on that," Krillin assured her with a touch of dry sarcasm and a thumbs-up. As it happened they did not "get right on that." Everyone was far more interested in the twins and getting them acclimated and adjusted to the real world after being subjected to Gero's experiments for so long.

OoOoOoO

"Wait," Lapis muttered as he stared at Ten and Launch's DVD collection, "The blond dude died in like 18-fucking-whatever. How does he have a son in the year 2000?!"

"Seriously?" Tenshinhan asked with a raised eyebrow. Lapis turned around to look at him incredulously and he shrugged. "The manga's been out for… what, at least a decade now?"

"We just watch the show," Lazuli explained. Tenshinhan shrugged and the twins turned back to looking at the collection.

"Casuals," he muttered under his breath. Lapis spun back around and grabbed Ten by the shoulders.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked confrontationally. "You may be my favorite martial artist but I am not afraid to drop you, old man."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'OLD'?!" Tenshinhan asked, bristling furiously. Launch moved between the two and shoved them apart, needing a Kaiouken to keep them from grabbing at each other.

"Hey, hey, take it easy!" she snapped. "Come on, I think we've got something else you'll be interested in." Launch led Lapis and Lazuli down a hallway and toward an instillation on the house that Tenshinhan didn't recognize.

"When did we add this?" he asked, leaning down to mutter to Chaozu.

"Launch and I put it in that weekend you were contemplating all of time and space through a dewdrop," Chaozu explained.

"But we were all supposed to be contemplating all of existence in dewdrops!" Ten exclaimed in a particularly offended tone.

"Next time," Launch assured him as she opened the door at the end of the hallway. Lapis' jaw dropped and Lazuli's eyes lit up with an excitement that she hadn't even shown when she and her brother had flown. The room was a sound-proofed music room with guitars and keyboards, brass and woodwind instruments, and a drum kit in the center of the room. "I still get angry sometimes," she explained, "And sometimes it's nice to just jam out instead of breaking stuff."

"This is awesome!" Lazuli exclaimed excitedly as she and Lapis ran into the room. She instinctively grabbed a guitar while Lapis got seated behind the drums. "You wanna jam with us?" Launch shrugged and picked up a second guitar. Tenshinhan, not being particularly musically inclined, left them to their fun. After all, how long could they play?

Ten was lying in bed several hours later with a pillow wrapped around his head and his gaze turned to the ceiling while the house shook. "Four. O'Clock. In the morning," he groaned. He could still hear them from the other side of the house.

"You call me a bitch like it's a bad thing; You call me a freak like that means something!"

OoOoOoO

Meanwhile, Adrian was doing some searching of his own as he wandered down a highway road. He was still running system checks (there were a lot of weapons to check) and was now up to flight equilibrium. Though not the flight jets themselves. He came upon a car pulled over at the side of the road with smoke billowing out of its hood and a cat-woman ran out of the front seat up to him.

"Do you require assistance?" Adrian asked.

"Please," she begged urgently, "My son is sick. We need to get to the hospital in North City and my car's broken down. Do you have a car capsule or a phone or anything?"

"I do not," Adrian admitted as he looked into the backseat. The little boy's black fur sheened with sweat as he lay across the seat, panting, trembling, and wheezing with pain. "Please," he told her, "Return to the vehicle. Fasten your seatbelt." The cat-woman stared at him.

"But you–"

"Trust me," Adrian told her. "Please." She stared at him for a moment before climbing into the seat and buckling up. She let out a squeal of surprise as Adrian effortlessly lifted the car over his head and started sprinting down the street. It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the city and he dropped the car off in front of the hospital.

"Thank you," the woman exclaimed happily as she climbed out of the car again. "Thank you so much!" she threw her arms around Adrian's knees in a hug and he looked down at her impassively.

"You are welcome," he replied before pulling away from her and walking out of the city. A diversion, he thought to himself as he walked, nothing more. He had to return to his search. Still, it had made him feel… good. Adrian stopped outside the city limits and watched a bird land on his shoulder. "To know what is good," Adrian remarked as he held out his hand, "I must have a point of comparison." The bird rested on his open palm and chirped happily.

He crushed it into feathers and pulp. He wiped his hands off and looked at the blood with a frown.

"That made me feel… bad," Adrian reflected with a hint of sadness. "I will do good."

OoOoOoO

"Why can't I meet them?" Goku asked as the Son family did their morning handstand pushups in the back yard. Piccolo was participating, although he swore it was under duress. Even though they hadn't actually done anything except have Gohan ask him to join.

"It's too risky," Suno explained. "We just need to give them some time to make sure that Gero's brainwashing is out of their systems. It's more than likely that you were the biggest target of his anger and, since they don't have any ki to sense, they might actually be able to kill you."

"I don't see the problem," Goku replied. Suno rolled her eyes and groaned. The phone rang in the house and Gohan flipped out of his handstand and went inside to answer it.

"Hello," Gohan answered. "Oh, hi, Trunks! How's it staying at Capsule Corp? Kinda awkward? Yeah, I thought it would be. ...So you're sure it's today? Okay, I'll go tell them." Gohan hung up and ran back outside. "It was Trunks," Gohan explained. "He said today's the day Cell attacks Ginger Town." Goku and Suno synchronously flipped out of their handstands and onto their feet. Piccolo simply floated right side up.

"Let's get going," Goku declared excitedly. She put a hand on Suno's shoulder, who put a hand on Gohan's, who held Piccolo's hand. Goku put two fingers of her other hand to her forehead and focused on the ki signatures of the people of Ginger Town. The quartet teleported to the mountains outside of Ginger Town with a "Zip!" Vegeta and Trunks appeared a few minutes later, Vegeta flying as far away from Trunks as possible while still sharing the same hemisphere. Then Krillin, then Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Launch, and finally Yamcha.

"Where's Lapis and Lazuli?" Krillin asked.

"Chi-Chi took 'em with the twins to the beach," Yamcha replied. "I think Roshi might be there."

"So we should keep an eye out for Roshi heading for the moon?" Launch asked.

"What do we do now, boy?" Vegeta asked Trunks. "This creature's ki. What does it feel like?"

"All of you," Trunks explained. "All of you powering up at once. Plus Freeza and his father."

"So now we wait?" Chaozu asked.

"So now we wait," Trunks agreed. And wait they did. For nearly three hours.

"Alright," Piccolo grumbled, "Even I'm getting bored."

"You're sure this was the right day?" Gohan asked as he looked up at Trunks. He didn't want to come off as condescending or doubting. After all, Trunks was the one from the future. But you'd think whatever Cell was would have shown up by now.

"Of course I'm sure," Trunks snapped before immediately recoiling. "I'm sorry, it's just… this is it! This is the day, the exact day. Cell should have attacked two hours ago! None of this makes sense. Something's wrong!" Vegeta scoffed.

"I blame the woman's blood for my only son being a disappointment," he sneered. Almost immediately he turned and made his way back for West City. Trunks dropped his head with a sigh before Gohan put an appreciative hand on his arm.

"Hey," he suggested, "Why don't we go check out Gero's lab? We can root around for some stuff and maybe see if Cell's still there." Trunks nodded and he, Gohan, and Krillin flew Northward toward Gero's mountain lab. It was a quick flight back now that they knew where it was. The power was still on, surprisingly, and they spent a little while rummaging around Gero's files and across the workbenches that made up almost half the lab. There were blueprints all over the place that Krillin stuffed into a capsule for Bulma. Maybe they could be used to build cybernetic limbs and stuff. Trunks also found a jar to scoop some of the nanites that were still flowing and put that into the same capsule. A little more rummaging around found…

"Hey," Krillin muttered as they looked down at the floor, "Trap door. He really was a mad scientist." Trunks blasted the door open with a scowl on his face. He knew what was down there. The only light in the dark and creepy little hovel was a faint green glow coming from… a puddle of iridescent fluids on the floor. There was a massive glass tube in the middle of the room but a hole had been punched through it.

"No," Trunks whispered in shock, "No, no, no!"

"What is it," Krillin asked with concern as he reached up to put a reassuring hand on Trunks' arm. "What's wrong?" Something crunched under Krillin's foot and he looked down to see glass strewn all over the floor. Someone hadn't broken into the tube. Something had broken out.

"Cell's out," Trunks muttered in numb terror. "Cell's already out!"

OoOoOoO

When everyone had started to disperse, Yamcha decided he was going to fly out to meet his family and the twins at the beach. It was pretty weird, he thought, that Cell hadn't shown up when Trunks had said it would. Halfway to the beach, though, his phone started beeping like crazy from texts. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and saw that the texts were for the Wolf and Fox app from the mayor of Parsley City. Guess it was time to do some city-saving. Yamcha opened the messages and his face immediately fell.

"Oh no," he whispered in shock. He had to get to Parsley City, now. He immediately twisted around in the air and changed course, rocketing along and following the GPS.

"Please help," the messages said, "Monster attacking city. Green. Eating people. All gone. Looking for me. Please. Help."

OoOoOoO

It was a horrible feeling. Yamcha had flown over plenty of cities and small towns. Even in little villages you could feel the ki from all those living in it, radiating from the city like a flame of a candle. But when he flew over Parsley City, there was… nothing. It was so empty and the cold sent a shock through into his bones.

'Too late,' he thought miserably. They were all gone. Then he sensed it. Just like Trunks told them. All of their powers except… not. It felt sick and twisted. It was so… dark. 'Not too late,' he corrected himself as he dove down toward the city. 'Not too late to kick some ass.'

It looked over the buildings with an impatient hiss in every step, its tail swishing from side to side. More. It needed more. They couldn't all be dead already. Then it sensed another power coming, larger than the entire city.

"Yamcha," it purred. Not bad for a snack, it supposed. Yamcha crashed into the ground in front of Cell, whose sum total "fighting stance" was to cross its arms and smirk as best as it could with a beak.

"I'm guessing you did all this," Yamcha growled as it got into his guard. Cell nodded. "Let's dance." He charged at Cell with a flying kick who bent backwards and watched him sail overhead before twisting at the waist and launching at Yamcha like a rocket with a horned headbutt. Yamcha grabbed the horns and swung Cell around before tossing it overhead. It landed on one of the empty builds and stood perpendicular, its feet pressed flat to the wall. Yamcha flew up to meet it and they met in a furious exchange of punches and kicks against the side of the building. Windows shattered from the impact and concrete cracked and exploded. Cell sidestepped an elbow from Yamcha and thrust its palm out with a kiai that sent Yamcha to the ground, although he managed to catch himself and landed firmly on his feet. Cell put its arms back over its chest and smirked.

"You must be wondering what I am," it called down smugly in a rasping voice. "Well, I–"

"Cell, bioandroid made by Dr. Gero," Yamcha called up bluntly. It stared down at him with an understanding look and Yamcha took that moment to attack. "Kaiouken!" He flew up at it with a kick and smashed his foot into its throat before following up with a right hook that sent them both into the building. "What else…" Yamcha mused as they came out of the other side of the building and plummeted toward the street. "Blah blah blah Red Ribbon Army, Blah blah blah revenge against traitors," the pair of them smashed through the street and down into the subway, "Blah blah blah DNA of the galaxy's greatest warriors, blah blah blah protect mankind from the alien horde," he smashed Cell down through the bottom of a train car and smashed its face into the electrified third rail and had to raise his voice to be heard over sparks and explosions, "Blah blah blah absorb the cyborgs 17 and 18, blah blah blah become the Ultimate, Super-duper Perfect Lifeform." All the power went out of the subway and everything went dark and quiet. Cell wasn't moving and there wasn't any sound except the sizzling of its skin. "Did I leave anything out?" Yamcha asked without dropping out of his guard. If this thing had been able to kill everyone in the future, he sincerely doubted that any version of this story could possibly end with "And Yamcha saved the day."

Cell quickly got to its feet and dusted itself off, even as its skin was smoking. Just as Yamcha had expected, this fight wasn't even close to over. Then, to Yamcha's surprise, it chuckled. "Was everyone expecting me in Ginger Town?" Then it added, in an almost excited tone, "Was Goku there?" Yamcha stared and Cell struck him with its tail to send him crashing up through the street and sprawling down the avenue. He grabbed onto a car and pulled himself up to his feet. One hit and he could barely walk. This was about to suck. Cell came bursting up through the ground and landed in front of Yamcha in a flash. "Well, since you stole my monologue…" Cell muttered as it drew a fist back, "I guess there's no point in holding back." Yamcha blinked and suddenly found himself bouncing off the side of a building. Then Cell was right over his head and kicked him down through a house.

"One more hit," Yamcha muttered as he struggled to his feet again, "And I'm dead. Guess there's only one thing to do." It was gonna suck, though. "Kaiouken times three!" He roared, powering up as high as he could. Then he pulled his arms back and balls of ki formed on each of his fingertips as Cell came flying toward him. "Jousokidan!" he flung the ki balls as hard as he could and, using his mind rather than his fingers, made the balls buzz around Cell's head in complex patterns to dizzy and disorient it. Cell let out a roar of its own and its ki aura exploded out to make the balls burst like bubbles. Then it shoulder checked him through another three houses and it was only the Kaiouken that had kept him alive. After Yamcha skidded to a halt in someone's lawn, Cell appeared in front of him in another eyeblink, looming over him and blotting out the sun.

"So," Cell hissed as its tail swished and snapped and poised to strike, "Any last words before you become a part of the most powerful being to ever live?" Yamcha chuckled through bloody teeth and weakly pointed up into the sky. Cell spun around to see Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Launch, Krillin, and Suno bearing down on them.

"Not so dumb, am I?" Yamcha asked with another pained chuckle. Cell growled and smacked him down into the dirt before flying up to fight them. Launch and Tenshinhan were already in Kaiouken and Piccolo, Suno, and Krillin were stronger than all of them. It didn't do them much good. Cell knew all their styles, all their flaws and weaknesses, and fought like all of them. Launch's explosiveness with Ten's precision, Suno's focus with Krillin's redirection, plus Piccolo's relentlessness, Goku's violent grace, and what could only be Vegeta's brutal ferocity.

Piccolo did the best of them and was still fighting after the others all went down. Then Cell did something unexpected and opened its beak to let out a high-pitched shriek. Piccolo crumbled to his knees, screeching in agony, and Cell kneed him in the face so hard that the "CRACK!" echoed across the city. Piccolo collapsed in a heap with blood running down his face as Cell looked down at them all, broking and groaning, with a look that could only be described as the textbook definition of invincible.

"Really," Cell sighed, "I'm almost disappointed. I mean, I knew I was going to win. I always do. But this is just… too easy."

"How about you try us on for size?" a woman's voice called down. Cell's head snapped up and it stared eagerly at Goku, Gohan, and Trunks, with Vegeta coming swiftly up behind. Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta were all Super Saiyan. This actually made Cell get into a fighting stance.

"Okay," Gohan said calmly, "We need to attack precisely and in uni–" Trunks couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything for the blood pounding in his ears. All he could see was the thing that killed his friends. His father. His… world. It looked up at him like it… knew him. It made him see red. He was strong enough. He could kill it, right now. He grabbed the sword in both hands and drew it with a bellow of bloodlust and rage to fly down with all the hate in his body. "Or… now. We can just attack now." Gohan and Goku followed suit, each throwing out a flying kick, Goku's with two feet and Gohan with one, while Vegeta dropped out of the sky like a meteor with both fists out. Cell dove, wove, slipped and slid through the four Saiyans' attacks with the grace of a synchronized swimmer and the murderous intent of a viper.

"Now this is more like it," Cell laughed as it backflipped and twisted through the air to avoid a series of ki blasts. "I was hoping you'd be alive, Goku! Dodonpa! Makankosappou!" The straight yellow beam flew from one hand, grazing Trunks' leg, and the spiral of purple and yellow missed Goku's ear by half an inch. "Come on," Cell crowed arrogantly, "Show me what you've got!"

"Kill you," Trunks snapped as his sword hummed through the air in a song of death. "I'm going to kill you, you murdering piece of world-ending garbage!" Goku was angry too, of course, since this Cell thing apparently killed everyone she knew in another future. Her benefit was that, with the training and experience that Trunks lacked, she channeled her anger into her strikes to keep everything focused and directed. Gohan's anger was similar to his mom's and did his best to keep a leash on his anger. It wouldn't do them any good if he flew into a blind rage now. So he kept everything focused and pushed his anger down.

'Just keep fighting,' he told himself. 'Do what you can. Don't think about how you're not a Super Saiyan, don't think about how this would be working if we actually had a plan or were fighting toge–' Cell kicked him into a bus.

"Gohan!" Goku cried, which left her open for a lash from Cell's tail.

"Out of my way, you idiots!" Vegeta snapped as he charged toward Cell like a rampaging bull, sending both of them crashing through half of the stores in the downtown. Vegeta was the only one not angry. Well, no more angry than was Vegeta's natural state of being. His only personal stake in this fight was that Cell had killed him. It was an affront to his honor and a challenge that must be met. "You are an even worse abomination than the brats," he snarled as he tried to strangle it. "Now die by a true warrior's h–" while Vegeta was monologuing, Cell smashed its palm under his jaw and sent him through the ceiling.

"I must get my desire to ramble from him," Cell remarked as it rubbed at its hand. Trunks and Goku came flying through the store and Cell twisted through the air to avoid their attacks. It flicked two fingers up in Nappa's style, although obviously neither of its opponents had seen it, and blasted the shop into oblivion in a tremendous fireball under their feet. Cell flew up through the blast to give itself some space when a bus smashed down onto it like a hammer to ram it down into the pavement.

"Not so funny, is it?" Gohan asked as he lifted the bus up and slammed it down onto Cell again. He raised it a third time but Cell roared and sprang to its feet.

"Masenko!" It snapped, blasting the bus to smithereens. Vegeta lunged at Cell again from the back and it spun to block and redirect all of his attacks before being hit in the back from an attack by Goku. Goku and Vegeta's combined assault was actually getting through Cell's genetically-engineered perfect guard and it was starting to take some hits.

"Check it out, Vegeta," Goku remarked. "We're working together!"

"No," Vegeta snapped, "We are most certainly no-OOOOOOT!" Cell took Vegeta's distraction to sweep his feet out from under him with its tail and grab his ankle to fling him into Goku, sending both of them crashing into a house. They rebounded immediately and came with a two-pronged attack while Gohan attacked from behind with a ki-charged axehandle blow and Trunks came literally screaming down from the heavens with his sword raised overhead. Only one thing to do.

"Taiyoken!" Cell cried out. The blinding flash exploded out in all directions and, as their heightened senses caused the Saiyans to cry out in pain, Cell followed up with an attack shared by Freeza and Piccolo and froze them all with a paralytic shock. When the light faded and they all recovered from their electrocution, Cell had completely vanished from existence.

"Damn it," Krillin groaned weakly. "Ten, why'd you ever come up with that stupid move?"

"You weren't complaining about it the fifty times it saved our butts," Launch pointed out painfully.

"Yeah," he admitted, "I'm just not used to someone using it on us to save their butts."

"So what do we do now?" Gohan asked as he started passing out senzu to the wounded. "Cell didn't really do a lot of damage to us–" he was interrupted by a collective groan from the injured, "Well, the four of us. If we just hunt it down–"

"No," Goku denied bluntly. Everyone stared at her in confusion. Was Goku saying that she was giving up? That was impossible. So she must obviously have some kind of plan. "If Cell can already fight the four of us together then it's dangerous, especially if it gets stronger while we're trying to find it. So we need to get stronger, and fast."

"But mom," Gohan protested, "We trained for three years! There's no way to boost our power in a short amount of time." Then Goku grinned.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I've got an idea."


	83. A Place Beyond Space and Time!

Chapter Eighty-three

The Path to Power! A Place Beyond Space and Time!

Kami, the Guardian of Earth and de facto God, looked down from his Lookout on high at the world far down below with growing concern. He could feel a terrible presence of evil in the world below and felt troubled in his heart at the suffering of his people. He only wished that he knew what he could do for them in their time of need. If only he were not so powerless, so old and frail.

Then, without warning, a ring of roughly a dozen people appeared behind Kami.

"Hiya, Kami," Goku greeted cheerfully and startled Kami so badly that he nearly fell off of the Lookout.

"Oh, hello, Goku," Kami sighed as he turned around with one hand firmly gripping his walking staff and the other hand clutching tightly at his chest before letting go. "And what can I do for you today?"

"This Cell thing's tougher than we thought. So I'm gonna show everyone that special room you showed me when I was living up here before the tournament." Everyone looked at Goku curiously. Clearly she had not explained this to them and just brought them along.

Kami nodded while looking at Piccolo. "I see," he murmured while stroking his chin. "Very well. Popo will show you to the Chamber. Piccolo, may I speak with you for a moment?" Piccolo eyed Kami warily and followed after him, separating reluctantly from the rest of the party.

"So what's this room, anyway," Suno asked. "Why didn't you mention it before?"

"I almost died," Goku explained.

"Ah," Suno replied. "Makes sense."

"And what in the nine Hells is a Popo?" Vegeta added irritably.

"This one is Popo," Popo announced, appearing from Vegeta's side as if from nowhere.

"Sweet unmerciful Galick," Vegeta cried out as he recoiled in shock, "What is _that?!"_ It was quite surprising that even Vegeta, who had been to dozens of planets and encountered (and murdered) numerous alien species, was startled by Popo's appearance.

"Hey, Popo," Goku greeted cheerfully. "We need to use the Hyperb…" Goku paused and tapped at her lips as if she were struggling with a particularly difficult word. "The Hyper… the Hypo…"

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber?" Popo suggested.

"Yeah," Goku agreed, "That thing!" Popo rolled his giant, wide-open eyes and motioned for the assembled group to follow him. Popo led the group into the temple in the center of the Lookout.

"Huh," Krillin muttered as the group shuffled inside, "I've never actually been inside this building."

"Yeah," Yamcha added, "We just slept outside in sleeping bags." Popo led them to a large pair of polished wooden doors and gestured toward it expansively.

"Through these doors," Popo announced, "Is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"You keep saying those words," Launch remarked, "And they're still not making any sense." Popo rolled his eyes and Goku started to explain.

"On the other side of these doors," she began, "Is nothing. It's a huge white void that goes on in every direction forever. It's hot and stifling and the gravity's kind of intense. Probably some other stuff happens in there, too, but I was only in it for a few minutes."

"And that sort of environment is going to make us strong enough to defeat Cell?" Tenshinhan asked curiously.

"Nah," Goku replied, "The best part of this pla–"

"Don't take money, don't take fame! Don't need no credit card to ride this train!" Everyone stopped and stared at Suno, whose phone had started ringing. She turned red with embarrassment and quickly fumbled for it in her pocket.

"Sorry, sorry!" she muttered hurriedly as she stepped to the side. "Hello? Oh, hey, Bulma. What's up?" Then she looked at Trunks and handed him the phone. "It's for you." Trunks nodded and took Suno's phone and stepped away from the group while Suno stepped back in.

"Hello," Trunks greeted awkwardly. He still wasn't entirely comfortable calling this Bulma "mom" because they weren't quite the same person.

"Hi, sweety!" Bulma replied cheerily. "Hey, so, this is kind of weird, but I _think_ I found your time machine in a forest outside New East City."

"What?" Trunks asked in confusion. "But that makes no sense. My time machine is in my capsule and that's in my pocket." How could there be another time machine?

"Hey, I'm just saying. There's a time machine here that looks exactly like your time machine. But older. I'll be here if you wanna check it out." While Trunks was having this conversation, Goku was still talking to the others.

"Anyway," Goku continued, "The best part about the chamber is that it stretches out time so that one day out here is a whole year in there!"

"But," Popo reminded her helpfully, "No being can spend more than forty-eight hours in the chamber in their lifetime. And if one spends more than twenty-four hours inside at once, they shall be trapped inside forever." Vegeta immediately stepped forward.

"I'll be taking the first crack, then," he declared. "And as your King, you will show me subservience and let me pass."

"Eh heh heh _no,"_ Goku told him bluntly. Vegeta glared at Goku and tried to step around her to get to the door. He went left, Goku went right. He went right, Goku went left. "Okay," Goku decided, "I know how to settle this." Vegeta nodded and they each took a few steps back.

"You guys aren't going to fight," Suno asked in a weary tone as she watched them raise their firsts, "Are y–"

"Ro! Sham! Bo!" Goku and Vegeta brought down their firsts and both played scissors.

"Curses," Vegeta muttered.

"Darn it," Goku swore.

"Ro! Sham! Bo!" Paper. "Ro! Sham! Bo!" Rock. Suno breathed a sigh of relief as Vegeta and Goku continued their fierce battle. Trunks came up to her with one hand covering her phone and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Bulm… mom says she found another time machine just like mine outside New East City. Do you think I can check it out?" Suno looked back at Goku and Vegeta, who were still battling.

"I think you've got some time," she assured him. Trunks nodded before turning to Gohan and Krillin.

"You guys wanna come along?" he asked. They nodded and he put the phone back up to his ear. "I'll be by in a little bit with Gohan and Krillin." Then his face reddened slightly. "L-love you, too, mom," he muttered. Suno giggled while Trunks hung up the phone and handed it back to Suno. He, Gohan, and Krillin walked out of the temple and back outside before flying off. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta had turned Super Saiyan.

"Roshambo!" Scissors. "Roshambo!" Paper. "Roshambo!" Paper. "Roshambo!" Rock. The others grew bored and started leaving the temple as well, although Suno stuck around more out of support than anything.

"So," Launch said as the remaining humans started walking across the platform, "We need to move Lapis and Lazuli."

"Agreed," Tenshinhan replied. "As long as Cell's still walking around, they're not safe near any large population centers."

"They've been staying with me and Chi-Chi these last couple days," Yamcha put in, "But North City definitely isn't safe for them." Come to think of it, Yamcha thought to himself, he might have to move the whole family soon. "Maybe they could stay with you guys?"

"Gonna put a big 'no' on that one," Chaozu said quickly. Tenshinhan nodded firmly. He wasn't sure he'd still have his hearing if those two were in his house for more than a day.

"Hey, what about the Kame House?" Launch suggested. "It's small, it's out in the middle of nowhere, it'd be the last place Cell would think to look."

Yamcha nodded as they reached the edge of the Lookout. "That makes sense," he admitted. "The hard part's gonna be convincing them to stay without telling them about Cell."

"Well," Ten remarked, "They're at your house… so that's your problem." Then they immediately flew off before Yamcha could reply.

"Oh, real mature, guys!" Yamcha called after them. He groaned and rolled his eyes before taking his cell phone out of his pocket and calling Chi-Chi. "Hey, Chich," he said, "How was the beach? Everybody have fun? That's good. Yeah, don't worry. I'll swing by a Pilaf's on the way back for some food. No, uh… Ginger Town didn't quite happen how we thought it would. I'll tell you when I get home. Okay. I love you, too." Then Yamcha hung up his phone and took a step off the edge of the Lookout and let himself drop for a minute before rocketing off into the clear blue sky. This was _not_ a conversation he was looking forward to.

OoOoOoO

Trunks flew toward New East City with Gohan and Krillin in tow. He spotted Bulma waving up at them from a clearing outside the forest she must have found the time machine and dove down toward her with questions on his mind. How was there another time machine, for one. Had someone else invented time travel? Was there another time traveller? The possibility that Trunks didn't even want to consider was that this other time traveller was a future version of himself who had come back in time from even further in the future to tell him that he'd failed.

"Hey, guys!" Bulma greeted cheerfully as the trio landed in front of her.

"Hi, mom," Trunks said awkwardly.

"Hi, Bulma!" Gohan replied with a wave.

"Yo," Krillin said with a small two-fingered salute. "So what's this about another time machine?" Bulma gestured for the three of them to follow her and the four walked into the forest.

"I wasn't sure what I was looking at at first," Bulma admitted as she led them into the woods. "I thought we had yet _another_ spaceship on our hands but then I remembered what your time machine looked like and, well…" Bulma gestured to… Trunks' time machine. It was the same size and shape, with the same egg-like chassis and hood, the same four legs and the same four thrusters. It definitely looked older, though. Several decades older. The paint was faded and the glass was scratched.

"This doesn't make any sense," Trunks muttered as he moved closer to the ship. His mother only ever made one time machine. What was he looking at? "By the way," he added while fishing in his pockets for the capsule, "Not that I'm complaining that you're not taking him into a potentially-dangerous situation but where's… me?"

"He's back at Capsule Corp," Bulma explained. "Tights is here for the weekend so they're hanging out."

"Who's Tights?" Krillin, Gohan, and Trunks asked in unison.

"My sister," Bulma replied.

"You have a sister?!" they asked in unison again.

"She mostly keeps to herself," Bulma told them. "She's got an island to herself off of the western half of the continent but she made the trip out when she heard I'd had a baby." Trunks found his capsule and opened it, the pristine time machine standing directly next to the old, beaten one. Gohan flew up to the top of the time machines and opened each of them, climbing inside the older one.

"I'm gonna look around," Gohan told them, "See if there's anything weird in here that might be a clue." Trunks walked around the old time machine in a circle while Krillin watched with his hands in his pockets.

"What're you looking for?" Krillin asked Trunks while passing off the capsule with the blueprints and nanobots to Bulma.

"If this is my time machine," Trunks explained, "Then the word 'Hope' should be on here somewhere. It was my mom's idea. She said that hope is the one thing we'll always have, no matter how bad things get, and it's what we fight with when there's nothing left."

"Jeez," Bulma muttered under her breath. "I didn't know that I become so cheesy in the apocalypse."

"Found… it," Trunks muttered in an excited tone that quickly turned deflated. Bulma and Krillin walked around to where Trunks was and saw him pointing at the word "Hope". Only it had been scratched out, if not _clawed_ out, and under it was the word "Death".

"Oh," Krillin murmured while rubbing his bald head. "That's… ominous."

"Hey, Trunks," Gohan called from inside the time machine. "You might want to look at this!" Trunks flew up into the ship with a cold dread slowly building up inside him. The seat and the buttons were worn, with slivers cut out of the machine as if they, too, had been clawed at. There were also, Trunks noted, scuff marks along the inside of the dome, as if something had been rubbing against them. He also noticed that Gohan wasn't actually touching the floor but was instead floating a few inches above it. Trunks soon realized why when he looked at the floor of the time machine and discovered that it was covered in at least an inch-thick layer of a strange and translucent-green goo.

"Blech!" Trunks groaned as he floated a few inches up and started scraping the bottom of his boots against the sides of the machine. This still made no sense but he was starting to get an idea of what this might be and he didn't like it. He decided to take a chance and keyed in the sequence to show what date the ship had been programmed to arrive on. "May 18th…" Trunks muttered as he looked at the date. So the ship had only arrived the day before. This just raised further questions! If it hadn't been here very long, how did it look so beaten down and old?

"So what now?" Bulma asked after Trunks and Gohan came out of the old time machine.

"Put this thing back in its capsule," Trunks told her while he did the same with his time machine. "I'm going to go back to Gero's lab."

"You want us to come?" Krillin asked. Trunks shook his head.

"I have to do this alone," he told them before flying off. They waited for a few minutes before following after him. Trunks tore off at top speed back toward the northern mountain range and crashed through stone and steel into Gero's lab before burrowing down into the basement level where Cell's pod was. He used his aura as a torch since the glow from the goo Cell had been floating in had dimmed and walked around the chamber in search of some kind of clues. He wasn't sure _what_ he was looking for, if he was honest with himself. Footprints, claw marks, _something._ Anything that would put a connection between Cell and the time machine. After several minutes of fruitless searching he walked back out of the basement and stopped when he heard a laugh coming from the main computer. At first he thought it was a recording but when he got closer… it spoke to him.

"Hello, half-breed," spat the electronic voice of Dr. Archimedes Gero.

"I don't understand," Trunks muttered as he took a step back. "You're… you're dead."

"Not exactly," the computer explained. "When the brainwave patterns of my remaining organic component ceased, a protocol was activated and my next body began its construction. I designed a personality map small enough to be simulated efficiently. Add memory banks and plug in calculation systems and I am an immortal system. I am something new. And _more_ than human."

"Why are you doing this?" Trunks demanded. "Why did you do _all_ of this?"

"To protect mankind from the alien disease," Gero told him sardonically. "The universe is old and full of species that have had far longer to evolve and grow than we have. Humanity's technology was far outpacing its natural evolution. We are running out of time. I desire... progress."

Trunks' face twisted up with rage at Gero's callousness. "All this destruction, all this death! You caused all of it! Why did you create Cell?! It's a monster that destroyed my future! It will spread nothing but destruction and wipe out the human race you claim to care so much about! Help me stop it before it kills everyone in this time as well!"

"Mankind is obsolete," Gero replied coolly. "My bioandroids are its successors. Tell me, are there any aliens in the future beside yourself?" Trunks gave no reply. "Then my plan was a success." Trunks' hair flickered gold as his fists balled up.

"Tell me something," he said with icy calm. "Where's all of your information stored?"

"In a computer system about three miles underground," Gero answered. "Why?"

From outside, Krillin and Gohan were closing in on the mountain lab when Gohan suddenly sensed something and yanked Krillin abruptly back by the back of his shirt collar. Less than a heartbeat later, the entire mountain range was engulfed in an almighty golden fireball of destruction. Gohan and Krillin brought their hands up to shield their eyes from the blinding light and, when it faded and they could see again, they looked down far, far below at a tiny flicker of golden light at the bottom of a massive pit where the range had been only minutes before. That light grew larger and larger until they realized it was Trunks flying up to meet them as a Super Saiyan.

"So…" Krillin asked Trunks when he was eye level with them once again. "Feel better?" Trunks took a few seconds to catch his breath and the red anger in his face slowly faded away.

"Yeah," he admitted as he powered down, "I do." Then he turned skyward again and powered up. "Come on," he told them. "Let's head back to the Lookout." Then he flew straight up with the other two following close behind.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Vegeta had been playing Roshambo for nearly half an hour and at one point had been playing so furiously that their arms had vanished from sight. Now they had dropped out of their Super Saiyan states and were starting to get winded. It seemed at any moment one of them was going to slip up and make the fatal flaw. It all came down to this. "Ro! Sham! Bo!"

Goku threw paper.

Vegeta threw scissors.

Vegeta threw back his head and let out a boisterous and booming laugh. "Yes!" he crowed while Suno put a supportive hand on Goku's shoulder. "I've done it! I have bested Kakarot!"

"Wait," Krillin interjected as he, Gohan, and Trunks came back into the area, "What just happened?"

"Okay," Goku told Vegeta, "But you have to take Trunks."

"What?!" Vegeta snapped irritably. Goku shrugged.

"Wait," Trunks asked, "What's happening?"

"The chamber only takes two people at a time at most," Goku explained. "There's only two beds and only enough food for two. I mean, I guess you could go in by yourself but we're trying to maximize our time, y'know? So you can either go with Gohan…"

"I'll pass," Vegeta muttered dryly.

"Same," Gohan echoed.

"Me…"

"I would sooner eat my own arms."

"Or Trunks," Goku finished while gesturing to Vegeta's son who was blinking with confusion.

"I'm still confused," Trunks put in. "What's happening?"

"Fine," Vegeta sighed, "I'll take the brat."

"Cool," Goku declared with a cheerful grin as she opened the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber which let out a blinding white light. Vegeta walked into it unflinchingly while Trunks stared at it. "See you guys in a year! Alsodon'tbreakthedoororyou'llbetrappedforever!"

"Wait, what?!" Trunks blurted in shock before Goku put a hand on his back, shoved him into the light, and slammed the door shut.

"You think they'll be okay in there?" Suno asked.

"Yeah," Goku assured her, "It'll be fun!"

OoOoOoO

Trunks stared out at the endless white void with his mouth agape and an ever-growing, almost crushing feeling of insignificance. It just went on… in every direction! Forever! The air was so stifling that he could barely breathe! He turned to Vegeta and was about to ask him how he felt before his father socked him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"If that's all it takes to knock you down," Vegeta told him while looking down with disgust, "Then the woman did an even worse job training you than I had feared. Listen closely, boy, because I'm only going to say this once. We are not here to bond. We are not here to build memories. In fact, I would prefer if we spoke and interacted as little as is physically possible. Now on your feet," Vegeta demanded as he walked out into the void, "And show me what I have to work with." Trunks followed after him and they each got into their guards. Trunks was promptly kicked in the dick. "Well, there's a weakness in your guard."

OoOoOoO

In the Wolf and Ox household, Chi-Chi was playing a song for the twins on the horn she'd made from the hollowed-out giant snake fang in their room while the other twins sat in the living room and played a game of cards.

"Y'know what I don't get," Lapis, who was a _painfully_ bright shade of red, asked.

"What's that," Lazuli asked idly while looking at her hand.

"Why they made a big deal out of this monster," Lapis remarked while tapping the red-eyed black dragon on his side of the field."I mean, it's not as strong as the white one and it doesn't have any effects or anything. It even costs the same to summon, it's just an objectively weaker card."

"That's a good point," Lazuli agreed, "But here's another good point." She flipped one of her face-down cards with a smirk. "I activate Dark Hole!"

"What?!" Lapis exclaimed as he was forced to remove all his monsters from the field. "But now you don't have any monsters, either!" Lazuli grinned wickedly and pulled a card out of her hand. "Oh no…"

"Remember those two cards I discarded for Graceful Charity?" she reminded him. "Well, now, I activate Monster Reborn," she flipped the card out of her hand and laid it on the field before searching through her graveyard deck. "To bring one of the monsters I discarded to the field!" Lapis' eyes went wide with terror as Lazuli laid the card down on the field with flourish and a malevolent glee. Then, in a scarily-accurate impression she declared, "Now, my Blue Eyes! Attack his life points directly!"

"Nooooo!" Lapis cried melodramatically before falling back in his chair and onto the floor. "Ah, sunnuva bitch!" He cried after landing directly on his sunburn. Lazuli laughed at him. "Yeah, yeah. Just help me up!" She kept laughing. "Ah, screw you!" The door opened as Lapis pulled himself back into his chair and they turned to see Yamcha walking in with his arms full of bags of food.

"Hey guys," Yamcha said pleasantly as he brought the bags into the kitchen and laid them out on the dinner table.

"Daddy!" Ocha and Shouronpo cried in unison before anyone else could say anything, rushing out of their room to tackle his legs and bring him laughing to the ground.

"Did you guys have fun at the beach?" Yamcha asked his children, who enthusiastically nodded in unison. "That's great!" he told them before looking up at Lapis and Lazuli. "Ouch," he remarked at Lapis, "You got some sun, didn't you?"

"I _told_ him to put on sunscreen," Lazuli remarked. "I mean, we haven't been outside in four or five years."

"Hey, Bulma said we were immortal," Lapis reminded her defensively. "I figured being immune to sunburn would be covered under immortality. But I guess not, which is a load of–" Chi-Chi promptly bonked him on the head with the horn. "Ow! I was gonna say crap!" She bonked him again. "Ow! What, crap isn't okay, either?!" Bonked again. "Ow!" Yamcha laughed again as Chi-Chi helped him to his feet and they started passing food out from the bag.

"I call dibs on any milkshakes," Lazuli declared. "I haven't had a shake in, like, eight years."

"Neither have I," Lapis grumbled.

"No milkshakes allowed in the Shadow Realm," Lazuli told him smugly.

"You just made that up!" As they all sat around the table and ate, Yamcha decided this was too nice a moment to tell Lapis and Lazuli about having to move to Kame Island for the foreseeable future. Plus, he hadn't come up with a decent lie yet. He'd tell them tomorrow. Later that night, Yamcha was brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed while Chi-Chi was tucking in the twins and checking on the other twins in the family room.

"Lights out in twenty minutes," Chi-Chi told them firmly. "I don't care how far along you are in your little game."

"Awww," Lapis whined, "But I was gonna win this one!"

"Not when I have two more Blue Eyes in my hand," Lazuli retorted.

"You WHAT?!" Yamcha chuckled and finished brushing his teeth as Chi-Chi walked into the bedroom.

"So," Chi-Chi asked as they walked past each other, Yamcha leaving the bathroom and Chi-Chi going in, "How'd that business go in Ginger Town?" Yamcha winced while slipping under the covers in his briefs.

"It… didn't," he admitted reluctantly. "Cell never showed up in Ginger Town. It was in Parsley City and I only knew that because I got a bunch of emergency texts from the mayor." He sighed and shook his head sadly when he thought about that for the first time all day. "I was too late. Cell… ate the whole city, I guess."

"God," Chi-Chi muttered in a hushed voice, "That's awful." Yamcha nodded and sat in silence while Chi-Chi brushed her teeth. "Did you guys get it?" she asked when she was finished. Yamcha shook his head again.

"No," he told her, "It got away. Heck, Cell almost got _me."_ Chi-Chi was across the room in a heartbeat, holding Yamcha in her arms and cradling him to her chest. "Hey, hey," he muttered reassuringly while hugging her back, "I'm okay!"

"I know," Chi-Chi said in a worried tone, "But that… _thing_ is still out there! What are we going to do?"

"Goku's got a plan," Yamcha assured his wife. "It's just gonna take a couple days. It might be safest if you take the kids out to see Pops for a few days."

Chi-Chi nodded and let go of Yamcha long enough to get into the bed beside him. "But what about Lapis and Lazuli?" she asked. "What're you going to tell them?"

Yamcha shrugged weakly and looked up at the ceiling while he and Chi-Chi embraced. "I'll think of somethin'..."

Yamcha awoke the next morning to the sound of Lazuli's bloodcurdling scream and immediately burst out of the bedroom without putting on pants, assuming the worst.

The sight that greeted him was simultaneously better and worse. There was no Cell, thankfully, but what he actually saw was Lapis chasing Lazuli around the house with a complete piece of post-sunburn peeled skin. Apparently, while they weren't _immune_ from sunburn they could recover from it extremely quickly.

"Get that away from me!" Lazuli shrieked as her brother chased her around the living room. "Oh my god, you are _so_ gross!" Lapis laughed wickedly until Yamcha stuck out his foot and tripped him, causing him to fall over and his dead skin to fall on top of him.

"Ah!" Lapis cried while desperately flailing to get his skin off. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!" Lazuli laughed so hard that she had to hold onto the wall to stay upright. Lapis' frantic thrashing tore the dead skin up into bits which just made him freak out more before Yamcha finally helped him to his feet and dusted him off. "Tha–" Lapis started to say before he actually got a look at him. "Whoa!" he shuddered while covering his eyes with his hands. "That's more old dude than I _ever_ need to see.

"I'm not complaining," Lazuli murmured appreciatively. Lapis rolled his eyes and Yamcha blushed slightly before rushing back into his room to put on pants and a shirt.

"Hey," Yamcha asked, "You guys liked hanging at the beach, right?"

"Yeah," Lapis replied. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you guys might wanna go hang out at Kame House for a few days," he offered.

"That's where the old guy lives, right?" Lazuli inquired. Yamcha nodded and she stuck out her tongue. "Not a chance. He gives me the creeps. I can actually _hear_ his heart rate elevate when he gets near me."

"Yeah," Lapis added, "What's wrong with here? You guys kicking us out or something?"

"It's not that," Yamcha promised them, "It's just that Chi-Chi was gonna take the kids to visit her dad for a couple days and I was gonna… start painting the house. Yeah. It's been the same color for a few years, I thought I could use a change."

"Hey, we could help," Lazuli offered, "Paint fumes don't really get to us and it's the least we can do for you guys putting us up for the time being."

"I could paint Ocha and Sho's room," Lapis put in. "I've missed painting."

"That's really thoughtful," Yamcha thanked, "But I don't–"

"Hey," Lazuli observed, "Your heart rate's going up, too." She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "There's something you're not telling us." Yamcha took a step back and held his hands up defensively.

"Look," he stumbled, "I don't know what you're–"

"Trunks is from the future," Chi-Chi told them bluntly from the bedroom doorway. "He's come back because some monster made by that Gero fellow is going to eat you and then… become perfect or something? It doesn't sound good." Yamcha whipped his head around and glared daggers at his wife. "What?" she asked. "You were beating around the bush."

"Wait," Lapis said indignantly, "You're trying to hide us from something? I mean, we're basically immortal and the only things that can kill us are our friends!"

"Yeah," Lazuli added boldly, "Whatever this Cell thing is, we can take it. Gero kept us locked up for years. If this thing was _made_ by him, we're damn sure going to fight it."

"No you can't and no you aren't," Yamcha told them firmly. "Trunks already _told_ us that it eats you in his timeline. _When_ it absorbs you, it becomes stronger and kills _all of us._ So the safest thing, for _everyone,_ is for you guys to hide out and wait this thing out. Please," he added pleadingly, "I'm trying to help you."

Lapis sighed and walked up to Yamcha before putting a hand on his shoulder. Yamcha let out a sigh of relief and for a second he thought things were actually going to work out. Then Lapis turned to Chi-Chi and said "Sorry, Mrs. Chi-Chi." Before headbutting Yamcha through his front door.

* * *

A/N: For those of you wondering at home, here's a couple other things that were _almost_ Suno's ringtone:

"Apple Bottom Jeans" by T-Pain

"You Reposted in the Wrong Neighborhood" by ＳＨＯＫＫ青

Aaaand the theme to "Ducktales".


	84. Rebellious Youth!

Chapter Eighty-four

Rebellious Youth! The Nameless Namekian Returns!

As Yamcha got to his feet as quickly as he could manage, he realized that there was no possible way he could taker both twins on his own, or hell, even one of them. So he decided to reach out with his mind to the others.

' _Hey guys,'_ Yamcha thought as Lapis and Lazuli walked out of the hole that had once been Yamcha's front door. ' _Lapis and Lazuli are still going through their anti-authority phase. Could use a hand here!'_

' _On it,'_ Launch thought reassuringly. ' _We're on our way!'_

' _Be right there,'_ Krillin thought. ' _Just hold on!'_

' _Coming down from the Lookout,'_ Suno added. She had brought Goku and Gohan a big bag of apples while they waited for Vegeta and Trunks to come out. Piccolo, unsurprisingly, didn't answer. Still, it would take them a few minutes or so to get to him which meant that Yamcha had to hold the line for as long as he could.

"You really oughta stay down, Mr. Yamcha," Lapis told Yamcha while cracking his knuckles. "We don't want to hurt you. We just wanna fight this Cell thing. _It's_ the bad guy here." Before Yamcha could say anything to convince them, Chi-Chi came flying out of the house with her giant axe held overhead. She let out a warcry and swung down at Lazuli with all her might only for Lazuli to easily pivot to one side to avoid the attack and drive her palm into Chi-Chi's chest to send her flying back into the house.

"Yeah," Yamcha growled as he got into his guard, "Not gonna happen! Kaiouken!" His aura burned red around him and he charged toward Lapis with a flying kick. Lapis bent backward to avoid it and Yamcha sailed right over him and toward Lazuli, who grabbed Yamcha by the leg and swung him up into the air. Yamcha spun around in the air to bring himself to a stop and flew back down toward them with both fists. He drew his fists back and prepared an attack as he came right on top of them before giving a cry of "Taiyoken!" He flung his hands up and blinded them with the burst before kicking Lazuli away and bombarding Lapis with punches and kicks. Just as Yamcha was thinking to himself that he had a small advantage with his skill and years of experience, Lapis expertly brought up his forearm to block a roundhouse punch and drove his other elbow into the side of Yamcha's head, sending him flying off to the left and right into Lazuli, who threw out a kick that hit Yamcha square in the back to send him back once more toward Lapis. Lapis thrust his fist out into Yamcha's chest… and brought Yamcha to a stop. The explosive shockwave rippled _behind_ Yamcha but left him unharmed.

"Just so you know," Lapis explained, "If you wanna keep doing this, the old man made us watch all of you guys's fights over and over. Not only did we learn how you guys fight, he also uploaded our brains with something called 'Butcher Style'. Cool name, huh? It was mathematically designed to be the perfect answer to the Crane, Wolf, and Turtle styles." He pushed Yamcha away and the older warrior staggered back, looking at where Lapis' fist had been as if contemplating the damage that had nearly been done to him. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Yamcha looked ready to say something when his eye caught something just over Lazuli's shoulder. He gave a shrug and rubbed a thumb under his nose. "Nobody ever said I was the smartest guy in the room," he admitted before getting back into his guard and curling his fingers into claws. "Kaiouken times three!" he charged toward Lapis with that look in his eye and his mouth in a snarl that emphasized his canine teeth. "Wolf Fang Fist!" Lapis rolled his eyes and, even as Yamcha attacked, blocked and deflected every single strike. Yamcha threw out both hands in the double-palm strike but, for the first time ever, someone caught his hands. He looked down at his hands in Lapis' grip and the young man smirked before forcing Yamcha's hands apart and ramming his knee up under Yamcha's chin. The retired bandit's knees buckled and Lapis finished it by punching Yamcha headfirst down into the dirt, driving his head several inches into the dirt. Lapis had a moment of satisfaction before looking back and forth between his dirty knuckles and Yamcha's groaning, mostly-unconscious form with a conflicted expression.

"Hey bro," Lazuli called to snap Lapis out of his conflicting emotions. "We going or what?" Then Chaozu crashed into her from the side in a red blur, blindsiding her and actually taking her off her feet.

"Try 'or what'!" he told Lazuli firmly as he pulled back a fist. Meanwhile, already-in-Kaiouken Tenshinhan and Launch came at Lapis with a lightning-fast barrage of punches.

"Look," Launch told Lapis as calmly as she could manage with Lapis blocking all of their attacks, "We don't wanna do this, you don't wanna do this, so why don't we just go back to our place and jam or something?" Then Chaozu sailed over their head and bounced off of Yamcha's roof before crashing down painfully onto one of the neighbors' rock gardens.

"You know what?" Tenshinhan muttered with a glower of all three eyes. "I didn't really like the music before but now I feel like doing some percussion of my own." He slipped under a right hook by Lapis and charged at Lazuli, growing two extra sets of arms as he came towards her.

"Oh that's gross," Lapis and Lazuli muttered in unison. This distracted Lapis long enough for Launch to kick him in the shin and yank him into a headbutt.

"Kaiouken times three!" Ten roared as he exploded into a sprint at Lazuli. He unloaded with a series of punches so voluminous and at such a speed that the shockwaves made it sound like he was firing a gatling gun at her. Ten's attack lifted Lazuli into the air and he flew up after her as she blocked and evaded every attack.

"I'm gonna be honest," Lazuli shot while deflecting Ten's onslaught, "I don't get why my brother thinks you're so cool. I mean, yeah, you won _one_ Budoukai. Other than that, you've just been kinda there, y'know? At least Goku _does_ shit." Then she batted away Ten's hands and blasted him in the chest with a pink energy blast to knock him out of the air. "Wait, seriously?" Lazuli muttered irritably as she looked at her palms while Tenshinhan spiraled through the air with a trail of smoke behind him. "My lasers are _pink?_ Are you shitting me?"

"Ten!" Launch cried as she watched him fall out of the sky. She looked back down just in time to barely avoid a jab from Lapis and threw out her knee, aiming for Lapis' stomach. He caught her knee in his hand and shoved it back down. Launch doggedly pressed through with all of her explosive strikes but Lapis had an answer for each one, stopping them and shoving the momentum backwards to send her off-balance. After shoving a punch back, Lapis smacked Launch across the face with a crescent kick. She staggered back and wiped the blood from her nose before throwing an elbow at Lapis. He pivoted to the side to avoid it and palmed her elbow before forcing her arm straight and flipping her end over end to spike her into the ground, where she stayed with a groan. He watched Tenshinhan right himself and could see all _thirty_ fingers light up with yellow ki. Lapis immediately rocketed up into the sky to put himself between Tenshinhan and his sister.

"Dodon Danmaku!" Ten cried out as hundreds of bolts of ki exploded from his fingertips and immediately collided with a green energy bubble Lapis put around himself.

"Oh, come on," Lazuli remarked irritably. "I don't need your help! I can handle this guy myself! It's not like he can actually hurt me!" Ten glared and started bringing his six hands together into diamonds.

"Look," Lapis groused as he turned his head to look at his sister, "If we're gonna take on this Cell dude together then I think you should be a little more appreciative of me watching your b–" Then Krillin dropped out of the sky with a flying kick into Lapis' shield that sent him into Lazuli and the both of them crashing into the ground. "Aaaaack!"

"Get your butt off of me!" Lazuli protested after Lapis dropped the field and fell on top of her. "Thanks for having my back, by the way," she added sarcastically. The twins quickly got to their feet as Ten came flying down at them like a red comet.

"Hey, Ten," Krillin greeted with a quick wave as he flew beside the triclops. "Need a hand?" Ten said nothing and glowered down at the twins before balling his fists, which were back to their usual amount of two.

"Kaiouken times four!" he bellowed before launching himself down toward them. Krillin kept up speed and the pair of them moved in a double-helix toward Lapis and Lazuli, trying to keep the twins off-balance when they struck with a pincer movement. Ten swung both fists in a hammerblow aimed to knock Lapis' head clean off his shoulders while Krillin came at Lazuli with a spinning headbutt, turning his whole body into a drill. Lazuli caught Krillin's head in both hands and made his spins come to an abrupt halt before kicking him up into the air like a football and following up after him.

Lapis ducked under the swing and hit Ten in the ribs with a hooking body blow, making Ten bend to the side and driving the wind out of him and sweeping his feet out from under him before hitting him with a green ki blast. Tenshinhan was knocked away and bounced off the ground before landing on his feet and charging with his hands poised for spear strikes.

' _Oh man,'_ Lapis thought excitedly, ' _The 64-point strike! This is gonna be so sick!'_ It was almost sad that, being so much faster than Tenshinhan and having a knowledge of his fighting style burned into his brain, that he didn't even have a chance to appreciate how cool it was when he blocked every strike.

Krillin wasn't faring much better. He wasn't even going to try risking the Kienzan -his best move- and was trying to fall back on his Orin Temple training, which was more than a little difficult to manage without a solid power base on firm ground. Even if he'd been on the ground, however, Krillin was sure he'd have a hard time. Each time he diverted Lazuli's attacks and redirected her momentum, she just kept moving and attacked him anyway! He guided her arm to try and spin her around so he could kick her with the back but instead she spun around with the movement of his arm and kicked _him_ in the back! Lazuli threw out a kick and Krillin redirected it overhead so he could hit her with a punch to the stomach from below but she just hit him with a somersault kick to the head to bring him back to the ground. How did she know how to counter the Orin Temple style so perfectly? He landed in a wide stance and managed to skid back as Lazuli's fist came crashing into the earth where he'd been a few seconds before, causing the ground to explode and send chunks of earth everywhere. Krillin charged forward in an all-out offensive but now Lapis was the one redirecting all of _his_ attacks and _smirking_ while she did it.

"Y'know," she teased, "You're kinda hot when you look all serious like that." Krillin, being an idiot, came to a screeching red-faced stop when she said that, leaving him open for a palm thrust to the face that sent him tumbling across the ground. At the same time, Tenshinhan had nothing left, having maintained Kaiouken for as long as he could. His arms dropped for a split-second, which was long enough for Lapis to drive a fist into his gut. Ten staggered away, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. His knees buckled for a moment but he stopped himself from falling.

"Seriously," Lapis groaned, "Cell's the bad guy here! I really don't wanna hurt you, Ten, you're super cool and all, but you're in my way." Then he dropped Tenshinhan with a left cross, sending him sprawling into the grass. With everyone out for the count, Lapis finally made his way over to the car. He hopped into the front seat and prepared to hotwire it but it turned out he didn't have to. As soon as he _thought_ about the car starting, it just did!

"Hey sis," he called over to Lazuli, "Check it out! Looks like the doc made it so we can control tech with our brains!" He thought about turning on the windshield wipers and they went on, then off because he thought about turning them off. Lazuli rolled her eyes and made her way toward the car but stopped when she noticed Krillin starting to get up.

"Jeez," she muttered with a mixture of annoyance and admiration, "You don't give up, huh?" Krillin staggered to his feet and did his best to put up his dukes. Lazuli smiled and walked toward him. She gently cupped his cheek in her right hand before giving him a peck on the cheek. "You're sweet," she told him gently as his cheeks reddened. "Really, it's nice that you all care so much. But these are _our_ lives and it's _our_ choice. We're not going to let anyone else fight for us." Then she bonked him on the head and chuckled when he crumpled to the ground again.

"The hell was that about?" Lapis asked as Lazuli hopped into the seat beside him.

"What," she retorted, "You dated a fox in high school." Lapis rolled his eyes and started to drive before she bonked him on the head. "Seatbelt."

"Sure thing, _mom,"_ Lapis muttered, thinking of the seatbelt and watching with a smirk as it slid down across his chest. The car had barely gotten out of the driveway when a certain redhead who hadn't been there a moment before with her foot on the hood of the car. "Oh come on," Lapis groaned, "Just let us do this! Are you gonna fight, too?"

"No," Suno told them calmly. "I saw your handiwork. I'm stronger than the rest of them but Krillin isn't _that_ much weaker than me. There's nothing I could try that they didn't already do. I just wanna talk. Just a couple minutes, I promise. If you still want to go fight Cell after this, I'll get out of your way."

"Fine," Lapis sighed irritably as he and Lazuli got out of the car, "Just make it quick, okay? Every minute we sit around with our hands in our pants is another minute this Cell thing is attacking people."

"Thank you. So, you know about Cell. You know that Trunks is from the future and what Cell's going to do. You know what will happen if Cell gets its hands on you and you are literally running headfirst toward it. I just want to know why. Are you doing this for us?"

"I already told Krillin," Lazuli pointed out in an annoyed tone.

"I know," Suno replied in a calm and measured voice, "But I want to hear it again. I want to make sure I understand."

"You've gotta be–" Lapis groaned and pressed his palm against his forehead while he leaned against the car before looking up at Suno again. "Look, we lost _everything_ when our parents died in a house fire. We spent five years on the streets running from gangs and the cops and just trying to stay alive. We were weak and helpless and no one was gonna do anything for us. But things are different now. Now we're stronger than anyone! We don't have to run or hide ever again and we can actually _do_ something about our lives!"

"So this is about you?" Suno asked.

"Not even close!" Lazuli said suddenly and vehemently. Suno's eyebrows raised slightly but she managed to keep her reaction otherwise carefully masked. "Like Lapis said, no one wanted to help us. When it looked like someone _did,_ he just used us. He drugged us, cut us up, locked us up, and tried to turn us into monsters! Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Ten, Launch– you guys all _helped_ us. You gave us a home again. You gave us a _family_ again! You gave us food and a place to sleep, you let us jam and watch shows and have _fun!_ It's only been a week but, oh my God, this has been the best week we've had in a long, _long_ fucking time!"

"And you didn't even have to," Lapis added. "You could have just left once we killed Gero so you could deal with Cell. You just helped us because you're good people. We haven't really met any good people in a long time. Our parents raised us right. They told us that when someone does something good for you, you pay it back. If you guys are gonna be fighting some monster that eats people, how in the fuck do you expect us to live with ourselves if we just sit around and hang out on the beach while you were risking your lives for us?"

"We're stronger than you," Lazuli said. "We don't get tired. We don't have ki to sense, so Cell won't know we're coming. He's hunting us? Fine. We're gonna hunt _him._ We have the best chance out of _anyone_ of killing Cell right here and now."

"You gave us our lives," Lapis reminded Suno, "So shouldn't we have the right to decide what we're going to do with them? Shouldn't we have the right to make sure that no one else has to lose theirs?" Suno closed her eyes and thought about what Lapis said for a few long and tense moments while Lapis and Lazuli waited in silence. When she finally reopened her eyes, there was nothing but compassion and understanding.

"Alright," she said as she stepped out of the way of the car. "I honestly, sincerely wish that you'd let us hide you until Goku and the others finish training but I can't stop you and I won't try. I just want you to know that you don't owe us anything. You guys made us happy just by being around and that was more than enough."

"Not for us it's not," Lapis told her. It was clear that he was trying to soften his words, being grateful that she didn't want to fight, and he even winced when he realized that it came out more tersely than he'd intended.

Suno nodded, "I know. I'll just say one more thing: Be careful and come back safely."

"Hey," Lapis said with a smirk as the pair of them hopped back into the car in perfect sync, "What's the worst that could happen?" Their seatbelts slid down and Suno watched in silence as they drove off. Memories of the nightmares she'd had about the possible future Trunks had described in detail to her flashing through her mind.

"More than you'd think," she whispered before moving to help her friends.

OoOoOoO

"Hey," Lapis said to Lazuli as they left North City behind, "You think they'd be proud of us? I mean, we're the good guys… aren't we?" They drove in silence for a few seconds as if genuinely contemplating that question. "Screw it," Lapis said with a sigh before thinking the radio on.

"We are _not_ listening to hi–" Lazuli started to protest before Lapis already found a station. "Oh my God I hate you," she groaned while Lapis laughed and sang along to the radio. Lazuli groused for a little while before breaking into a smile when the song changed and Lapis motioned for her to sing with him. "You sure this isn't weird?" she asked her brother. Lapis just grinned and shrugged. She laughed and and started singing with him.

"I take two steps forward! I take two steps back! We come together, 'cause opposites attract! And you know, it ain't fiction, just a natural fact! We come together, 'cause opposites attract!"

OoOoOoO

Yamcha was the first person to regain consciousness and Suno helped pull his head out of the ground and bring him to his feet. "Well," he muttered while scratching dirt out of his beard, "That could've gone better." Then he remembered Chi-Chi getting involved in the fight and left Suno to deal with the others as he sprinted into the house. Chi-Chi was sprawled out on the floor with her axe embedded in the ceiling and she had gone right through the couch, literally cutting it in half. Yamcha was by her side in a second and helped her gently to her feet, letting his taller wife lean on him for support.

"Did they get away?" Chi-Chi asked woozily. Yamcha nodded and she frowned while holding a hand to her left temple. It was only then that he noticed his missing car and his face dropped.

"Aw, c'mon!" Yamcha moaned in despair. "I just made the last payment on that! Why would they even steal it? They can fly!" Chi-Chi shrugged and pulled her axe out of the ceiling.

"Can't you find them?" she asked. Yamcha sighed and shook his head.

"Nah," he admitted. "They don't have ki we can sense. All their power comes from whatever Gero did to them."

"Well," Launch muttered, "That could have gone worse." She gingerly touched a bruise on the back of her head and winced with a hiss.

"It's a good thing they're on our side," Suno pointed out while helping Launch to her feet.

"I'm sorry," Chaozu protested while picking bits of gravel off of his alabaster dome, "You want to explain that to me?"

"Suno's right," Krillin agreed while Launch rotated her arm and made sure nothing was broken. "If those guys had really wanted to, they could have killed us. I don't think anyone even broke anything." Then he added, "I mean, besides Yamcha's house." Yamcha rolled his eyes and gave a reluctant shrug.

"They're not bad people," Suno reminded them, "They're trying to do what they think is the right thing. They just don't understand what they're up against." Tenshinhan still hadn't said anything since he'd regained consciousness and was still sitting and staring at the ground.

"So what's the plan?" Launch asked as she helped her three-eyed husband to his feet.

"I'll check in on Bulma," Krillin said. "Knowing her, she's probably scienced up some way for us to keep track of Lapis and Lazuli by now so we can go hunt them down." He paused for a moment and reflected on the phrasing of that sentence. "Cripes, that sounded sinister…"

"I've got to get back to the house," Suno admitted with an almost embarrassed chuckle while scratching at the back of her head. "I've got a lot of papers and stuff to grade. World doesn't stop just because it might end, y'know?"

"Well," Yamcha put in, "I'm gonna go down to the furniture store and pick up a new couch. Then I gotta call a guy about replacing the door." He turned to go back into the house and get his keys before remembering that his car had been stolen. "Right… guess I'm walking." Then he shrugged and started heading down the road.

"Ten and I'll go up to the Lookout," Launch offered. "Ki sensing is usually easier up there so we might have a better chance of noticing when Cell flares up. Besides, maybe we can poke Piccolo with a stick and get him to help out." She chuckled. Tenshinhan did not. Launch gave him a sidelong glance and shrugged before the two of them flew off. Suno and Krillin left for her home and West City, respectively, shortly after, leaving Chaozu and Chi-Chi alone.

"Would you like to help me make pancakes?" Chi-Chi asked.

Chaozu shrugged. "Sure."

OoOoOoO

High atop the Lookout, Kami and Piccolo were still sitting in the same spot where they had started meditating when Goku had brought everyone the previous day. Dutiful Popo had stood at his post beside Kami as soon as Vegeta and his Future-Son had entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and only left when the tea went cold, returning with a fresh pot.

Moori had explained to Kami in one of their conversations while the Namekians had been stranded on Earth that among the Elder Namekians, disagreements were so rare that whenever a divisive issue came up, the Elders simply meditated upon the subject until all parties were of an equal mind. Knowing how difficult of a topic he was planning to broach with Piccolo, he had been willing to attempt the ancient method. It had been _several_ hours and the look Piccolo was giving him certainly did not speak to being of an equal mind.

"Are you going to get out of my head?" Piccolo asked irritably. Kami rolled his eyes and rested his hands upon his staff which was laid upon his lap.

"I am _not_ attempting to invade your mind," Kami assured Piccolo wearily.

"Not _literally,"_ Piccolo snapped, "But I know what you're trying to do! You want us to merge so we can become a single Namekian again and fight Cell!"

"Are you opposed to the idea of greater power?" Kami scoffed. "With all the time you spend training, I figure you'd jump at the chance to dramatically multiply your strength."

"There's more to consider here than just power," Piccolo pointed out. "What about the Dragon Balls? When we merge, they'll become inert! How are we supposed to wish back the people Cell absorbed?"

"If we do nothing," Kami reminded him sternly, "There will be nothing left to wish back! The world got along perfectly well for thousands of years with no Dragon Balls and still worked fine back before they were gathered every other year! The world will restore itself in time." There was a long and poignant pause as the wind blew through their capes. "This isn't about strength, is it?" Kami asked. "Or the Dragon Balls. Not really." Piccolo shook his head.

"From the moment I came into existence," Piccolo began, "Everything I knew was defined by something else. I had all of my father's memories, including his death and his dying words. I knew that my purpose in life was to kill Son Goku but then when I failed, I didn't know what I was doing. Even killing Goku didn't make me any more sure of myself because it didn't matter. I told myself I would kill her again in a proper fight but, well, the Saiyans happened. I spent a year caring for her son. I _died_ for Gohan! Everything started to change. For the first time in my life, I began to know who _I_ was as a person. Not merely an extension of Piccolo Daimaou or a reset, but myself, a living being." He sighed and lowered his eyes. "If we were to merge again, I fear I might lose that. Either because _I_ would change or because we would become who we were before and I would cease to exist."

"You think that this fear is yours alone?" Kami asked. Piccolo looked up from the ground and looked into his older half's serious and resolute expression. "For centuries, I have been the guardian of this planet. I have watched over all those who live on it and have come to hold them in my heart as if they were my own children. Yet I have seen the threats growing far more powerful as I myself have grown old and weak. I can do nothing to protect those who I so dearly cherish. I know that our fusion is the only way to help this world and yet I, too, am afraid. I fear that this thing we become will not care for the suffering of mankind. That it might abandon humanity to its plight or, worse still, lash out at it. I fear that it will not be strong enough and that it will fall to Cell, leaving Earth with no Dragon Balls _and_ no Guardian. Most of all, I fear the coming of oblivion. For I know that whatever the outcome of this fusion is, _I_ will cease." They sat in silence for a moment before Kami spoke again. "But this is too _important,_ Piccolo!" he insisted sternly. "We cannot let fear chain us. I have a responsibility to the people of this world to guard them and put their needs above my own. I can tell when I look into your eyes that you care for this world as well, Piccolo." With a father's proud smile, Kami added, "You're more like me than you want to admit." Piccolo sighed and slowly got to his feet. Then he held out his hand and helped Kami up.

"You're right," Piccolo admitted reluctantly. "About the fact that I care, not that we're alike. If this is the only way to fight Cell then it's what we're going to do. He pressed his palm flatly against Kami's chest and waited while the world's guardian turned his head to look at his faithful servant.

"Mr. Popo," he said kindly, "It has been a pleasure to spend these centuries with you. You are not a servant but a true friend." Then he turned his attention back to Piccolo and nodded. Without warning, Kami transformed into pure light and energy, the light quickly racing up Piccolo's arm and surrounding him like a flame. Piccolo's eyes went wide and he threw back his head in a silent scream as his body flooded with power.

OoOoOoO

He remembered… everything. He remembered his youth, when Namek was covered in Ajisa. He remembered playing with the other boys and he remembered his father Katas, a warrior of the Dragon Clan, a strong and noble man. He remembered the terrible storms that ravaged planet Namek, destroying the Ajisa and killing Namekians by the thousands. His father had put him in a ship and sent him out into the stars so that he might live. He could clearly remember now how he had been trapped in the Yunzabit heights and gotten separated from the ship. A nasty fall had robbed him of his memories of the ship and turned it into something foreign and yet still strangely hopeful. He would return to it often.

He remembered walking the world, seeing violence and cruelty and felt it harden his heart. He walked the earth for nearly a century before he finally made his way to the Guardian of Earth. That Guardian's Popo had been a wizened old thing who carried around a black-and-white doll it called Gunter. There was a rival he had, he seemed to recall. A blue-ish green pointy-eared little troll of a man named Garlic. Garlic had been cast into the Dead Zone when he had been chosen to succeed the Guardian. The process of splitting into his good and evil selves had been… unpleasant. Then the old Guardian passed and Popo disappeared into the ether, leaving only his turban behind. Then Kami's own Popo appeared from under the turban and carried on as if it was business as usual. Centuries spent watching over the Earth and guarding it, growing to love all those who lived on it, all leading up to this moment, this return. The rebirth.

OoOoOoO

"Yet I cannot remember my name," the Nameless Namekian mused with Piccolo's voice when he opened his eyes again. "It seems it has been lost to time." Then he shrugged. "I suppose I'll keep on being Piccolo, then." And he _did_ look like Piccolo at a glance. A casual observer might not see the change, save for Kami's symbol blazed on the front of his shirt in white and Kami's blue cape that had replaced Piccolo's white cape with its enormous shoulder pads. But there was a wisdom and a compassion in his eyes now, eyes that had seen all the good and ill of the world and still found it in himself to love all humanity. There a nobility to his brow and a strength in his posture, as if he were a pillar that held up the sky. Piccolo turned his gaze toward the sky and immediately flew off in search of the children. He now also had Kami's knowledge of the battle and their disappearance.

"Hey," Goku remarked as she and Gohan sensed Piccolo fly away, "Did Piccolo get way stronger than me?"

"I think so," Gohan replied while munching on an apple.

"Neat!" Goku declared excitedly. Popo, meanwhile, picked up his master's cane and looked sadly at it in his hands. Then he clutched the staff tightly to his chest, hugging it.

OoOoOoO

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber was like no Hell Vegeta had ever experienced. Every breath was a struggle. At times his skin burned like his flesh was on fire and at times it felt like he was going to freeze to death. The endless void took constant mental focus and fortitude to keep from going mad.

It was _perfect._ It was the precise environment he needed to push himself to the limit. No, not _to_ the limit. _Beyond_ it. Every time he powered up, he could feel that next level pressing down on him. It was like pressing his hands against a ceiling or swimming up from the bottom of the ocean. He _would_ break through. He _would_ reach the next level. He would slaughter Cell by himself and they would all bow before him. They would recognize him as a God.

Trunks swung his sword faster and faster in the katas he had practiced, the silver flashing through the air in intricate patterns and the air shimmering with the force of his swings. He _had_ to get better. He had to keep trying. He had to get strong enough to defeat Cell in this timeline and his home. He had to protect everyone. He had to save them.

OoOoOoO

Lapis had been in the middle of belting out yet another song when Lazuli suddenly changed the station.

"Hey!" Lapis whined. "What was that for?" Instead of responding, Lazuli kept changing the station with her mind while digging through Yamcha's glovebox. "Uh… the heck are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to actually find Cell," Lazuli explained patronizingly as she pulled out a map and a pen. "Oh my God," she muttered, "I can't believe he actually has a paper map."

"-ities completely disappearing," a news anchor's voice was saying on the station Lazuli stopped at. "Without warning and without any as-yet identifiable cause, entire cities' populations have vanished, leaving only their close behind. Cities including Parsley City, Nicky Town…" Lazuli drew a circle around every city the anchor listed off, her eyes widening with terror as she noticed a pattern.

"Oh my God," she gasped. "Oh my God! Lapis," she exclaimed while jabbing a finger down onto the map, "He's headed for Purple City!" Lapis' eyes narrowed with determination and he hopped out of the car while pushing the button to put it back in its capsule.

"Like hell he is!" he declared emphatically as he shoved the capsule into his pocket. The pair of them rocketed off toward the west at top speed, crashing through the sound barrier with such force that the pavement underneath them exploded. No way was this monster going to eat _their_ town!


	85. Battle Against Cell!

Chapter Eighty-five

Battle Against Cell! The True Namekian's Power!

Amy didn't know what was happening before the whole world went to hell. It had been a perfectly normal day at the Purple City Salon when, all of the sudden, she got a shiver that made her purple fur stand on end. That was the thing. Before she'd seen or even heard anything, Amy had felt it. It was the tingle at the back of her neck, the way she felt whenever an earthquake or a big storm was about to hit. She'd been brushing someone's hair and they'd been chatting up a storm when everything went wrong. The "nice" thing about being a fox was the strength of her hearing so she heard people screaming a few seconds before anyone else. Then there were gunshots and even more screaming. Then everyone in the shop stared at the window as people ran in panic down the streets, trampling each other to get away from… _something._ Amy hadn't seen it, whatever it was, but she dropped her scissors and her brush and she just ran as quickly as she could.

The worst part wasn't the noise. The screaming, the crashing cars, the honking horns, the gunfire and the explosions as people crashed into buildings and trampled each other. The worst part was how things got quieter. Little by little. As she pressed herself flat under a truck, Amy realized that whatever everyone was running from was killing them all, one by one. That was almost _worse_ than what had happened in East City. At least for them it had been over quickly.

But then her fox hearing came back into play. Over all of the screaming and the running and the terror, she could hear the footsteps. She heard the footsteps growing louder, coming closer. It was coming for _her._ Part of her brain screamed to run but she was too terrified to move. She saw the green three-toed feet and watched a green hand grab the underside of the car. The car was suddenly flung away to smash into a building and explode. She stared up at the green monster looming over her with wide eyes and a scream caught in her throat as its tail raised high and was poised to strike.

Then Amy and the monster heard something off in the distance that was so ridiculous that made them both stop and turn their heads to try and listen to whatever it was. The voice was _very_ familiar.

"Bah dahdah dah daaaaah, bah dah daaah, bah dahdah dah daaah," then someone swung a car into the monster like a baseball bat and sent it flying over the horizon. "EAT A DICK!" Amy stared up at the person who saved her life while someone else flew past them to go after the monster and it took a few seconds to actually process what she was staring at.

"Lapis?" she whispered in disbelief. It _looked_ like him but… it was impossible. Lapis had been gone for years, everyone had said he was dead! But he was right in front of her. Holding a broken car over his head… and flying. He was smirking and looking off where he'd sent the monster flying but when he looked down and noticed Amy, he recognized her instantly and his smile faltered as his face turned red.

"A-Amy…" he stammered out. "Hey. H-how've you been?"

"Lapis!" Amy head Lazuli call off in the distance. "Get your ass over here!" What was going _on?_

"Uh, hey, sorry," Lapis said quickly, "Gotta go! We'll catch up after I save the world!" He flew off immediately, leaving Amy _very_ confused.

OoOoOoO

' _Well,'_ Cell thought as it picked itself up from where it had landed on the top floor of the office building 17 had whacked it through, ' _This is different.'_ Cell reflected as it brushed glass off of its shoulders that it couldn't remember the last time something unexpected had happened. Then it saw 18 coming towards it and she fired a barrage of energy blasts from her hands, which Cell brought up a forearm to block. This, however, turned out to just be a distraction as 17 came up from the floor in front of Cell and whacked it with the remains of the car, which exploded on impact and sent Cell up through the ceiling. This sent Cell directly into a flying kick from 18, sending it off toward the horizon, before 17 grabbed its tail and swung it around before hurling it down and away as hard as he could. 'Very _different.'_ What a nice little change of pace.

OoOoOoO

"So, hey," Lapis remarked as they flew off toward the crater they'd made with Cell's body, "What's the plan again? We _do_ have one of those, right?"

` "Keep this guy out of the city so he can't eat anyone," Lazuli stated matter-of-factly. "Then we hit him until he stops moving." Lapis grinned and generated two large green energy balls in his hands.

"I can do that," he declared confidently. Lapis swung the balls down toward the crater and Lazuli raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, yours are _green?_ How is that fair?" He shrugged and she rolled her eyes before thrusting her palms out. A ball of pink energy formed between her palms and she sent out a hail of energy bullets down toward Cell. Lapis nodded and the two stood side-by-side, letting down a barrage of ki blasts toward Cell, turning the field they launched it into to a burning field of ruined earth.

"Hey!" Lapis called down as they descended toward the ground. "Green jeans! You alive down there?" There was silence. "I kinda hope so, honestly. I wasn't done kicking your ass for all these people you've murdered!" They touched down and a patch of blackened earth began to crack and break apart before Cell exploded out of the ground with a gasp. It rolled its shoulders back and rolled its head from side to side, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Well," it remarked in its incredibly uncomfortable rasping voice, "That was fun." It chuckled, making Lapis and Lazuli shift uneasily in their fighting stances. "Ahhh," it sighed, "17 and 18. So nice to see you at last. I've got to admit, I did _not_ expect _you_ to come after me. It makes things easier, though, so I appreciate that."

"Don't call us that," Lazuli told Cell sternly. "Those are _not_ our names."

"Yeah," Lapis added, "And save us any crap about being 'siblings' or about this being all part of Gero's great big 'plan' or whatever." This made Cell chuckle. "What?"

"Siblings?" Cell repeated as the chuckle transformed into a guffaw. "You're not siblings. And you're certainly not equals. You want to know what you are?" Cell's blue tongue slid out and it licked its beak-like lips. "You're _cattle."_

"Gro–" Lapis barely started to say before Cell was on them, charging forward and dropping them both with a double lariat. The impact sent Lapis and Lazuli flying back but they caught themselves in the air before they went too far and charged forward, flying defiantly towards Cell and exploding with a barrage of lightning-fast and expertly-thrown punches that would have each laid waste to an entire city. Cell blocked them all while running backwards, its hands a blur while it gave them a condescending glare. That glare, of course, was interrupted when Lazuli suddenly swung her legs and took Cell's feet out from under it. Lapis followed up with a two-handed ki blast while Cell was off its feet to the chest, sending Cell hurtling back. Lazuli was behind Cell in a flash, swinging both fists together in an axehandle blow at the back of Cell's head to send it back toward Lapis, who hit Cell square in the beak with a knee that sent it flying back toward Lazuli. The twins sandwiched Cell between them with a flying kick to the front and back of its head before kicking it up into the air and finishing it with a pair of energy beams.

When the smoke cleared, Cell was floating over them with its arms crossed to defend itself and the glare back on its face.

"Uh oh," Lazuli muttered. "Not goo–" Cell was between them in the blink of an eye, launching them away from each other with a jumping split kick. They skidded to a stop on a knee and fired energy beams at Cell but it was already gone and the beams exploded against one another. Lapis shielded his eyes from the glare and it was only the rush of air on the back of his neck that let him know Cell was behind him. He spun around and barely managed to avoid Cell's tail stabbing at him, grabbing it between his hands as the brownish tip thrashed, the needle less than an inch from his face.

Then the needle exploded open into something more like a suction cup and Lapis stared into the inside of Cell's tail. It looked like… well, Lapis didn't really want to say what it looked like. Cell started pushing forward and the tail nearly went over Lapis' head.

"Kienzan!" Lazuli cried and Lapis sighed with relief when a sawblade of pink energy sliced a chunk of Cell's tail off. It let out a bark of pain and Lapis discarded the tail in disgust before he and Lazuli drove their palms into the black gem in the center of its chest to send it skidding back.

"Okay," Lapis breathed out once they'd made some distance between themselves and Cell, "So. The tail's bad."

"Well, good thing Gero gave us all of their techniques," Lazuli pointed out. "So I don't think the tail's gonna be a huge issue. We just gotta stick to this together." Once again, infuriatingly, Cell chuckled.

"Are you sure about that?" It asked. Its tail swished and thrashed and the flesh under the skin seemed to boil and writhe. Then a fresh section of tail burst out of the stump Lazuli had made, stinger and all. "Gotta love those Namekian cells."

"Seriously," Lapis groaned with a slightly green tinge to his face, "Is there a _single thing_ about you that is not disgustingly horrifying?!" Cell chuckled again. "Stop laughing!" Cell threw its head back and burst into outright uproarious laughter as it suddenly started powering up.

"That's not good," Lazuli muttered.

OoOoOoO

"All diagnostics complete," Gero's voice said in Adrian's head. If Adrian's personality map had been more complex, he would no doubt have rolled his eyes and made some sarcastic remark or even felt relief. He felt nothing, save for a vague sense of satisfaction. With his ki sensing software finally functioning, he could at last detect Son Goku. She was… several miles over his head. That was strange. Nevertheless, Adrian began to activate his rockets. Then, however, his sensors picked up another ki signature like Son Goku's. And Vegeta's. And Piccolo's. And the others. And something called "Freeza." That was _very_ strange. The secondary software for finding the other androids also noticed that 17 and 18 were fighting this other ki signature. Adrian paused for an indecisive moment as he struggled to choose between the two targets.

Then he activated the rockets in his feet and flew off toward the west. "Overdrive," he declared. Panels opened in his back and a pair of large rocket thrusters came out before flaring up and adding to his speed.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo was flying around the Earth in search of Cell's ki signature when suddenly he found it. Well, not precisely. Cell, as he had discovered, had no ki signature of its own. But when he sensed himself standing next to Goku and Gohan, as well as Vegeta and Freeza, it was easy enough to put the two together.

"Alright," Piccolo muttered to himself as he changed course and rocketed down with full speed, "Time to see just how powerful I truly am!"

OoOoOoO

Lapis and Lazuli skidded in the dirt and groaned painfully when they came to a stop. They were covered in scrapes and bruises and Lapis' shirt was torn to tatters. Lazuli had lost her shoes.

"Hey sis," Lapis groaned painfully as he weakly pushed himself to his feet, "Is it me or is this guy _really_ strong?"

Lazuli nodded with a wince, feeling something pop in her neck that probably shouldn't as Lapis helped her up. "Yeah," she admitted. "Is it too late to go back to the beach?"

Lapis gave a pained chuckle as they turned to see an utterly unscathed Cell stalking steadily towards them. "Think so."

"Well this has been fun," Cell remarked dryly, "But I've got a world to go out and destroy so if you two wouldn't mind just rolling over and dying, I can get on with my day." Lapis smirked and spat out a mouthful of black blood, shoving down the urge to throw a fit at discovering yet another way that Gero had made them inhuman.

"I can do this all day," Lapis boasted shakily. Lazuli nodded again and Cell rolled its eyes as the twins got shakily into their guards.

"Rocket Punch!" a voice called from off in the distance. Cell turned its head to the left toward the sound of the voice and a rocket–mounted fist collided with its face, exploding on impact. Lapis and Lazuli gawked as Cell was sent skittering away and a green-and-black blur zipped across the sky and put itself between them and Cell with a thunderous impact.

"Adrian!" Lapis cried in surprise as they looked up at the android's broad back. "The heck are you doing here? I thought you were only supposed to fight Goku."

"This monster is comprised of many alien forms of DNA and poses a considerable threat to this planet," Adrian explained. "This falls within my parameters of self-preservation, killing Son Goku, and the lesser directive of protecting this world. A directive that, over the last several days, I have begun to value over the primary directives." Lapis wondered what was so special about Adrian that the whole "protect the world from aliens" thing was _less_ important than saving his own skin. Or bolts. Or whatever. "Also," Adrian added, "I should not have abandoned you. You are the closest things to family that I have left. I will protect you."

"Awww," Lapis and Lazuli cooed in unison.

"Stay back," Adrian told them firmly as Cell started coming toward them. "I will deal with this monster myself." He started advancing toward Cell who cracked its knuckles and locked eyes with Adrian.

"Ahhh. Android 16," it remarked, "The literal redheaded stepchild. Was wondering when you'd show up." Adrian glared wordlessly at it. "I'd tell you to get out of my way but I have the sneaking suspicion that's not going to work." Adrian nodded. "Alright then. Let's dance, replacement goldfish." Cell and Adrian roared as they charged at one another with their fists drawn back. They met in a lightning-fast exchange of punches, Adrian's speed surprising for one of his bulk. Their fists collided with a shockwave and, for just a moment, Adrian began to gave ground before panels opened in his bicep and clamps latched onto his forearm to provide further stability and little rockets came out of the clamps that actually pushed it forward. Cell's pink eyes widened in surprise before Adrian's other fist slammed into its gut, lifting it into the air so Adrian could grab its horns in both hands and yank it down into his upraised knee. Then Adrian swung Cell by the horns and thrust out one of his fists as Cell was sent reeling.

"Rocket punch!" His fist flew off and hit Cell with another explosive impact, a new fist already constructing itself from the stump as Adrian flew at Cell to press the attack. Cell landed on its feet and thrust both hands out with rage in its eyes.

"Kamehameha!" It snapped, the blast catching Adrian full in the chest. Surprisingly, he absorbed the blow and Cell narrowed its eyes with contempt. It should have known that Gero would design his Goku-killing son with anti-Goku measures. The black panel in the center of Adrian's chest opened up and a yellow light shone out of it before a blast came out at Cell, releasing the absorbed Kamehameha energy. Cell contemptuously swatted the blast away but Adrian was already on top of it, blades exploding out of his wrists and his tree trunk-like limbs moving in a whirlwind as it sliced off all of Cell's limbs, including the tail. The stump of torso and head glared at Adrian as it floated in the air but, to Adrian's surprise, it retaliated with eye beams. Adrian barely managed to pivot to one side to avoid the attack, the beams grazing his face and exposing the metal skeleton underneath.

"Adrian!" Lazuli cried out as she and Lapis started running toward him.

"Stay back!" Adrian ordered. "Get away from h–" but the distraction had allowed Cell to regenerate its limbs, including the fist that it used to punch Adrian in the jaw with a right hook to send him reeling. It followed with a left roundhouse to keep him off-balance before hitting an uppercut with its tail under his chin to send him into the air, before wrapping that same tail around Adrian's ankle and smashing him into the ground. Adrian got to his feet with mechanical efficiency and hopped into the air to create some distance. Cell laughed as Adrian opened panels in his chest and arms, revealing gun barrels that covered every part of his upper body from the neck down.

"Bullets?" Cell laughed. "Really?! You think _bullets_ are going to hurt me?" It held its arms out and waited with its feet planted. "Go ahead."

"Yes," Adrian confirmed as the motors began to whir, "Bullets." His mouth quirked up into the tiniest hint of a smirk. "Hollowpoint. Filled with an adhesive that reaches super-solar temperatures on contact with air." Cell blinked and stared at him.

"I'm sorry, they do wha–" Adrian roared as bullets filled the air, shell casings raining down on the ground as chunks were torn out of Cell, whose flesh began to boil and burn. Cell howled with agony as it kicked and flailed desperately before immediately flying off to the nearest body of water and dunking itself. After a moment's regeneration, it returned, dripping wet and unharmed but _very angry._ "Alright," Cell hissed, "No more games!" It roared and powered up again before launching itself at Adrian. This time when they met, Cell evaded all of Adrian's punches while landing twice as many hits as Adrian threw, each one smashing a dent into the android and making him stagger back. Cell's tail went around Adrian's throat and it started smashing Adrian effortlessly into the ground, over and over again. Lapis and Lazuli charged at Cell but it cast them dismissively away with a kiai wave of its hand. "I'll get to you two in a moment," it told them before turning back to Adrian, who raised both fists right in Cell's face.

"Rocket Punch!" He gurgled out, the fists exploding again. Cell didn't even flinch. Its grip began to tighten as it drew a hand back in a spear strike aimed right for Adrian's head.

"You know," it said as Adrian struggled, "I'm sure if Gero were still alive, he'd be rather upset about his son dying _twice."_ Then it shrugged. "But I stopped caring about how he felt a _long_ time ago." Someone tapped Cell on the shoulder. "Hmm?" Cell asked as it turned around. Then a green fist filled Cell's entire field of vision and forced it to break its grip on Adrian's throat as it was sent flying. Adrian sprawled onto the ground with a thud and rubbed at his slightly-crushed throat while he looked up at Piccolo in as much disbelief as he could appropriately muster.

"I'll take it from here," Piccolo assured him with his blue cape blowing dramatically in the wind. Adrian nodded reluctantly and Piccolo smirked. "If you don't like an alien helping you," Piccolo said casually while pulling off his cape and tossing it aside, "Just keep thinking of me as a demon. Apparently those can be rather friendly in some human fiction." He started walking towards Cell and cracked his knuckles while Cell rubbed at its beak-jaw. "As I recall," Piccolo remarked, "I owe you a broken nose. You don't seem to have one, though, so I guess I'll have to settle for your whole face." Cell rolled its eyes and got into a fighting stance.

"It doesn't matter who you absorb," Cell told him, "The result is always going to be the same." Piccolo looked at it curiously for a moment before the two came at each other, their auras flaring as they exploded against one another in a blinding cascade of clashing lights. The combatants were moving so quickly that even Lapis and Lazuli's enhanced eyesight could only make out the vague green versus green-and-purple shapes that were the warriors violently throwing punches and kicks.

"Hey sis," Lapis muttered in an awestruck daze.

"Yeah?" Lazuli asked in a similar tone.

"If we live… we need to train more."

"Totally."

Piccolo and Cell's blows were coming so fast and furiously that the impact of their legs collided on simultaneous kicks created a shockwave that sent both of them hurtling back, launching Cell into the air and forcing Piccolo to dig his feet into the earth.

"Dodonpa!" Cell cried as it launched a beam of yellow ki from its fingertip. Just like at the 23rd Budoukai, Piccolo snatched the attack out of the air and hurled it like a javelin back at Cell, who angrily slapped it aside. This left an opening for Piccolo to retaliate and he launched a finger beam of his own at Cell's shoulder, the bioandroid rolling to avoid it. This attack, however, had been only a feint, leaving Cell's opposite shoulder open for Piccolo to stab through with another ki beam. Cell cried out in pain before Piccolo shot out his hand to wrap his arm around Cell's throat like a constrictor and yank Cell down as he flew up towards it, smashing his fist into Cell's stomach so hard that its body warped and the indent of his fist was actually visible on the other side. Cell snarled through the pain and grabbed onto Piccolo's bicep, its black nails digging into the pink-and-green flesh to keep Piccolo from pulling away before it rammed its other fist into his stomach hard enough for _Piccolo's_ body to buckle from the indent. Both combatants staggered away and gasped in pain before charging again, colliding in a furious knuckle lock that shook the earth beneath them as each pushed against the other, their auras flaring and crackling like raging wildfires. Locked in a stalemate, the pair shoved off of each other and firmly planted their feet simultaneously before touching two fingers to their foreheads and thrusting their hands forward.

"Makankousappou!" The twin drills of purple and yellow death collided against each other in a dazzling cascade of deadly lights, each spinning in opposite directions and pushing against each other. Piccolo and Cell grabbed their wrists simultaneously to provide stability and try to coax more power out of the blasts. The two evenly-matched beams eventually erupted into a blinding explosion and Cell and Piccolo charged forward through the lights, the two shadows meeting at the epicenter in a collision of looping hooks to the cheek powerful enough to wipe away the blinding lights like a mighty wind blowing away the clouds. Piccolo and Cell glared at one another, each fist still pressed to the other's cheek, before dropping their hands and taking a few steps back.

"I'll be honest," Cell said as they began to circle one another. "The twins were a distraction and the tin man was an annoyance. You, on the other hand? You're an actual challenge. This is kind of fun." It smirked as they came to a stop. "Must be the Saiyan in me."

"Don't you worry," Piccolo boasted as he got back into his guard. "I haven't even _begun_ to fight." There was a voice in Piccolo's head, which Piccolo suspected was the remnants of the old man, that reminded him that Cell was pushing him to his limit and that, so far, the two of them appeared to be completely evenly matched. Piccolo promptly told that voice to shut the hell up and pushed it down so far he couldn't hear it. The two warriors tensed for a moment before thundering towards one another again.

OoOoOoO

Several hundred miles away, Krillin was doing his best to ignore the two raging ki he was sensing and push them to the back of his mind as he flew into the open window of Bulma's lab in West City. Thankfully, it didn't look like Bulma was figuring out some new way to weaponize the moon or claim ownership of the ocean.

"Hey, Bulma," Krillin greeted with a wave as he walked toward the blue-haired woman who was hunched over her workbench. Over in his crib in a shockingly clutter-free corner of the room, the infant Trunks of this timeline gave his best attempt at a hello. "Hey, little buddy."

"Hi, Krillin," Bulma replied without ever looking up from her work. Krillin could see the faint trails of smoke curling up from the bench as he came closer and could hear the snapping of sparks. "What's up?"

"Well y'see," Krillin began awkwardly, "The twins kinda…"

"Beat your asses and ran away?" Bulma asked. Krillin balked for a moment and Bulma shrugged. "I figured they would. The power output Gero had these guys up to is _crazy._ I'm pretty sure only Goku or Vegeta would be able to take them down. So whaddaya need?"

"Well," Krillin said delicately, "Since you were looking at their schematics and stuff, I figured you might have built some way to track them. Y'know, since they don't have ki or anything."

"It's funny you say that," Bulma replied as she finally looked up from her workbench and turned around to face Krillin, "Because I might have the answer to our problem."

"Oh yeah?" Krillin asked. "Did you build something to track them?" Not that he necessarily _needed_ it right now because he could probably guess where the twins were with Piccolo and Cell's power levels raging. But no reason to tell Bulma that. Come to think of it, when and _how_ did Piccolo get so strong?

"No," Bulma told him as she handed him a small, grey, cylindrical remote with a button on the top. "I built the next best thing. This remote should completely shut down the nanites in Lapis and Lazuli's bloodstreams and take out most of the power that Cell would get from absorbing them. So even _if_ Cell gets them, without that power, it won't be able to transform and Vegeta or Trunks will kill it."

"Oh," Krillin said as he reached out to take the remote. "Great!" It wasn't the _best_ solution in the world, but hey, at least they'd be normal kids again.

"There's just one thing, though," Bulma added. Something about that made Krillin's outstretched hand stop before it reached the remote. "Lapis and Lazuli's cells have been absorbing those nanites for so long and at such high amounts that they're practically woven into their DNA. It's what regulates the infinite energy reactors in their chests. If those nanites shut down, their bodies will be so shocked by the change that they won't be able to recover. So if you push this button… they'll die."

"...What?" Krillin asked in a small voice.

"I wish I had a better plan," Bulma said sincerely, "But this is the best I've got right now. I'll keep working, though. I promise." Reluctantly, Krillin's hands reached out to grab the remote. His fingers curled slowly around it and pulled it out of Bulma's hand. He looked down at it for a few long moments before flying out of the open window again in silence.

Krillin was one of the most powerful beings in the world. Probably in the galaxy. He was pretty sure that, at this point in his life, he had _more_ than enough power to destroy a planet. So why, Krillin thought as he flew, was this tiny little remote so heavy? Why did it feel like it was a weight on his chest that was crushing him? Why did Krillin feel like he was going to drown?


	86. Demon and Machine Fight Together!

Chapter Eighty-six

Demon and Machine Fight Together! The Folly of Young Pride!

When Launch and Tenshinhan got to the top of the Lookout, they found Gohan standing on the edge with a giant stack of apple cores beside him. He was flinging them off toward the horizon with a look on his face that made it seem like he was aiming at something in particular.

"Hey kiddo," Launch called. Gohan waved and went back to throwing. "Still waiting on Trunks and Vegeta, huh?"

"Yeah," Gohan replied anxiously as he looked out toward the horizon. "You guys can sense the fighting, right?" Launch nodded and Gohan sighed again. "I wish I could help Mr. Piccolo. But until I can become a Super Saiyan, I know I'll just get in the way."

"Hey," Launch pointed out while rubbing her chin, "That's a good point. How _did_ Piccolo get so strong?" Gohan shrugged and before they could continue the conversation, Launch noticed Popo walking by… with Kami's staff. "Hey, Popo," Launch called to the djinn, making him look up. "Where's Kami? Why're you carryin' his stick?"

"Kami has merged with Piccolo," Popo explained in the saddest tone Launch had ever heard him speak with. He looked like a puppy whose owner left the house and wasn't coming back anytime soon.

"Oh…" Launch replied quietly. She felt bad for Popo but it was also good if it meant Piccolo was strong enough to fight Cell, right? "So what does that mean?" she asked.

"Among other things," Popo continued, "It means that the Dragon Balls no longer work." Tenshinhan's eyes widened and the apple slipped from Gohan's hands and dropped straight down to the ground, thousands of feet below.

"Oh," Launch muttered. It was a fairly understated reaction for some fairly major news. It was like a lead weight that pushed her heart down into her feet. She could barely even wrap her head around it. No more Dragon Balls? "And it's not like they can… unfuse later and the Dragon Balls will work again?" she asked. Popo shook his head. So no Dragon Balls _ever again._ "Fuckin' shit," Launch murmured under her breath. "Guess I better tell the others." Tenshinhan nodded.

Suno was going through a stack of essay papers, a red pen in one hand and her other hand running through her hair in frustration as she made corrections and comments.

"Swear to God," Suno grumbled to herself, "My hair is gonna go grey before Jimmy figures out how to use a semicolon." She had considered taking a break a few times but every time she put down the pen she felt her attention getting dragged toward the battle between Piccolo and Cell. How the _heck_ had Piccolo gotten so strong? She kept working and did her best to ignore it since she doubted she'd be able to do anything. Besides, she thought, even if Piccolo couldn't kill Cell, he'd at least be able to stall Cell for a few more hours and then hopefully Vegeta and Trunks would come out and kill it. "Just as long as Piccolo doesn't die," Suno muttered as she scratched out a wrong use of "their", "We can fix any mess with the Dragon Balls."

Krillin was flying toward the battle where he figured that Lapis and Lazuli were. If they were smart, of course, they'd have run to the other side of the planet but they'd made it very clear that they were going to fight Cell so he doubted that they were going to run off just because someone was going to fight for them. So that's where he was headed.

Slowly. _Very_ slowly.

Krillin was still struggling with the idea of actually pushing the button. It might be their only alternative, yeah, but… he just didn't know if he had the heart to do it. He'd be _killing_ Lapis and Lazuli. Not that the idea of killing people necessarily gave Krillin a panic attack. He'd killed people before. Well, _two_ people. One of Freeza's goons and Recoome. And some Red Ribbon Army soldiers, now that he remembered it. But those were the bad guys! Lapis and Lazuli were good people. If he pushed that button, it wouldn't be Cell or Freeza or some other bad guy killing them. It'd be _him._ Could he really do that? He didn't know.

"Hey," Krillin told himself, "There's no guarantee it'll come to that. If it does…" he shrugged halfheartedly, as if trying to convince himself. "That's what the Dragon Balls are for, right?"

' _Hey guys,'_ Launch's voice said in their heads. ' _We kinda got a problem. Piccolo merged with Kami so the Dragon Balls are gone.'_

Suno dropped her pen and went slack against her chair, completely stunned by the news. If the Dragon Balls were gone then… all of the people Cell had absorbed were gone, too.

' _What are we going to do?'_ she thought.

The words nearly knocked Krillin out of the air. He could barely even breathe. He'd be killing Lapis and Lazuli _permanently._ How could he do that? But if he didn't, Cell would become even more powerful and millions more could die just as permanently.

' _What am I going to do?'_ he thought despondently.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo narrowly avoided an uppercut from Cell and threw a crescent kick in response that Cell deflected off of its elbow before grabbing Piccolo by the ankle and sending him hurtling across the blackened landscape. Piccolo brought himself to a halt and rocketed back toward Cell, swinging an elbow toward the side of Cell's head. It went through an afterimage and Cell came at Piccolo from behind with a stab from its tail but this turned out to be an afterimage as well and Piccolo appeared behind Cell, sending a knee into the small of Cell's back. However this turned out to be yet another afterimage and Cell swung both fists down onto the sides of Piccolo's head with a cry of triumph. Its fists went through open air and smashed into each other as Piccolo… attacked head on, striking with a flip kick, driving his heel down onto the top of Cell's head to smash it into the ground. Piccolo raised a hand overhead to follow with a chop down on the back of Cell's neck but Cell countered when it rolled onto its back and shot its legs up to drive its feet under Piccolo's jaw. He staggered back as blood sprayed from between his teeth and Cell jumped up to its feet and charged, driving a shoulder into Piccolo's stomach to send him flying back. Piccolo flipped backwards through the air and landed on his feet. The second his feet touched down, Piccolo caught a flicker of light in Cell's eyes, giving him less than a heartbeat to react. Beams shot from both of their eyes, colliding in a starburst of light and struggling against one another in a stalemate. The beams exploded and Piccolo staggered back with his eyes screwed shut, temporarily blinded by the explosion of light. Thanks to his heightened Namekian hearing, however, Piccolo heard Cell's movements and was able to block and dodge all of its strikes. He dropped down to avoid a wide right hook from Cell and grabbed its tail, yanking it out from beneath to take Cell off its feet and tossed it overhead, throwing Cell behind him. Cell landed on its feet with its back to Piccolo and he charged forward with a flying kick.

Cell spun around, striking with its tail, trying to embed the point in Piccolo. Piccolo pivoted to avoid the attack, leaving him open to a body hook. Piccolo fell down to his feet and was forced backwards as Cell's tail moved like a viper, snapping forward and striking, each time trying to strike Piccolo's neck and chest. Piccolo was forced to backpedal to avoid the strikes, completely focused on dodging, since trying to block it would still involve getting stabbed with the stinger, which Piccolo rather explicitly did _not_ want. The problem with this defensive strategy, of course, was that evading Cell's stinger left Piccolo open to other attacks. Cell battered Piccolo's sides with hooking body blows. It took only three hits for Piccolo to realize that Cell was leading him into the hits every time it struck with its tail.

' _Got to think of something,'_ he thought with a grimace, ' _But what? Cell's tail moves too quickly for me to retaliate with any strikes but if I try a blast from my eyes or mouth, I'll be vulnerable to a tail strike!'_ He had to do something, though. The more hits he took from Cell, the harder it got to breathe. The harder it was for him to breathe, the slower he'd move and eventually, Cell _would_ hit him with its tail. That would be bad.

A sudden moment of inspiration struck Piccolo and, on Cell's next attack, rather than moving to the left or right, he leaned back, stretching out his entire torso. This thinned his torso out as well, like an overstretched rubber band, and Cell's stinger zipped harmlessly past him. Cell gawked at him with an expression of confused revulsion before Piccolo retracted his torso, the momentum snapping him forward to headbutt Cell in the face. Cell was sent staggering back, leaving it defenseless for Piccolo to open his mouth almost _absurdly_ wide and fire a mouth blast to send Cell sprawling. Piccolo was too winded to follow through and instead tried to collect himself while letting Cell get to its feet. The two green warriors locked eyes, panting and sweating before they locked eyes. They slowly began to circle one another, recovering and collecting their energy while searching for an opening.

' _This is bad,'_ Piccolo thought. ' _I don't know if I can keep this up for however many hours it's going to take for whoever's in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to finish. Cell and I are too evenly-matched for me to take an advantage. Damn it, I can't even regenerate to heal this damage! It would cost some of my ki and slow me down. Giving Cell even the_ slightest _advantage widens the window for me to be absorbed. This thing is_ not _killing me in this timeline.'_

For its own part, Cell's frustration was also starting to build. ' _Not that this isn't fun,'_ it told itself, ' _But I'm starting to grow bored. I've got things to do today, chief among them becoming Perfect. The longer that Piccolo and I are locked in this stalemate, the more time that 17 and 18 have to not be stupid for a change and get away. Then I'll have to hunt them down again!'_ Then it took a deep breath as it and Piccolo came to a stop. ' _Don't get worked up,'_ It reminded itself. ' _It's going to work out. It always works out.'_

"Hey sis," Lapis asked as they continued watching, "Whaddaya think would be cooler, eye laser or mouth laser?" Lazuli sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Eye lasers, duh. What, I wanna leave my mouth hanging open like an idiot?" Lapis let out a derisive "Pfft!"

"No way!" he retorted with arrogant young eloquence. "Mouth laser! I'd be like that giant monster from the old movies. Goji-something."

"I'm pretty sure it was Game-something."

"Nah, that's the one who spins." On the one hand, they absolutely should have already left by this point. But they had come looking for a fight and they weren't going to leave just because someone was fighting for them. They weren't completely stupid, however, and were waiting for a moment they could strike rather than randomly dashing in.

Piccolo and Cell got into their guards and waited for a few tense moments before they sprang into a charge. Cell pulled a fist back for a strike…

"Rocket Punch!" The rocket-propelled fist collided into the side of Cell's head, stunning it and interrupting its momentum, leaving an opening for Piccolo to smash his elbow into the side of its head and send it flying. Adrian dashed forward to meet Piccolo, who looked at the android curiously.

"So you're… helping me now?" Piccolo asked. Adrian shook his head.

"Negative," he replied firmly. Then his lips quirked up in an approximation of a dry smile. "I am helping a friendly demon." Piccolo chuckled and they both turned as Cell flew towards them. "I do not have the strength to defeat Cell," Adrian admitted, "And my sensors indicate that your powers are evenly matched. I believe that my assistance will tip the scales in our favor." Piccolo nodded and they charged to meet Cell. Cell let out a hiss of rage and struck with its tail, aiming straight for Piccolo's chest. Adrian moved to intercept, the stinger harmlessly puncturing his armor. Before Cell could pull back, Adrian swung it by its tail into a flying kick from Piccolo, who smashed his foot into its chest. Cell landed roughly in a three-point stance, dragging its feet and hand through the barren earth. Adrian and Piccolo charged forward, Piccolo shooting a ki beam from his hand while Adrian fired an energy blast from the black panel in the center of his chest. Cell sidestepped the blast from Piccolo but that meant moving directly into the path of Adrian's laser. Cell swatted it away but that distraction allowed Piccolo to leap forward, driving his knee into Cell's beak. He smirked as he felt it crunch against his knee, the debt repaid. He spun off to the side as Adrian slammed his shoulder into Cell like a man-sized freight train, sending Cell careening away. Cell flew up into the air to get away from them and slammed its hands down at its side.

"I've had as much of the pair of you as I can stomach!" it roared. "So I'm going to settle this, right here and now. Choooou Kaaa… meee…"

"I will not be able to absorb this attack," Adrian observed. "Its energy output will far exceed my capabilities." Piccolo nodded while glaring up at Cell and brought his hands down to his sides. They started to glow with yellow ki while Piccolo put all his focus into Cell. If the scar-faced idiot could do something like this…

"Don't worry," he assured the redheaded robot. "I've got an idea." He'd been workshopping this one during his training with the Sons and Trunks for the last three years. He just hadn't had an opening to use it yet. Plus, he'd been looking for the perfect name. "Just be ready to move when I give you an opening.

"Haaa... meeee..."

"How will I know when that is?" Adrian asked. Piccolo smirked.

"I think you'll be able to tell."

"H–" an apple core bonked Cell in the head, causing it to drop its hands and lose the ki it had been charging. Piccolo wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and let out a roar as he fired a barrage of ki blasts as Cell. Cell's eyes went wide with surprise when it saw the ki blasts coming toward it out of the corner of its eye, having been distracted by looking for whatever the hell had hit it. Cell barely managed to dodge the blasts, the trails they left grazing its skin. After several seconds, however, Cell began to notice that Piccolo wasn't even aiming at it anymore. It laughed in mockery and pointed down at Piccolo. "What's wrong?" it taunted. "Did I give you brain damage? You're not even close anymore!"

"Are you sure about that?!" Piccolo bellowed up while he continued his barrage. Cell wondered what the hell that meant before it was hit with the realization that the lighting surrounding it was awfully… yellow. Cell looked around in shock and realized that it was surrounded on all sides by hundreds of ki orbs. The light from some of the blasts was blinding as they were practically on top of Cell.

' _Huh. Well this is different,'_ Cell thought calmly in juxtaposition to the frantic way in which it looked for some kind of an escape. There had to be an opening wide enough for it to slip through. It couldn't just tank the hits and regenerate. It would be too weak to continue the fight! There had to be some way out of–

"Makuuhouidan!" Piccolo roared as he brought his hands together. Cell was trapped inside the blasts as they swarmed at it from all sides, the sky exploding with the most brilliant fireworks display anyone had ever seen.

"Huh," Lapis muttered as they watched. "Wish I'd brought popcorn."

"I wish I'd brought sunglasses," Lazuli remarked sarcastically while shielding her eyes from the light.

OoOoOoO

Krillin saw the explosion off in the distance as a flash of yellow light and sighed. "Guess that's where I'm headed," he muttered as he altered his course and began flying faster. A little bit faster. He _did_ increase his speed. You'll have to trust him.

OoOoOoO

When the smoke began to clear, Cell was still caught in the same spot where it had been trapped when Piccolo had blasted it. Its arms and legs were splayed out wide and it was surrounded in a purple energy field, which had been just able to absorb all of the blasts.

' _Huh,'_ Cell thought to itself, ' _Almost forgot I could do this.'_ It dropped the field and let out a sigh of relief. That was a little too close for– There was a click and Cell looked up to see Adrian looming directly over it, all of the panels in its torso opened and its elbows flipped down to expose the guns inside. They were all glowing and humming with energy.

"HELL FLASH!" Adrian roared. The massive blast of light caught the winded Cell head-first, shoving it down toward the ground. It kept its arms and legs splayed and gritted its teeth, trying to ride out the energy. It didn't hurt _that_ badly. It was just pressure. Cell just had to slip off once it petered out and hit them with a Taiyoken. Then it could grab the twins, become Perfect, and end this gag that had gone on for _far_ too–

"Chou Masenko!" Piccolo bellowed as he came directly into the path of Cell's descent. Cell was blasted away, burning a wide trench into the ground as it was sent hurtling. Piccolo bent forward, gasping and sweating as the light faded and the dust settled. He wasn't sure what it would take to kill Cell but he figured that would be enough to do some serious damage. Hopefully he could grab Lapis and Lazuli and get them the hell out of here before Cell woke up.

"Hey," Lapis nudged Lazuli, "Looks like Cell might be down." Lazuli nodded with a wince and kicked the dirt in disappointment.

"Damn," she muttered, "I was hoping we'd get to help out more." Lapis nodded. It _was_ kind of a letdown, coming all this way and using all their power without accomplishing much. "Man," she added, "It's gonna be _pretty_ awkward the next time we go hanging out with Yamcha and Chi-Chi."

"...We should probably put that off for a while."

"Yeah, just little bit."

Piccolo turned away from the trench he'd created and started walking towards the twins, nodding at Adrian approvingly as the android descended to meet him. Adrian nodded back and there was an unspoken mutual appreciation and respect in that gesture. These two would not ever be friends. Not when one of them had been specifically built to kill the other. There was, however, understanding. Behind Piccolo, however, there was the smallest rumbling that even his ears could not detect.

It was not too small for Lapis, however, who caught the tremor with his telescopic and microscopic visions. "I think Cell's still alive!" he exclaimed. Lazuli followed his line of sight and squinted for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise.

"Holy shit, you're right!" Despite how that was not in any way a good thing, Lapis' face split into a huge grin.

"This is perfect!" he declared. "Cell will be weak 'cause he's all fucked up from Piccolo and Adrian's blasts! We can get in there before he attacks Piccolo! We can still fuck this dude up and get in the last hit! This is still our fight!"

"Wait," Lazuli objected, "I'm not so sure about–" Lapis rocketed forward, leaving his sister in the dust. "Lapis, wait!" Lapis let out a war cry as he flew toward the fight, his young muscles bulging with power. He raised a hand high overhead and gathered a ball of green energy, preparing to strike. He could do it! He'd beat the monster! Lapis was going to save the day!

Piccolo barely had time to wonder why the hell Lapis was attacking him when Cell burst up out of the ground in front of him, having apparently burrowed its way through, and its stinger blossomed open as it struck. The tail closed down over Lapis and in the blink of an eye, his defiant young flame was snuffed out. Lazuli howled in despair and cried out her brother's name as Cell roared with laughter. It kept laughing as its whole body glowed with green light and the light shone all across the landscape. The laughter became distorted as, through the light, Cell's body began to change. It grew broader, taller, and worst of all, more powerful. Adrian lunged forward before the light had even faded in defiance of all logic, in what could only be described as a blind rage. Cell smashed a fist into his chest and he sputtered helplessly.

"Not this time," Cell hissed in its distorted voice. The hole in Adrian's chest began to glow and he didn't even have a chance to scream or even realize what was happening before he suddenly burst into ash. Piccolo was frozen in horror, left completely open for Cell to backhand him and send him crashing into a mountain.

OoOoOoO

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan screamed from atop the Lookout, having been sensing the whole battle. Mr. Piccolo was in danger! He had to help! It was like Freeza all over again! Gohan's feet had barely left the ground before Goku was beside him, putting a strong hand on Gohan's shoulder and grounding him.

"No, Gohan," Goku told him firmly. "There's nothing we can do for Piccolo right now."

"But how can we ju–"

"We're not strong enough to fight Cell," Goku stated in a tone that left no room for argument. "Especially while you still can't become a Super Saiyan. You'd just get in Piccolo's way and he'd spend energy worrying about you, leaving himself open to get hurt. Plus, _you_ would get seriously injured. I can't have that happen." Gohan let out a defeated sigh and his shoulders slumped. "Come on," Goku said softly as she put her arm around his shoulders, "Let's go back outside the Time Chamber. We're gonna wanna be ready to move as soon as Vegeta and Trunks come out." Even as Goku led Gohan away, he looked over his shoulder back toward the horizon. He could sense Cell's power and a cold dread washed over him.

' _What are we going to do?'_


	87. Humanity's Desperate Struggle!

Chapter Eighty-seven

Humanity's Desperate Struggle! The King Returns!

Krillin felt the absolutely monstrous surge in Cell's power and a cold dread ran through his body. One of the twins had been absorbed. He'd already messed up with his indecision and put the world in danger. He couldn't afford to screw around anymore! He flew toward the source of the power and grit his teeth as his grip on the trigger tightened.

' _You can do this, Krillin,'_ he told himself solemnly. ' _You_ have _to!'_

OoOoOoO

Cell admired itself as the light faded, looking up and down at the ways its body had changed. It was taller, more broadly built, and its horns had straightened on the sides of its head. Its strange beak-mouth had morphed into a green face with an orange streak across its jawline, with a black nose and pink lips. The green skin of its biceps, neck, and thighs had lightened, and the skin of its forearms and shins had hardened and turned black. Its toes had also morphed into a pair of yellow boots, it tail changed colors to half black and half orange, and its wings had receded completely into its back.

"Hm hm hmm," Cell chuckled to itself as it flexed its fingers and snapped its tail in the air. "Nearly there. Nearly there." Less than a thousand feet away from it, Lazuli stared off in horror, as if the nightmare of what just happened to her had finally set in. She wasn't even looking at Cell. She couldn't.

"Lapis…" she whispered. "No..." He was just… gone. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees, her arms hugging around her chest. It didn't make sense. Nothing about this made sense. How could that happen? How could she let it?

OoOoOoO

 _They had been homeless for almost a week. It had been raining that day and Lapis had stolen an umbrella from a street vendor to keep them dry._

" _Lapis," Lazuli whimpered as they huddled under the umbrella in an alleyway, "I'm hungry." Lapis nodded, one arm around her as the other arm held up the umbrella._

" _I know," Lapis sighed. "Me too, sis. Me too." Lazuli looked up at him sadly._

" _How long is it going to be like this?" she asked._

" _Not long," he promised. "But as long as it is, I'm going to look out for you."_

" _But I'm a better fighter than you," Lazuli pointed out with a weak smile. Lapis rolled his eyes._

" _So you look out for me. But I'll still be looking out for you. We'll have each other."_

OoOoOoO

Those words echoed in Lazuli's mind as tears she didn't even know that she had begun to shed were running down her cheeks. She'd failed him. They had promised to look after each other and she'd failed.

"Lapis," she whispered as she looked down at the ground. "Lapis, I'm so sorry…" She heard Cell's footsteps coming toward her and for a moment she wondered if she should just let it happen. Lapis was gone. What was there to stick around for?

"What are you doing?!" Piccolo roared from behind her. Then Piccolo's arm snaked around her body and he yanked her away before flinging her toward the west with all his might. Lazuli could see the coastline off in the distance as she sailed through the sky. The coast, Lazuli thought to herself. She could get to an island and just hide. That was all that there was left for her to do now. She narrowed her eyes, squinting through the tears, and flew as fast as she could.

Cell turned back to Piccolo and sighed as his arm retracted back to its normal size. "Come on now, Piccolo," it said irritably as it crossed its arms over its chest. "You've made me lose my lunch." Piccolo grit his teeth and got into his guard.

"You'll lose more than that when I get through with you!" Piccolo declared with a clenched fist. Cell threw its head back and laughed before fixing Piccolo with a menacing glare.

"Ooooh," Cell shivered in mock terror that quickly shifted to condescension, "I quiver with _fear!"_ Then it offered its chin to Piccolo with a smirk and tapped at its chin. "Go ahead, Demon God. You get one free shot." Piccolo bared his fangs and lunged at Cell, getting right on top of it… and zapping it with a blast of paralyzing electricity from its antennae. "Sonuvabitch!" Cell muttered as its body went rigid. Piccolo flipped over to Cell's left and drew back a fist and his whole arm exploded into giant size. He gritted his teeth and swung with all his might, smashing into Cell to send it flying, making sure he was sending the monster north as opposed to west after Lazuli. Piccolo shrank his arm back to its normal size and brought his hands together, touching his fingertips together and charging a ball of malevolent yellow ki in the space between his hands. He grit his teeth and snarled as he charged the blast, gathering all his energy into the attack.

"Gekiretsu Koudan!" Piccolo roared. The blast exploded out of Piccolo's hands, flying at Cell like a meteor. The attack hit Cell dead on, creating a tremendous explosion. ' _I put everything I had into that blast,'_ Piccolo thought as he stared into the dust. ' _That_ had _to have done something!'_

OoOoOoO

Back on the Lookout, Tenshinhan and Launch were standing on the edge and staring off toward the direction of the battle. Bulma arrived with outfits based on Saiyan Armor for Goku and Gohan for their training and for Vegeta and Trunks to change into when they came out. Suno arrived a few minutes after her with… a box.

"Trust me," Suno explained as she walked toward the temple, "Goku's gonna need these if she's gonna be by herself for a year." Then under her breath she added, "Just gotta make sure she knows not to use 'em around Gohan." Once she was gone, Launch poked Ten hard in the ribs.

"Hey," she said once the triclops looked at her. "What's wrong with you? You've been in a funk since the twins kicked our asses. I know you're thinking of doing something stupid, so talk to me."

Tenshinhan sighed and looked down at his hands. "Lazuli was right," he admitted disdainfully.

"About what?" Launch asked.

"I've never… accomplished anything. I haven't won any tournaments since the 22nd Budoukai, I haven't won any battles, I haven't contributed, I haven't done… _anything!"_ Launch rolled her eyes and put her hands on her husband's shoulders.

"C'mon," she groaned, "Not this again. I thought you were over not being the strongest like ten years ago!"

"It's not about being the strongest," Ten told her sharply as he pulled away from her, "It's about doing _anything._ I feel so useless! This is my home and I've done _nothing_ to defend it!" Ten looked down at his hands again with serious contemplation. "This may be the only thing I do that matters."

"Fighting Piccolo didn't matter?" Launch asked incredulously. "Fighting the Saiyans didn't matter? _Saving me_ didn't matter?" There was heartache in her voice as she reached for Tenshinhan again. "What are you even talking about? What are you planning to do?" Ten turned his gaze away from her and her eyes widened with realization. "No, Ten," she told him firmly. "No, you can't! We've talked about this! It would _kill_ you!"

Ten gave a small shrug and a bit of a sad smirk. "I've been dead before," he reminded her. "It's not so bad." Launch clenched her jaw and let out a high-pitched frustrated whine before punching Ten in the arm. "Ow!" he cried out and rubbed at his bicep. "That hurt!" Then Launch grabbed the back of Ten's head and yanked him down into a kiss, their lips crashing together as she stood on tip-toe to meet him. Ten was stunned for a moment before he returned the kiss, one hand sinking into her thick and vibrant green hair while the other rested on the small of her back. "I'm sorry," Ten whispered when their lips parted and Launch's forehead pressed against his chest.

"I just… I can't lose you again," Launch whispered as her fists bunched up hard on Ten's gi.

"No," Ten replied softly, one hand still on the back of Launch's neck. "I mean I'm sorry this is going to hurt when you wake up." Then he drove a quick, short chop at the back of Launch's neck with the edge of his hand and she immediately went unconscious. Ten caught her before she hit the ground and she slumped in his arms before he laid her down a safe distance away from the edge of the Lookout before blasting off into the sky. He _had_ to do this.

Inside the temple, Suno was talking to Bulma after she'd given the box of pads to Goku. "So," she said, "Looks like the gang's all here." Bulma nodded and glanced out the temple window.

"Well, y'know," she remarked idly, "What better place to wait out the end of the world than the top of the world, right?" Suno nodded before she realized that someone was missing.

"Hey," she said suddenly, "Where's Krillin? I mean, I know Yamcha's fixing his house or whatever but you figure Krillin would be there." In fact, Suno had even called Yamcha on the way over to see if he'd be coming up to the lookout.

"No can do," Yamcha had explained. "Gotta put in a new door, get a new couch, and a new car. Then I gotta make sure everyone's packed up and take them out to Fry Pan Mountain."

"Seriously?" Suno had asked drily. "The world could end and you're worried about your door?"

"Well, given our track record," Yamcha had retorted just as drily, "The odds are pretty good that the world _won't_ end, in which case I'll _still_ need a front door again." Suno guessed she could understand that and it was nice that he had faith in the team, so she left it at that.

"Oh, he's probably off looking for either Lapis or Lazuli, whichever one's left, with that device I gave him," Bulma explained. Suno slowly raised an eyebrow.

"What device?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's a trigger switch," Bulma explained, "Based off of Gero's designs. It'll shut down their nanites so Cell won't get any extra power when he absorbs them. But then their bodies will go into shock and the infinite energy reactor will explode without the nanites to regulate it, killing them." Suno groaned and ran a hand over her face while Bulma looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"You gave Krillin a death button?!" Suno asked explosively. "Krillin's never gonna push that!" She ran out of the temple and hopped over Launch before flying off the edge of the Lookout. She spared a moment to wonder what had happened to Ten and why Launch was on the ground before pushing it out of her mind. She had to go do something about this since she knew Krillin wouldn't. Then again… could she?

OoOoOoO

Piccolo winced and looked down at his arm while he waited for the dust to clear. It was in worse shape than he'd feared. Inflating, stretching, deflating, and retracting it so rapidly had done damage he wasn't aware of being possible and punching Cell as forcefully as he had had caused severe injuries from his knuckles to his elbow. Deciding it would be better to fight with a slightly lower power level than with one functioning arm, Piccolo focused some of his ki into repairing the damage to his arm. Once it was healed, he looked up to see Cell striding toward him out of the dust. Completely unharmed.

' _Well,'_ Piccolo thought with dull dread, ' _That's a pro–'_ He hadn't even had time to finish the thought before Cell was in front of him. Piccolo took a startled step back, giving Cell the opening to attack. Its arm flashed out and struck Piccolo with an uppercut. Not an actual, physical blow and not even a kiai. Merely the wind from the movement of Cell's arm was so powerful that it sent Piccolo flying back and nearly shore the left side of his torso from his body. As Piccolo's arm flopped uselessly in the wind with a fair portion of his abdomen hanging by tendon, muscle, and skin, Cell was behind Piccolo and flicked two fingers at the back of his head, causing him to instantly collapse to the ground.

OoOoOoO

Gohan moved to sprint out of the temple and Goku sighed regretfully. She was behind Gohan in an instant, her arm getting around Gohan's neck. She applied just the right amount of pressure on his throat and Gohan immediately went slack against her grip. Goku sat her son down carefully in a chair by the door and held his hand. It should only put him out for about five minutes.

"I know, Gohan," she muttered, "I know." There was nothing more frustrating than knowing your limitations when the ones you cared about were in danger. Goku couldn't let Gohan get hurt, though. She couldn't just let Piccolo die, either. What could she do? "Usually people are waiting on _me_ to save them," she reflected. "Now I'm waiting for _Vegeta."_

OoOoOoO

Lazuli was nearly to the coast. Just a few hundred miles to go and she could hide among the islands out at sea, maybe get lost around Papaya Island. Heck, she didn't have to breathe, she could just hide under the wa–

"And where do you think you're going?" Cell asked, immediately putting itself between Lazuli and the horizon. Lazuli glared at it and got into a fighting stance, balling her fists. "Oh, come on," Cell laughed. "We both know how that's going to go. There's no reason to fight me and you know it. Let it go, 18."

"You killed my brother!" Lazuli spat angrily. Cell shrugged and nodded as if she had a point.

"I did," it agreed, "And I could kill you just as quickly. But I haven't yet because this doesn't need to be a struggle. What has this world ever given you, 18? It took everything from you and kicked you while you were down. People lied to you and pretended to be their friends but think seriously. If they were _really_ your friends, wouldn't they have tried harder? Wouldn't your brother still be alive?"

"They did try," Lazuli retorted defensively. "They tried to tell us not to fight you and… and we wouldn't listen." Her own words crashed down on her and Lazuli was reminded again that Lapis' death was _her_ fault. She should have told him to listen to the others. Convinced him to run sooner while Adrian and Piccolo were fighting, when it was obvious that they didn't stand a chance against Cell themselves. Now he was gone and she was all alone.

"And now your brother is dead," Cell reminded her, echoing her thoughts as if it could read her mind. Lazuli's shoulders slumped and she started to fall weakly out of her fighting stance. "I'm not a monster, 18. You miss 17 and I understand that. So I'm offering you a chance to be with him again. To be closer to him than you've ever been as a part of _me._ As a part of the most Perfect being in all of existence. More than that, I'm offering you a chance at _freedom._ Freedom from all the pain that life has brought you. Freedom from worry, hurt, hunger, and strife ever again. All you need to do," Cell raised its tail and its stinger blossomed out again like it had against Lapis, "Is close your eyes." Lazuli still held up her fists reluctantly while she chewed her lip in contemplation. Before she had a chance to make her decision, however, intervention came from an unlikely source.

"Hey!" Tenshinhan's voice called from the heavens. "Up here!" They both looked up and stared at him in surprise, neither having noticed he was there. He was glaring down at Cell with intense focus, six arms raised to the sky.

"Tenshinhan?!" Cell asked incredulously. "What're _you_ doing here? Aside from committing suicide, I mean." With Cell's focus off of her, Lazuli slowly began to drift away from it. "Wait," Cell muttered as it squinted up at him. "Are you trying to perform the Genki Dama?" It threw back its head and let out a bark of laughter. "Do you honestly think I'd let you stand there and charge it up for ten minutes?"

"Actually I've already been here for a couple minutes," Ten called down with a smirk. "You didn't notice 'cause you really like the sound of your own voice." Cell chuckled as if admitting that was actually funny.

"Fair enough," Cell conceded, "But even so, I know for a fact that you haven't mastered the Genki Dama. In fact, you _never_ do." Tenshinhan wasn't entirely sure what that last part meant but he shrugged with six shoulders.

"Maybe you're right," Ten replied. "I don't know how to use the Genki Dama. But I know how to gather geki, which is enough for me to do this!" He laid all six hands over his chest, one pair over the other, in a diamond pattern. "Kaiouken times ten!" he cried, gritting his teeth as red energy exploded all over his body. "Shiiiiin… Genkikouhou!"

Cell chuckled and spread its arms out wide, daring Ten to hit it. This quickly backfired as a massive pillar of yellow energy barreled down towards Cell and blasted it into the ground, creating an enormous square crater below.

"Lazuli!" Ten cried out as he turned his attention to her. "Get out of here! Now!" Lazuli nodded furiously and flew off toward the sea as Cell came rocketing out of the crater, screaming with rage. "Genkikouhou!" Cell was immediately blasted back down.

' _Damn,'_ Lazuli thought as the sky behind her flashed yellow over and over, ' _Maybe you were right, Lapis. Ten's pretty badass!'_

OoOoOoO

Krillin saw the flashes off in the distance and could hear Ten's voice carried on the wind. ' _Damn,'_ Krillin thought. ' _Didn't know he had it in him.'_ Then he realized that Ten was probably doing this to buy the remaining twin time for an escape and there was no point in flying towards it. ' _Now if I was terrified for my life…'_ Krillin paused to reflect that he often _was, 'I would be moving somewhere that Cell wouldn't be able to find me…'_ He turned sharply, heading toward the sea and the horizon, trusting his instincts of terror.

' _Damn,'_ Suno thought as she followed after Krillin's ki contrails. ' _Go get 'im, Ten!'_ she just hoped he wasn't going to explode.

OoOoOoO

"Gen! Ki! Kou! Hou!" The sound of Tenshinhan's cries snapped Launch back into wakefulness, the mixture of rage, pain, and defiance giving her a start. Launch rubbed at the back of her head with a wince and gasped as the pieces fell together in her head.

"Ten!" she whispered in terror. "No!"

OoOoOoO

Ten gasped as he finally let his attacks stopped. His body was drenched in sweat and, as he finally let the red aura of Kaiouken fade away, his muscles began to ache. Still, it wasn't as bad as he had expected. He supposed that all of that training with the Kikouhou all these years had prepared his body for the strain of Kaiouken.

' _And I'm still in the air,'_ Tenshinhan thought. ' _Guess that Genki worked after all.'_ No sooner did he think that than he began to drop out of the sky. ' _That's more like it.'_ Still, he managed to catch himself before hitting the ground and landed on his feet on the edge of the crater. He couldn't even guess how far down he had blasted Cell under the ground. He was hoping he gave the bastard a killer headache.

A massive blast of green ki nearly knocked Ten off of his feet and he stared with wide-eyed, open-mouthed terror as Cell rose slowly and dramatically out of the crater, an expression which he quickly steeled away as the light faded and Cell floated down to stand in front of him.

"Congratulations," Cell growled as it rubbed at the space between its horns, "You've successfully aggravated me. Even Piccolo didn't do that much. And now I have to go hunt down 18 again. Have you got anything left to say for yourself before I wipe you from existence on the subatomic level?" Tenshinhan slowly brought up his fists as he got into his guard and Cell laughed. "Really? A fighting stance? You _can't_ be serious! Haven't you figured out the limitations of human ability yet? I am made from the DNA of the greatest warriors of the _universe!_ Your martial arts training avails you _nothing!_ It's useless, useless, useless, _useless!"_ Ten just glared at Cell and gritted his teeth, gathering his strength for one moment.

"Kaiouken times twenty!" Tenshinhan roared. Cell's eyes widened momentarily in astonishment as Ten flew at it in a blind rage, slugging it across the jaw with a right hook before swinging for the fences with a left roundhouse kick. The kick went right into Cell's forearm, who glared at Ten as the the Kaiouken energy rushed out of him.

"You done?" Cell asked, more irritated than injured. Blinding pain screamed through Ten's muscles and he passed out, crumpling into a heap. Cell chuckled and pointed its palm down at Ten with a smirk. "Yeah," it told his unconscious body, "You're done."

OoOoOoO

"Hang on," Goku said to Gohan, who was just at that moment waking up, "Be right back. Go get some senzu." Then she touched two fingers to her temple and blinked out of existence.

OoOoOoO

Cell prepared to erase Ten from the face of the Earth when a Son Goku appeared in front of it, making it stagger backwards in shock and fall back into the hole.

"Gookuuuuuuuuu?!" it called out in shock. Goku shrugged and slung Ten over her shoulder before Instant Transmissioning over to Piccolo's barely-hanging-on body and slinging it over her other shoulder. "Hey!" Cell called out, rushing out of the hole and flying toward her. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm not here to fight you," Goku informed Cell while Piccolo bled on her shoulder. "I mean, I'm not stupid. I can tell I'm not as strong as you right now. I wouldn't have a chance." Then she glared at Cell with such a steely gaze that actually gave Cell a start. "But you _are_ going to die." Then she was gone. Cell got over its shock and chuckled.

"We'll see about that."

OoOoOoO

Krillin, having slowed down drastically to lower his ki while he was searching among the islands for Lazuli, finally realized that Suno was behind him.

"Suno?!" Krillin asked with surprise as he turned around to face her. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Bulma told me what she gave you," Suno told Krillin as she held out her hand. "Give it to me. I know you don't want to do it."

"What," Krillin retorted sharply, "And you _do?"_

"Of course not," Suno shot back, "But I know it _has_ to be done. You're a good guy, Krillin. You can't do something like this. Besides," she added with a tiny smile, "Lazuli kissed you." Krillin narrowed his eyes at Suno, his face contorting in disgust.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Krillin asked in an icy tone that actually made Suno drift back. "You think I'd throw away the safety of this planet because of a kiss on the cheek?! What do you think I am, some stupid, hormonal kid? I'm a _grown man,_ Suno! I know what's at stake here! All that we've been through, all the times we've fought together, I thought you would trust me by now!"

"I _do_ trust you, Krillin," Suno assured him. "You're my friend and you're a good person. But that's why I want you to give it to me. You're _too_ good a person to do something like this."

"If you trust me and you think I'm a good person," Krillin told Suno bluntly, "Then trust me with this. Trust me to do the right thing. I can do this. I _know_ I have to." Suno sighed and dropped her hand.

"Alright," she muttered, "Alright. But I'll at least help you look for her." Krillin nodded and they started flying again. "You'd think Bulma could have given this thing a wider range."

"I _know,_ right?!"

OoOoOoO

Back on the Lookout, Tenshinhan and Piccolo sat up suddenly and gulped in air, the senzu having undone the damage that their bodies had taken, both self-inflicted and wounds taken in battle. Piccolo took a moment to inspect the movement of his shoulder before Gohan immediately tackled him, his arms tight around the Namekian's neck. Ten slowly got to his feet before Launch tackled him back to the ground, beating his face and chest with her fists.

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?!" she screamed down at him, her voice hoarse with worry and anger. "Do you know how worried you made me?! If you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you! Got it?!"

"Got it," Ten replied as he brought up his arms to shield his face. "Don't try to get myself killed or you'll kill me." Launch immediately went from attacking Ten to hugging him, although the strength of her grip meant that it _could_ be seen as an attack. Ten sat up and hugged her back, holding her close. They were all startled from their reconciliations and reunions by the sounds of the doors to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber creaking open slowly. Blinding white light blasted out of the Chamber doors and a spiky-haired silhouette stood dramatically before them.

"I! AM! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"


	88. Behold The Might of Super Vegeta!

Chapter Eighty-eight

Behold the Might of Super Vegeta! All Hail the King!

"We weren't really imprisoned," Trunks said as a much taller, long-haired silhouette stood beside the spiky-haired one. "You could have left at any time."

"Silence, boy!" Vegeta barked. "You ruined my moment!"

OoOoOoO

Cell ground its teeth irritably as it soared toward the coastline and frowned down at the chain of islands beneath it. Well this was just _great._ Lazuli could be on any one of those islands. It couldn't sense her energy and it couldn't risk blowing up the islands to try and flush her out. If she was distraught as she was all the other times then there was a perfectly good chance she would just let it blow her up and that would just ruin everything, wouldn't it?

Cell stopped and hung in the air, taking a few deep breaths to collect itself. It was alright. It was fine. It had never lost before. It would _never_ lose. It was smarter than this. It just had to think clearly. Cell closed its eyes and listened, turning its head toward the islands, using the superior hearing it had inherited from Piccolo's Namekian DNA. It heard something and its lips curled up into a smile. Well, _that_ was interesting.

OoOoOoO

Suno and Krillin were floating slowly between the islands between West and South City, wanting to make sure that they didn't raise their ki high enough to be sensed and also flying low enough to actually be able to see Lazuli.

"She's not gonna go all the way to South City or Papaya Island," Krillin muttered as they looked for her. "I don't think she'd wanna put other people in danger." They came to the island off the northern tip of South City and Krillin pointed a finger down at the ground. "Hey, there she is!" Suno followed the path of Krillin's finger and, sure enough, they found Lazuli pressed against a rock, hiding underneath its shadow.

"Huh," Suno observed, "That didn't take long at all. You should volunteer at my school next spring, Krillin. You'd be great at the egg hunt!"

"...The heck is an egg hunt?" Krillin asked as they floated down toward Lazuli.

"I dunno," Suno admitted with a shrug. "It's something they organize for the little kids at the school. It's got something to do with some holiday they have in the East. I don't _really_ know what it's about, something with eggs and candy… I think it's for children. We never had anything like that in Jingle Village." Despite this chattering, Lazuli was startled when she heard Krillin and Suno touch down behind her. She spun around to look at them, her eyes wide with panic. Krillin's finger froze on the trigger and his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He hadn't expected her to look at them.

"What are you doing here?!" Lazuli asked frantically, trying not to scream. "Cell is after me! Piccolo got hurt! Tenshinhan got hurt! If you stick around me, Cell will _kill_ you! Get out of here!"

"It's okay," Suno assured her calmly. "Cell won't hurt you. We promise. It's going to be fine." Krillin nodded and Lazuli noticed how badly his hand was shaking.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the trigger in his hand. Krillin swallowed nervously and lifted his hand up slowly.

"It's a detonator," Krillin explained numbly. "Bulma says it'll shut down the nanites in your body so Cell won't get any power if he absorbs you. But…" Krillin swallowed again and turned his eyes downcast. "The nanites are so ingrained in your cells that your body will go into shock. Then, without the nanites to regulate the Infinite Energy Reactor, it'll explode."

"So I'll die," Lazuli said bluntly. Suno and Krillin nodded slowly. "You guys don't want to kill me," she observed, "Even though it'll stop Cell and save billions of lives." They nodded again. Lazuli shook her head with a sad smile, tears in the corner of her eyes. "Sweet and stupid," she sighed wistfully before holding out her hand. "Give it to me. I'll do it."

OoOoOoO

Trunks and Vegeta walked out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the door slamming shut behind them. Without the blinding glare of the infinite void, the others could see them more clearly. Vegeta's gi was looking patchy, as if it had been torn and re-sown several times, while Trunks' pants were ripped and torn, his boots were scuffed, and now his sword hung off his left hip. His hair had also grown much longer, most of its touching his chest while the back was tied up with a strip of cloth he'd torn from his pants. He had also grown several inches taller than Vegeta. Most importantly, Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Tenshinhan, and Launch noticed that the pair of them had grown significantly more powerful.

"Oh my gosh," Bulma cooed as she pushed her way in front to look up at her son, "Look at you! You got so tall!" She ran her hand through Trunks' hair, frowning. "Your hair's a mess, though. What's with this hack job?"

Trunks' face reddened and he pulled away slightly, embarrassed by the first affectionate contact and positive conversation he'd had in a year. "Uh… I had to cut it with my sword," he muttered. It actually would have been longer but his father made him realize that he needed to cut it when he'd been swung around by it during the sparring matches they had once every four months. It was also why Trunks had switched the way he wore his sword.

OoOoOoO

" _Dead," Vegeta told Trunks firmly as he jabbed him in the chest with three fingers when he reached an arm back to draw his sword. "Dead, dead, dead, and dead." He struck Trunks in the ribs, armpit, neck, and stomach as well. "If you draw across your waist, you'll be able to defend yourself and not get killed like an idiot."_

OoOoOoO

"Well don't worry," Bulma assured him while Vegeta stared at Goku and Gohan incredulously. "Before you go to the future, I'll take you to Barbara. She's my specialist, she's like a hair wizard. She'll fix you up." She took the hair-tie out of Trunks' hair and tied it back with a blue scrunchy that she fished out of her pocket. That just made Trunks' face even redder.

"What in the Ten are you wearing?!" Vegeta asked Goku suddenly.

"Bulma made it," Goku explained helpfully. "It's like the armor you used to wear when–"

"I know what it's supposed to look like, you peasant!" Vegeta snapped. "I meant _why?!"_

"So their clothes don't get messed up like yours did," Bulma pointed out while handing Trunks and Vegeta each a set of armor that she'd taken from the capsule crate they were stored in. Trunks zipped into his armor with super speed while Vegeta swatted the armor away in disgust. "Seriously?!"

"I refuse to dress myself as a slave!" Vegeta snapped. He turned and scowled at Trunks and looked as though he were going to tell his son to take the armor off. Then he decided that it wasn't worth the effort as Trunks could hardly embarrass him anymore than he already was.

"You look like an idiot," Bulma scoffed as she gestured to Vegeta's gi. Although, honestly, Bulma was surprised that it looked like Vegeta could sew. "I mean, look at you! Do you even _know_ what you look like?" Vegeta looked down at his patchy gi and shrugged, wearing the blue bodysuit in the blink of an eye and redoing the wrapping around his hands.

"For the record," Vegeta told her smugly, "I know exactly what I look like." Vegeta flexed his muscles and instantly and effortlessly became a Super Saiyan. " _A king."_ Bulma swore under her breath, wondering how he could be so frustrating and attractive in the same sentence. "Now stand aside, fools. I'm off to kill Cell and assert myself as the most powerful mortal in the universe." Then he turned to Goku as she and Gohan made their way toward the Time Chamber's door. "So prepare yourself, Kakarot. Because once I have finished with Cell, you and I are going to settle this once and for all and you will accept your natural place at my feet." He turned again and flew off of the lookout in a streak of golden light, with Trunks looking back at them and giving an awkward and apologetic shrug before transforming and following after his father.

"Heh," Goku chuckled as she opened the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. "He cracks me up." Gohan followed after his mom and the door slammed shut behind him.

"Gosh," Gohan muttered as he and Goku walked out into the infinite void, "It just goes on forever, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Goku agreed as she started stretching. "I guess I didn't really have time to appreciate that when I came in here the first time as a kid because I couldn't really breathe." She got into a fighting stance and Gohan quickly got into his own stance. "We've only got a year in here," Goku reminded her son, "So we don't have time to have fun. I'm gonna go all out and push you past your limits to help you break through and become a Super Saiyan. No holding back, Gohan! Got it?" Gohan nodded and the two sprinted toward each other, their fists colliding explosively.

OoOoOoO

"Are you serious?" Krillin asked warily as Lazuli held out her hand for the trigger. "I mean, thinking about what you're saying!" She nodded with a sad smile on her lips.

"I'm sure," she told them, "And I know what I'm saying. It means a lot that you guys don't want to kill me. I mean, I know that sounds really weird, but it does. But this _has_ to be done. If this is the only way that I can save people then I will. Besides," she added sadly as her face fell, "Lapis is gone so… why not?" She looked up again, still holding out her hand. "Please. This is _my_ decision." Krillin swallowed and nodded, slowly handing the device to Lazuli. Then he blinked and the device was gone.

"Actually," Cell said from their left, "It's mine." The trio spun to see Cell standing there with a smirk on its face and the detonator held firmly in one hand.

"Ah, crap," Suno muttered as Cell crushed the detonator in its hand, grinding it into dust. Then it opened its hand and chuckled as the dust was scattered into the breeze.

"So now what do we do?" Lazuli asked nervously. To her shock, Suno and Krillin moved in front of her while moving into their fighting stances. "...What the hell are you guys doing?!"

"Buying you a couple seconds," Suno told her, "Now run!" Then she looked at Cell with a lopsided smile and shrugged. "What the hell," she muttered, "I'm one of the only people who hasn't died yet. I was starting to feel left out."

"Don't worry," Cell assured her while raising a hand to blast them, "The afterlife's about to get a _lot_ more crowded." Suno and Krillin prepared to make a charge headlong into death before something caught their attention.

"Abomination!" Vegeta bellowed down. Everyone looked up to see Trunks and Vegeta hovering as Super Saiyans in the air, Vegeta wearing a blue bodysuit with his white hand wraps and white sandals and Trunks bizarrely wearing full Saiyan armor. Vegeta scowled down at Cell with his arms crossed over his chest. "Your very existence is a blasphemous affront to my entire race and to my bloodline. Today I rectify the cosmic mistake that was your birth." Vegeta slammed down to the ground in front of Cell, the small island quaking under his feet as Trunks drifted slowly down after him. "So make peace with whatever freak gods you believe in," Vegeta told Cell, "And for the sake of whatever amount of Saiyan blood there is in you, die on your feet." Cell chuckled and shook its head as its tail swished from side to side.

"Come on now, Vegeta," it said in a mocking tone. "I know you're upset that you'll never be as powerful as Goku, no matter _how_ hard you try, but is suicide really the answer?" Suno was surprised when Vegeta just closed his eyes and chuckled. Usually Goku was a pretty sensitive subject for him. Then Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he glared menacingly at Cell. He opened his mouth and out came a lion's roar. The ground beneath Vegeta's feet cracked and shattered as his muscles bulged with power. His aura raged around him like a golden inferno, reaching into the sky as a white light seemed to be coming out of Vegeta's body, bursting out like electricity and flowing all around him. Suno and Krillin were reminded of when Vegeta nearly went Super Saiyan against Freeza. Only this time, whatever was happening seemed to be sticking. The veins in Vegeta's neck and temples bulged against his skin and throbbed as he continued to roar, his face contorted in rage. Trunks watched on impassively in sharp contrast to the others, who all stared at Vegeta with wide-eyed and open-mouthed shock. A blinding explosion of golden-white light shot off in all directions, reaching high up into the sky as Vegeta's roar reached its crescendo and his power continued to skyrocket.

OoOoOoO

High atop the Lookout, Piccolo, Ten, and Launch sensed Vegeta's power skyrocket with an uneasy feeling resting in the pits of their stomachs.

"Soooo," Launch observed, "Vegeta's _way_ stronger than Cell."

"Looks to be that way, yeah," Tenshinhan agreed.

"Is that good or bad?"

"Hard to tell for now," Piccolo admitted with a shrug. "We'll have to see what happens after Cell's dead."

"Sure hope Goku comes out stronger than him," Launch muttered. The other two nodded as a chill wind blew and made Piccolo's cape stir and made Launch hug herself. She _really_ should have brought a coat.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha had finished sanding down the door frame and patching up the wood that had been torn up when the screws had been ripped out of the door. He propped the door against the wall and lined the hinges up with the new holes he'd put in the wall when he sensed Vegeta's ludicrously high power level.

"Huh," he muttered with screws in his mouth. Then he shrugged and went back to work. He knew that they'd be able to do it.

OoOoOoO

The light faded and the four continued to stare, their mouths still open, as Vegeta stood before them, his muscles bulging, his spiked hair even more defined, and his body radiating with a golden light.

"Holy shit," Lazuli whispered. Suno and Krillin nodded dumbly while Cell tried to cover up its shock and put on a smirk.

"So you pumped up your mu–" Vegeta was on it in a flash, smashing his fist up into Cell's chest and making its eyes bulge wide.

"Behold the king," Vegeta growled smugly as he pushed his fist forward to send Cell rocketing up into the sky. Vegeta was over Cell at the apex of its ascent, a golden streak across the sky of Papaya Island. "The King of Kings," Vegeta added as he knocked Cell out of the sky with an axe kick. Cell dropped out of the sky like a meteor and crashed into an island off the coast of Papaya Island with enough force to make waves rise twenty feet high.

' _So,'_ Cell thought with a groan as it staggered slowly to its feet while rubbing the back of its head with one hand, ' _This Vegeta's one of the stronger o–'_ Vegeta was on top of Cell instantly again, smashing his knee into its gut.

"On your knees, dog," he commanded smugly. Cell let out a gurgling gasp and collapsed to its knees while holding its stomach and Vegeta chuckled.

OoOoOoO

"What the…" Suno started to ask, "What the hell was _that?!"_

"My father's new transformation," Trunks explained. "He's ascended beyond the level of Super Saiyan. He calls it 'Super Vegeta.'"

Suno couldn't help but snicker. "Of course he does," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. Trunks shrugged and flew off into the sky.

"Gotta to make sure he doesn't screw anything up," he told them warily.

"So…" Krillin asked as they watched Trunks take off after Cell and Vegeta at a leisurely pace, "Should we… go? Or are we following them? Or what?"

"Are you kidding?" Lazuli asked with a grin. "Let's go check this out! I wanna see Cell's face get turned inside out!" She moved to fly off before Suno held out an arm to block her.

"Nope," Suno told her firmly. " _I'll_ go check it out. _You_ stay back. Krillin, keep an eye on her. I'll let you know if it gets ugly." She flew after Trunks and Lazuli pouted, kicking a rock.

OoOoOoO

Cell was back on its feet and swinging wildly at a hundred Super Vegetas moving around it in a circle, all of them laughing their heads off as it came nowhere close to hitting the real one. Every time Cell threw a punch or a kick or stabbed with its tail, the real Vegeta would hit it in the sides, the back, the back of the head or the back of its knees.

"Stop it!" Cell demanded furiously. "Stop mocking me!" It threw out its arms and a green dome of energy exploded around it, wiping out all of the afterimages. The real Vegeta walked casually through the dome without so much as mussing his hair and smashed a forearm into Cell's face, sending it flying back. Cell stopped itself in the air and threw both hands out, unleashing a rapid-fire volley of ki blasts at Vegeta that choked the air with a massive cloud of dust, screaming with fury as it continued its assault.

"You call that an attack?" Vegeta asked from behind Cell. It spun around quickly and caught a left body hook into the ribs, driving the wind out of it. "You were just firing blasts randomly. How would you even be able to tell if you were hitting me?" He followed with a right body hook and a kick to the chest to send Cell stumbling back. It caught itself and dug its feet into the ground with a snarl.

"You want me to hit you? Fine!" Cell snapped before it fired back with a series of lightning-fast jabs that Vegeta evaded so effortlessly and so quickly that he barely seemed to move his head.

"Me," Vegeta observed while casually dodging Cell's punches. Cell snarled and switched to kicks that Vegeta effortlessly outmaneuvered. "Kakarot." Cell threw elbows and knees with murderous intent, Vegeta blocking all of them with one hand. "The Namekian." Cell swiped with its tail, swinging it like a whip that Vegeta hopped over and, ducked under, and side-stepped to avoid. "Freeza." He grabbed Cell's tail and yanked it forward into a jumping knee under its chin, smashing Cell's teeth together and sending spittle shooting out of its mouth. "You are no warrior," Vegeta spat in disgust as he let go of Cell's tail and slapped it across the face. "You are a machine. A program. You collect data and regurgitate all that you have seen." Cell let out a seething scream of rage between its teeth and swung a wild right haymaker that Vegeta ducked under, retaliating with a swinging axe handle blow to the left jaw that nearly took Cell off its feet. "You are pathetic. How could something like _you_ ever kill me?" He caught Cell in the throat with a backflip kick that sent it flying into the air but Cell caught itself in the air, scowling at Vegeta while it massaged its throat.

"That's it!" Cell bellowed as it moved into a stance that Vegeta found very familiar. "You want to know how I killed you?! It went something like this!" Trunks, who had caught up to the pair and had heard Cell's ki-projected screams, wondered what the hell that was supposed to mean while Cell's body began to glow pink. The sky began to take on a pink–purple hue like a sunset that had come several hours early. Meanwhile, Vegeta merely watched with his arms folded and an incredibly offended expression on his face. "Galick Gun! Fire!" Cell thrust its arms forward and an absolutely enormous beam of pink light rocketed down towards Vegeta, thousands of times larger than the blast that Vegeta himself had fired down at Goku half a decade before. Vegeta scoffed as the beam came barreling down toward him and casually backhanded it off into the sky.

' _Damn,'_ Suno thought as she watched the blast roar past her and out into space while shielding her eyes with her hands, ' _I really need to buy some sunglasses.'_

"That is exactly what I'm talking about," Vegeta called up. "You cannot create anything! Do you honestly expect that kind of an attack to kill me?" He grinned and raised his palm up towards Cell with one thumb tucked in. "I have upgraded my arsenal," he explained. "Let me show you!" A white light began to glow in Vegeta's hand and he pivoted his body to one side to thrust his palm forward. "Big Bang Attack!" A massive ball of white ki exploded out of Vegeta's hand, as if he had thrown a small star at Cell, and hit the bioandroid before it had a chance to defend itself with enough force to send it hurtling over the horizon. Vegeta was on top of Cell in an instant, however, and kicked it back up into the sky at a slight angle. He was there when Cell came up again, knocking it across before sending it back down at a different angle. Vegeta continued his blistering assault, ping-ponging Cell across the sky, faster and faster, until Cell became a green blur, a ten-pointed green star that was surrounded by a glowing golden ring, the air shaking with every collision and every blow making the sound of a thunderclap.

' _Earplugs,'_ Suno mentally added to her checklist while covering her ears. ' _Need to buy some earplugs if I'm gonna keep doing this.'_

Vegeta caught Cell in the center of the star, driving his feet into Cell's back to bring it to the ground. He carried the momentum, one foot on the back of Cell's head and the other on the small of its back, literally skating across the island with Cell's body, tearing up the landscape as he dragged Cell along before kicking it away. Cell bounced and skidded painfully across the ground before coming to a stop with a groan.

' _I can't believe it,'_ Trunks thought with slowly-widening eyes, unable to stop himself from daring to hope. ' _We're going to do it! We're going to win! Cell is_ finally _going to die!'_ This timeline would be saved and he'd be able to go home and defeat his own Cell! His nightmare was nearly over!

"Get up," Vegeta demanded as Cell struggled onto its hands and knees. "I'm not done with you yet!" Cell let out another groan and nearly fell down into the dirt again as it struggled to its feet.

' _Alright,'_ Cell thought to itself, ' _Time to get tricky.'_ It lunged forward and swung at Vegeta with a desperate right hook only for Vegeta to effortlessly catch the punch and start crushing its hand. Cell cried out in pain and fell to its knees as Vegeta continued to apply pressure.

"I truly am disappointed," Vegeta admitted, looking down at Cell distastefully while it whimpered in his grasp. "All that work I put in inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and I worked up more of a sweat powering up than I did killing you. Hardly a challenge worthy of a king. Honestly," he continued, "I blame the boy. He made you sound like this great terror, this insurmountable threat, a demon from the future who had come to slaughter us all." He scoffed and chuckled sourly. "What a joke." Cell whimpered and Vegeta's lips curled in disgust. "Oh Gods," he muttered, "Are you _crying?!_ Have some respect for yourself!"

"I-it's not fair," Cell whined pathetically. "It's just not fair! How did you get so strong? How did you know?! It doesn't make sense! This just… this isn't how it's supposed to work! I was supposed to be Perfect!" Vegeta rolled his eyes before Cell said something that caught his attention. "If I were _Perfect,_ I could destroy you!" Vegeta's grip held firm but he did raise an eyebrow. "If I had been able to absorb Cyborg 18 before you had arrived then there would be no way for you to challenge me! I would be the most powerful being alive!"

"You mean to tell me," Vegeta inquired, "That if I let you go kill the blonde one that Kakarot's bitch and the bald one were guarding, you'll become strong enough to actually be worth my time?"

Cell looked up into Vegeta's eyes with what could only be described as a desperate loathing. "If I became Perfect," it promised him, "I would give you the fight of your _life."_

Vegeta's lips curved up in a devilish grin and he slowly began to open his fingers from around Cell's wrist. "Then let the hunt begin."


	89. The Terror of Perfection!

Chapter Eighty-nine

Vegeta and Cell United?! The Terror of Perfection!

Trunks watched the conflict tensely, waiting to see his father strike Cell down with the killing blow. It was the moment that he'd been waiting for his entire life. The moments stretched out and felt like hours and Trunks started to wonder _why the hell was Cell alive?!_ The moment changed almost immediately from joy to confusion and anger as Vegeta stopped crushing Cell's hand and _helped it to its feet!_ Things only got more disturbing as they started looking at him. It looked like they were talking. Trunks decided that whatever the hell was going on, he didn't like it, and got ready to make his move.

"Trunks won't just _let_ me go after her, of course," Cell told Vegeta as they looked up at the time-traveling halfbreed. "And he's probably as strong as you are."

" _Almost,"_ Vegeta corrected in a tone of begrudging respect. "But you're right. Boy's far too soft. Thinks he's some kind of hero. I imagine it's from all the time he spent with his mother and Kakarot's whelp in his timeline. Once I kill you, I'm going to take my son in _this_ timeline and raise him as a proper Saiyan."

Cell chuckled and rolled its eyes. "Of course you will," it retorted drily. "So you distract the boy and I'll go after 18."

"And then you'll die," Vegeta reminded it. Cell rolled its eyes again.

"Yes, yes," it muttered before the pair of them started flying towards Trunks. Trunks drew his sword and flew toward them while exploding into his own Ascended form.

"I don't know what the hell is going on," Trunks admitted, "But I won't let you win!" To the surprise of both Cell and Vegeta, Trunks actually tackled Cell before Vegeta could react, slamming it down into the island again and forcing Vegeta to turn around and catch up. Meanwhile, Suno watched on in terror.

' _Oh shit,'_ she thought as she put the pieces together. She immediately spun around and started to fly back toward Krillin and Lazuli. ' _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!'_ She shifted into the Shinsoku Odori, flying as fast as she possibly could while calling out to Krillin and Lazuli with her telepathy. ' _Guys! You need to go,_ now! _I don't know what happened but for some reason Cell and Vegeta are working together! Trunks just attacked Cell but he can't fight them both! Run,_ run!'

"You heard that, right?" Krillin asked as he turned to Lazuli. She nodded frantically and Krillin jabbed a finger toward the ocean. "Go into the water! Cell won't be able to find you. Stay down there until it's safe!"

"Got it," Lazuli muttered before flying off and diving down into the sea. Krillin flew up into the sky and waited for Cell, wondering what the fuck _he_ was supposed to do.

OoOoOoO

This, Cell realized, was bad. Trunks was as powerful as Vegeta, as Cell had suspected. The only problem, Cell reflected as it flew frantically away from Trunks while the young man chased after it while murderously swinging its sword, was the fact that Trunks wasn't screwing around.

"I don't care what you told my father," Trunks snapped as his sword cut into Cell's shoulder, a spray of green shooting out from the wound as Cell barely managed to roll out of the way. "I won't let you reach your final form! You hear me, Cell?! You're going to die! I'm going to be the one to do it!" Cell attempted a flipping roll to evade another strike and lost a foot, crying out in pain as the severed appendage went spinning off into the sea. Just as Cell was beginning to wonder what the hell had happened to her and Vegeta's partnership, the King of all Saiyans grabbed Trunks from behind in a headlock and flew off with him, leaving Cell free to regenerate its foot and recover from its wounds before flying off towards Krillin's ki. Perfection was nearly in its grasp.

"Oh _shit!"_ Suno exclaimed out loud as Cell flew over her head. She pushed on as fast as she could with her face screwed up in concentration. ' _Krillin!'_ she thought frantically. ' _Krillin, Cell's headed straight for you! I hope you have some kind of plan!'_

"What are you _doing?!"_ Trunks demanded as he broke out of Vegeta's grip and drove an elbow into his gut. He spun around and tried to move around Vegeta, sheathing his sword to avoid using it on his father. So instead he just went with a straight jab to try and punch Vegeta in the face.

"I could ask you the same question," Vegeta scoffed as he moved to keep himself in Trunks' flight path, bringing up a forearm to block Trunks' punch and countering with a left hook. "Why are you stopping this?" A vein of anger twitched in Trunks' forehead that he seemed to have inherited from both of his parents.

"What happened to wanting to kill Cell?!" Trunks snapped as he ducked under the hook and smashed his palm into Vegeta's chest. "Why are you letting it get stronger? Did you hear a single goddamn word I said three years ago?! Cell. Kills. _Everyone!_ The whole point of _all of this_ has been to stop Cell from becoming Perfect!"

"First of all," Vegeta told Trunks harshly as he absorbed the hit, "Do not assume that I will not kill Cell because we have formed an alliance. I killed my last partner before you were born. Second of all," he then kicked Trunks in the stomach, "That has been _your_ goal. _My_ goal is, and has always been, to prove that I am the strongest! To prove that my strength is the pinnacle of the Saiyan race and the supremacy throughout the univ–"

"Oh my God, shut up!" Trunks barked as he grabbed Vegeta's leg which actually startled Vegeta. "Who cares about the Saiyan race?! Who cares about being the strongest?! Right now, you're stronger than Cell. If you kill it right now you will _still_ be the strongest!" Well that wasn't entirely true but they were wasting time and Trunks didn't want to make things even worse. Trunks shoved Vegeta's leg away and started to fly off. "Now get out of my way so I can clean up your m–"

"We are _not_ done!" Vegeta told Trunks harshly as he grabbed his ankle and yanked him back, punching him in the back of the head. Trunks spun around and the two exploded into a furious exchange of punches, each blocking and dodging the other's attack. All the while, Vegeta continued to rant."There cannot be any caveats! There cannot be any doubt that I am superior! Once Cell reaches its full power then I will _still_ kill it! There is no challenge in killing it now! No glory!"

"I don't care about glory!" Trunks shot back as he struggled frantically against Vegeta, wanting to get him out of the way so he could go back after Cell. "I don't care about strength or good fights! The only thing that matters to me is stopping Cell! I don't care about 'pride' or 'honor'! All I care about is saving the world!"

"You are a disgrace to our race!" Vegeta snapped as he kneed Trunks low and punched him in the face while his guard was broken. He smashed Trunks in the back with an axehandle blow that sent him crashing down into the island and buried him under the rubble. "It must have been Gohan training you. He has always been soft. Small wonder that he die–"

"Shut up!" Trunks bellowed as he rocketed out of the rubble, eyes wide in a bloodshot fury as he smashed Vegeta in the face with both fists as hard as he could. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" he screamed, following with a left hook, a right hook, and an uppercut, each blow snapping Vegeta's head and sending out a spray of blood. Vegeta brought his head down from the uppercut with his bottom lip busted and blood flowing from his mouth and nose. He glowered at Trunks in a murderous rage for a moment before smirking and wiping away the blood. He looked down at his bloody hand wrap and the smirk turned to an expression that was almost pride.

"Not bad," Vegeta chuckled as he looked back up at Trunks. "What else have you–"

"Masenko!" Trunks cried out, blasting Vegeta by surprise and sending him rocketing over the horizon. He quickly spun around and drew his sword again as he flew after Cell. ' _Just don't let me be too late,'_ he prayed to whoever might have been listening. ' _Please, please,_ please! _Don't let me be too late!'_

OoOoOoO

Krillin blinked and Cell was in front of him, looming over him and casting a shadow. He swallowed nervously and tried to ignore his heart beating in his chest like a hummingbird's wings.

"Sooo," Cell mused while its eyes swept the area, "Where is she?" Krillin shrugged. Maybe he could stall long enough for Trunks to catch up, wherever he was now. He honestly wasn't all that surprised that Vegeta stabbed them in the back. Leopards and spots and all that crap.

"Dunno," Krillin said as casually as he could manage. "She just left. Said she was gonna go hang out with her friend. Some guy named Jablomi, first name Haywood." To Krillin's surprise, Cell actually chuckled.

"Funny," Cell remarked as it smiled at Krillin. It made him uncomfortable. "You're always the funny one, Krillin. Always cracking jokes." Krillin wasn't entirely sure what that meant but it definitely didn't make him feel any better. "Y'know, I like to make jokes, too. Stop me if you've heard this one." Then Cell's hand was around his throat and Cell yanked Krillin high overhead. Krillin felt Cell's fingers curl around his throat and start to constrict. His eyes bugged out and he sputtered and kicked while he felt Cell crushing him. Getting his head popped off, Krillin decided while he turned purple, was officially going to be the shittiest way he'd died yet.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta laid in the ocean with his face turned up to the sky while the waves rocked his motionless form. He blinked a few times and groaned as held a hand up to his head. Had he blacked out for a moment? He slowly lifted himself out of the ocean with a groan and shook water off like a dog. He chuckled as he spat out blood into the sea.

"Well, well, well," he remarked. "Would you look at that. Boy has some rage in him after all." The boy _was_ as strong as him. For half a heartbeat, Vegeta was actually proud of his son. That pride quickly succumbed to a blood-boiling rage and Vegeta rocketed off after the brat. He had presumed _far_ too much if he thought that the King of All Saiyans could be defeated so easily. It was clear that he had never had the opportunity to properly discipline the boy in that alternate timeline. He'd rectify that soon enough.

OoOoOoO

Just before Cell's hand could crush Krillin's throat, however, Lazuli came bursting out of the sea below. She flew right up to Cell's face and put two fingers into her mouth, whistling as hard as she could in Cell's ear. Cell let go of Krillin and cried in pain as Lazuli continued to whistle, staying in Cell's face as she put her near-infinite lung capacity to work. Krillin gasped and gulped for breath as he massaged his throat, which was covered with an angry red handprint from Cell's grip.

"Man," Krillin croaked as he watched Lazuli continue her auditory assault, "She's got some pipes." Cell covered its ears but its hands did next to nothing to muffle Lazuli's whistles with the combined genetics of a Saiyan, a Namekian, and an Arcosian giving it even more powerful hearing than any of them. This meant that not only was Lazuli's attack especially debilitating but because Cell's ears were internal, it couldn't rip them off to drown her out. Suno finally caught up to them and was startled to find that Lazuli was the source of the sound she'd been hearing for half a mile. She swung around to stand beside Krillin and tapped him on the shoulder.

"H-hey," she panted, sweating and gasping as she recovered from her breakneck sprint. "D-don't ya think you should try the whole…" she held one hand over her head and flicked it forward with a "Bzz bzz" sound, pantomiming the Kienzan.

"Gimme a sec," Krillin croaked out, still recovering. "C-Cell's got a weird sense of humor." Then, to their horror, Cell rammed its thumbs into its ears. "Lazuli, move!" Krillin cried out in a strained voice. She jumped to the side and barely managed to avoid a wild grasp from Cell before Krillin brought his hands up to his face. "Taiyoken!"

"Ahhhh, Perfection damnit!" Cell cried in pain and clutched at its eyes, once again damned by its genetically-acute senses, now blind and deaf. "Kienzan!" Krillin screamed as he held both hands overhead and flung death discs from them both as hard as he could, over and over, launching dozens of them.

"Kamehame Senbonhari!" Suno added as she raised both hands over her head in a clenched double fist and threw out a seemingly-endless wave of thin blue ki needles, giving it everything she had. Lazuli didn't have any fancy attacks so she just screamed and poured on a constant stream of pink energy beams.

Trunks could see all the explosions erupting like fireworks, acting like a beacon for him. He was so close! He was going to make it! He raised the sword high overhead and prepared to strike. Just as he was putting on a burst of speed, however, he felt an arm wrap around his throat as Vegeta grabbed him from behind, his legs squeezing around Trunks' middle and drove the wind out of him with a bodyscissors. Trunks roared and struggled in protest as Vegeta slammed the pair of them into the ground. Trunks flipped over onto his back and tore up the island as he dragged Vegeta along, trying to force him to break his grip.

"Let go!" Trunks gasped out as Vegeta continued to choke him. Vegeta's grip only tightened as he held on like a vice, his teeth clenched in concentration as Trunks kept slamming him into the ground and started to smash his head backwards into Vegeta's face. Trunks let out a final roar and exploded with power, sending Vegeta hurtling off of him and leaving Vegeta dumbstruck before flying off again.

"Is he…?" Vegeta wondered as he sat in the rubble. No, he decided, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. How could some milksop mongrel halfbreed be more powerful than…

Krillin and Suno finally stopped their attacks and dropped their arms due to exhaustion and Lazuli followed suit, actually feeling a little lightheaded. The light died down and the smoke began to clear to give them a chance to survey whatever damage they might have done to–

"Over here," Cell's voice came from behind them. Suno and Krillin spun quickly around and were immediately both slapped down by Cell, crashing painfully into the ground down below.

"No!" Lazuli cried out as she watched Suno and Krillin fall. She looked up again and Cell was right in front of her. She gasped in fear and her whole body froze up as Cell's tail reached up high to strike.

Trunks was between them in the blink of an eye, shoving Lazuli away with his aura as he rammed his sword straight through Cell's chest, the point of the blade punching out the other side as he lifted Cell high and screamed with fury, his eyes wide and bloodshot, flecks of foam at the corners of his mouth.

"Not this time!" Trunks screamed as he held the sword in a deathgrip. "This time you don't get to win! No one else dies, do you hear me?! No one else but you!" Despite being impaled, Cell still managed to smirk with blood seeping out of the corners of its mouth. It lifted its hands up as if to grab the sword and try to pull it out. Then its hands were up at the sides of its head in a flash.

"Taiyoken!" The light blinded Trunks and Lazuli, giving Cell an opening to drive its feet into Trunks' chest and shove him away, yanking the sword out with him. While Trunks was still vulnerable, Cell flew after him and drove an elbow into his back, driving him toward the ground below. "This one's for you, Trunks!" Cell called out as it brought it hands to its side. "Kamehameha!" It thrust its hands forward and the blue-white beam of light shot forward, hitting Trunks in the back and sending him crashing into the ground. Finally, Cell turned its attention back to Lazuli, more than slightly annoyed by its bleeding chest wound and wanting to get to the part it had been waiting for. "No more distractions," Cell purred as it got closer and closer, "No more interruptions. No third wheels. Just you and me, 18." Lazuli grit her teeth, still blinded. Cell was right. There was no one left to help her. No one to save her. She was all alone.

Krillin groaned as he tried to push himself up and almost immediately fell back to the ground with a cry of pain when he tried to put weight on his right arm. His shoulder, he realized, had been dislocated from the impact. But he couldn't give up. Lazuli needed him!

"Come on," Krillin muttered desperately through gritted teeth as he launched himself into the air with a kiai. "Come on!" Suno followed after him even though she was in similarly rough shape. She was pretty sure she had broken some of her ribs on the impact.

Trunks scrabbled through the dirt for his sword, finally finding it and grabbing it in one hand before taking off into the sky, still blind and disoriented but ready to go back into the fight. "Come on, come on!" He couldn't fail. Not again!

Vegeta watched irritably, his arms folded over his chest. "Come on, come on," he groused impatiently. What was taking Cell so long?!

Lazuli could hear Cell approaching and her heart was pounding in her chest. The bastard wanted her to whimper. He wanted her to scream or cry or beg. No chance. If this was how she died, she decided that she was going to die a fighter. She was going to give it one last shot. She got into a fighting stance as her vision finally began to clear and brought her hands down to her side.

"Kaaaa meee…" Suno and Krillin were getting closer. "Haaaa meee…" Trunks was almost there and Vegeta was starting to move after him. "Ha–" Lazuli brought her hands forward and Cell's tail enveloped her in a flash.

The change was immediate as a wave of power sent Trunks, Krillin, and Suno flying back, knocking them end over end like leaves in a hurricane. Cell was surrounded by a sphere of green energy that grew larger and larger with each passing moment, glowing brighter until it was like a tiny green sun before them. Trunks stared at it in horror, immediately recalling the green light he remembered from the nightmares he'd had when he was small. And all the while, Cell's booming laugh echoed across the land as it distorted and changed again. Its power grew and grew with no sign of stopping, with every passing second it grew more and more nightmarish.

"No…" Trunks whispered. Not again. Not again! How could he let this happen?!

"No," Suno and Krillin whispered in shock as they stared in abject terror. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. Even Freeza's transformation hadn't been this terrible!

"Yes," Vegeta sighed pleasurably as he clenched his fists in anticipation. At last. The glory he had been waiting for! A challenge worthy of his ultimate power! He flashed a wolfish grin and licked his lips hungrily as his bloodlust was riled up.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Launch, and Bulma stared at the green glow on the horizon and heard the laughter that chilled them to their bones.

"So," Bulma asked nervously as she started trembling, "This is really bad, right?" Ten nodded as Launch held onto him tightly.

"This is the end," Piccolo replied numbly. He could feel Kami's despair in his mind and it made him crumble to his knees. "I've never felt power like this before…"

OoOoOoO

Far away on New Namek, the Namekians were all brought to a halt in their normal daily activities as they all felt a tremendous power coming from far away.

"What is it?" Cargo asked Elder Moori, tugging nervously at the Grand Elder's sleeve. Moori could only shake his head worriedly and look toward the sky.

"I do not know," Moori admitted. "I only know that something terrible is happening on Earth." Dende wrang his hands fretfully and looked up at the suns.

"Gohan," he whispered fearfully. He screwed his eyes shut and prayed to Porunga to protect his friend.

OoOoOoO

Even further out in space, Cooler was watching a battle between his forces and the Galactic Patrolmen with interest from the bridge of his Flagship _Dark Matter_ when he felt the power as a pressure on the back of his mind. It was patently ridiculous, whatever he was sensing. It felt as though he was sensing his father, his brother, Prince Vegeta and a whole lot of other nonsense. Still, whatever it was was _extremely_ powerful. More powerful than him.

"Salza," he ordered as he stood up from his seat at the bridge and turned to his right hand man, "Take command of the fleet."

"But Seigneur Cooler," Salza protested as he watched his emperor leave, "Ze battle is not yet won! Wherever are you going?!"

"I am returning to Cooler Planet One," Cooler explained as he made his way off the bridge and toward his personal luxury Space Pod. "I must train."

OoOoOoO

In a completely different realm, the Kaioushin stopped drinking tea, the power feeling like a faint tickling at the back of the neck. "Well, that's interesting."

OoOoOoO

A madness seized upon Trunks and he flew at the energy sphere, hacking it with his sword in a manic frenzy, trying to break through. "No!" he screamed. "No, no, no, no!" Then the sphere burst and sent Trunks flying away again, launching him into Krillin and Suno, nearly knocking all three out of the air. They managed to stay airborne as the light slowly faded and stared agape. At _her._

"Yeees," Cell crowed triumphantly, "At last!" Her arms stretched toward the sky and she linked her fingers together as she bent backwards, arching her back and pushing her chest out. "Ohhhh," she purred happily, "How I've missed this!" Her chest and shoulders were like smooth and flawless slabs of obsidian. Her perfect face was alabaster white with streaks of purple under her pink eyes and down her cheeks. Her jaw and chin was framed with a bright yellow, the biogem between the green horns as black and as absolutely impeccable as her chest and shoulders, as well as her shins. Her feet had turned yellow and her wings had returned, smooth, perfectly straight, and jet black. The flesh between her joints as well as her waistline were all a dark purple. She laced her white hands together again and cracked her knuckles, her black fingernails shining in the sunlight. Her tail had almost completely retracted and was hidden under her wings. She was tall, although not as tall as Piccolo. In fact, she seemed to have gotten a bit shorter with this transformation. She was lean but clearly powerful, all muscle and crackling with energy, ready to strike. She was a predator. "Much better," she sighed wistfully as she stretched and flexed, running her hands all over herself as if she were exploring her body, or as if she had put on a favorite winter coat for the first time in years. "Perfection, yes, this is _so_ much better."

Trunks stared at her in horror. No, he told himself, this wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. He couldn't have come all this way, fought for so long, trained and grown so powerful… just to fail! He couldn't believe it! This… this…

"Gohan," he whispered with tears in the corners of his eyes, "Gohan I'm so sorry…" He had died for nothing.

"Out of my way," Vegeta barked as he shoved past the trio and got in close to look at Cell suspiciously. "So the Ultimate Lifeform is a woman?" he scoffed. "I highly doubt that." If Suno wasn't so numbed by terror she probably would have had a smart remark.

"Gero would probably have agreed with you," Cell replied as she closed and opened her hands, watching the way her skin stretched and contracted with each movement. "Based on his preliminary sketches of what he assumed my Perfect Form would be, he thought I was going to have a more masculine final form." She shrugged and chuckled. "I guess he didn't factor for how Goku, Suno, Launch, and Lazuli would affect my biochemistry."

"I do not truly care," Vegeta told her curtly. "The deal is done and so is our partnership. Now we shall see how powerful you truly are!" He drew a fist back and slugged Cell in the face as hard as he possibly could. Pain shot up through his arm as he felt his middle knuckle burst and he let out a silent scream as blood almost immediately began to seep through his white hand wraps.

"Ah, yes," Cell mused, completely unaffected by the blow. "I suppose I _did_ promise you the fight of your life." Then Vegeta was suddenly hurtling down toward the ground, Cell's outstretched arm the only indication that she had struck him. It had been a backhanded slap. She was there the moment Vegeta hit the ground, catching him when he bounced up and driving the point of her toe into his chest. "By which I meant," she clarified as Vegeta was sent flying off as though she'd kicked him like a ball, "The _last_ fight of your life," she finished from behind Vegeta, grabbing the back of his head and smashing him hard into the dirt. She smirked arrogantly and pressed a foot to the back of Vegeta's head, shoving him further down. "Was that what you were looking for?" she asked innocently.


	90. Vegeta's Last Blast! The Truth of Cell!

Chapter Ninety

Vegeta's Last Blast! The Truth of Perfect Cell?!

Perfect Cell lifted her foot off of the back of Vegeta's head with a smirk on her lips as Vegeta struggled back to his knees. Her smirk widened as she chuckled and rubbed her foot on his face.

"Y'know," she mused as she looked down at him, "This never gets old. The proud and mighty warrior looking up at his superior from his knees. There's always something…" Perfect Cell paused significantly, " _Amusing_ about it." She could practically _feel_ Vegeta glowering against the sole of her foot before he shoved her angrily off of him and forced himself back onto his feet.

"You presume too much if you think I am beaten," Vegeta spat as the blood from his burst knuckle dripped out of the hand wrap and onto the ground. "So if I were you, I would hesitate to start rubbing myself again."

"If you were me," Perfect Cell retorted smugly, casually crossing her arms while Vegeta got into a fighting stance, "You would be Perfect. Which, I mean, we can obviously see that you're not." Vegeta snarled and lunged with a flying kick that was aimed squarely at Perfect Cell's face. In the second before impact, however, Perfect Cell was suddenly three feet to Vegeta's left. "You're too short," she observed as Vegeta landed and spun around on his foot, launching himself at her with both hands out to tackle her to the ground. "Too temperamental," Perfect Cell added as she lifted her knee up into Vegeta's jaw, snapping his head back and making blood spew out from between his clenched teeth, "Not to mention egomaniacal." Vegeta staggered back before catching himself and letting out a bellow of rage.

"Silence!" he screamed indignantly as he thrust his hand forward. "Big Bang Attack!" Perfect Cell effortlessly palmed the blast and chucked it into the sky where it harmlessly exploded.

"You're vainglorious to the point of insanity," Perfect Cell carried on as if nothing had happened, now behind Vegeta as she delivered a hard punch to the kidney that made Vegeta arch his back and cry in agony. "You obsess over how others perceive you while insisting that you don't care about the opinions of 'commoners'," she added while casually grabbing the back of Vegeta's head and slamming him face-first into the ground, flying along and dragging him up and down the landscape. "All of this," she went on, "While acting like a big macho warrior king to hide how sad and alone you are. You miss mommy and daddy. You're sad that your brother hates you. You're all alone in the universe. Basically extinct. You're just a sad, lonely little boy floating out in space." Perfect Cell frowned and shook her head as she hauled Vegeta up to his feet. "It'd be funny if it weren't so _pathetic."_ Vegeta broke out of her grip with a shriek of fury and headbutted Perfect Cell and hit her square between the eyes to no reaction. She shrugged and broke out into a wide grin. "Ah, what the hell, I'll laugh anyway." Then Perfect Cell burst out into a high and uproarious fit of maniacal giggling, right in Vegeta's face, before slapping him hard and knocking him across the island.

OoOoOOO

Trunks watched this all and was totally numb. How could this happen? How could he let it? He had all the knowledge, all the foresight, he'd known exactly how the world fell apart. But it still happened anyway. Lapis got absorbed. Lazuli got absorbed. How had he let it come to this? He'd failed _both_ worlds now.

The worst part of it was that he could have done something. He had as much power as his father. He could have destroyed Cell himself. The monster wouldn't have stood a chance! Why did he give Vegeta the first shot?

' _Because you're stupid,'_ he thought. ' _Because you're a dumb kid who wanted to see his father slay the monster. You wanted to watch dad save the day despite all the things mom told you about him and what little you could remember of him. You stupid sap.'_

Meanwhile, Krillin's emotional reaction was very different. He was completely frozen for a few minutes while he stared at Cell in horror over what she had done and what she was. It wasn't long before something suddenly snapped inside Krillin's brain and he let out a mindless scream of fury and launched himself at Perfect Cell like a rocket before Suno could even react.

OoOoOoO

Perfect Cell casually backhanded Krillin back over the horizon without ever taking her eyes off of Vegeta, who had staggered back to his feet. He was bleeding from several cuts and scrapes, with bruising along his chest and across his face. His blue bodysuit had chunks torn out of it along his legs, arms, and torso. His face was the picture of impotent rage.

"Some darn big mosquitos on this island," Perfect Cell muttered casually while rubbing the back of her hand. "Stubborn, too," she added with a smirk that let Vegeta know she was putting _him,_ the King of All Saiyans, in the same category as Krillin.

"Sh-shut up," Vegeta spat out, his voice trembling from both the pain and his fury. "I… I am the King of All Saiyans! The greatest of the only true bloodline of a mighty warrior race!"

"Can't have been that mighty if they're all dead," Perfect Cell observed. Vegeta screamed in a mindless rage before shooting up into the sky like a golden comet in reverse. Perfect Cell cocked her head to one side and watched him idly, wondering what his next move was going to be.

OoOoOoO

"Hey," Suno remarked as she picked the disoriented Krillin out of the ocean, "Vegeta's not… running away, is he?" Trunks was wondering the same thing.

' _Maybe that's for the best,'_ Trunks thought sourly. ' _He won't get killed if he gets out of my way.'_ Still, Trunks had a hard time believing that was his father's plan. From what little interaction they'd had in the last year, Vegeta hardly seemed like the type to run. On top of that, he was just going up. So what _was_ he doing?

OoOoOoO

Vegeta finally reached what he decided would be the apex of his climb and glowered down at the green speck that was Perfect Cell down on the ground below.

"Cell!" he roared down at her as he thrust his arms forward and slammed together his hands at the wrists. "Now you will know the fate of all those who would _dare_ mock the King!"

"It's _Perfect_ Cell!" Cell corrected from far below with her hands cupped around her mouth to project her voice. "And I really doubt that! Go ahead, though. Just don't disappoint me! If you do, I'll have to discipline you!" Vegeta's whole body seethed with mindless rage until it seemed to shimmer like a heat haze. He snarled and roared as the haze burst into sparks of electricity that lanced out in all directions, ripping through clouds and slicing through the sea and land. Some of the arcs missed Cell by millimeters but she never moved from the spot as she watched Vegeta with growing interest, even as the island underneath her shook.

OoOoOoO

"What is he doing?" Trunks muttered as he squinted at his father, finally able to speak again. He was gathering an _immense_ amount of power but for what? And if he was actually aiming all of that power down at Cell, that would mean he would also hit… "Oh no," Trunks whispered.

"H-hey," Krillin groaned as Suno flew off with him, no doubt intending on going back to Korin for some Senzu or something. "If Vegeta _hits_ Cell… won't he be hitting the planet, too?"

Suno's eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates and she nearly dropped Krillin. "Hang on a sec," she said quickly, "Turnin' back around!" She spun around and flew back towards the steadily-growing light that was Vegeta, narrowly avoiding the ki-lightning that was emanating from him. Of course she wouldn't be able to stop him physically but maybe she could try and reason him like she'd tried to do with the twins. ' _Which worked out_ so _well,'_ her subconscious reminded her bitterly. It always sucked when her sarcasm turned itself against her.

OoOoOoO

The quakes reached as far as the South City Island, even reaching the coast of the main continent. Waves created by the pushback of the energy Vegeta was generating crested more than fifty feet high. From the Lookout, Piccolo, Ten, Launch, and Bulma squinted at the blinding yellow light growing brighter in the distance.

"What is he _doing?!"_ Launch demanded angrily. "Has Vegeta gone crazy?" Despite being similarly concerned about whatever Vegeta was planning to do, or if there even _was_ a plan, Bulma couldn't help but feel a small swell of pride.

"Go get 'em, babe," she whispered with a little smile. Still, depending on the time of day, Vegeta hit the sun and take out the whole damn solar system, not just Earth. Still, he wouldn't be _crazy,_ right?

...Right?

OoOoOoO

Vegeta had started to gather energy in his hands, the yellow ki pulsing and crackling in his hands like a tiny starburst of energy while his aura flared violently around him.

"Vegeta!" Suno called out to him. It was hard to get close, however, from the power he was putting out and how hard it was pushing her back. "Listen to me! You don't have to do this! Think about it! If Cell has Freeza's DNA then blowing up the planet won't kill her! Namek blowing up didn't kill _him,_ remember? All that you're doing is admitting that you've lost!" Vegeta glowered at her but otherwise completely ignored her existence.

"Let me help you!" Trunks added as he flew to Vegeta's other side, able to get a little closer than Suno was. "We can fight Cell _together,_ father! There's no need to go to this–"

"Silence!" Vegeta roared, sending out a shockwave that sent Suno and Trunks tumbling through the air and Suno to nearly drop Krillin again. "I am the King! The King will not listen to the words of commoners and bastards!" Trunks narrowed his eyes at Vegeta before taking Suno and Krillin and carrying them somewhere safer. Wherever the hell that might be.

"Are you about done?" Perfect Cell asked. "Because if I have to wait much longer, you're _not_ going to like it." Vegeta grinned wickedly despite himself.

"The time has come," he called down in a voice that shook the heavens, "For you to die, Cell! FINAL FLASH!" An absolutely monolithic blast of yellow-white ki exploded from Vegeta's hands, dwarfing him the size of its blast, exploding toward Cell with an almighty, deafening thunderclap. Trunks stopped flying and turned around to stare at the blast in gobsmacked disbelief, an expression shared by Krillin and Suno.

' _Oh,'_ Perfect Cell thought as the blast came raging toward her and she could see the faint outline of an oozaru's face in the beam, ' _Well that's actually fairly impre–'_

The beam collided into Perfect Cell with a blinding white light like a sun exploding before curving slightly and skating past the planet's surface and out into space, narrowly avoiding the other planets in the solar system and flying harmlessly out into the void.

OoOoOoO

"The day is won!" Sorbet cried triumphantly. Cooler's forces stationed on Geldaria, several billion light years from Earth, gave a cheer and crashed their mugs together as they savored their victory over the forces of the Galactic Patrol. Sorbet was pretty pleased with himself, all things considered. A few more of these significant victories would surely ingratiate himself enough toward his new master that he could join the Armored Squadron. As the short, blue, square-nosed alien was pondering all of this, however, he suddenly had another thought. His last thought, ever. What the heck was that bright light heading toward the planet?

OoOoOoO

Vegeta's arms dropped down to his sides while he gasped for air, sweat running down his body in sheets. He'd put everything into that blast. Even accounting for having to arc the trajectory slightly to keep it from destroying the stupid planet, there was no way Cell could have taken that attack without effort. That would teach her for taking him lightly. If there was one thing Vegeta simply could not stand, it was undeserved vanity. He looked into the white light of the blast zone and waited for it to fade away to see his handiwork.

It took nearly a minute for the light to fade away but, when it did, it was the most beautiful sight Vegeta had ever seen. Perfect Cell was standing on the island, which was now an enormous sheet of glass, with an expression of shock and horror on her face. The entire right side of her torso had been blown completely off, leaving only a charred gray stump. She grit her teeth as if to keep from screaming in pain while Vegeta threw his head back in uproarious laughter. Jubilant, exultant, triumphant laughter. He had _done_ it! He had proven himself and achieved the ultimate glory! How could Cell possibly defeat him now?

Trunks could barely believe it and yet there it was. "H-he did it," Trunks whispered, barely even daring to hope. He'd never seen Cell so damaged in his own timeline. "He did it!" he repeated eagerly and ecstatically. His father had done it after all! Vegeta… Vegeta had won!

"Okay," Suno admitted with grudging respect, "Not gonna lie, when I got up this morning, I did _not_ think that _Vegeta_ was gonna save the day."

"Yeah," Krillin added with shock. "This is… not gonna lie, not sure how I feel."

"I… I can't believe it," Perfect Cell muttered with dread. "You… you actually hit me!" Vegeta laughed all the louder, even beating his chest with both fists, bordering on hysteria. A few seconds after this, however, the shock went away from Perfect Cell's face and she rolled her eyes. "Okay," she said in a flat voice, "That's far enough." The gray flesh writhed and wriggled before suddenly exploding, a fresh arm and torso bursting out of the ruin. Vegeta immediately stopped laughing and the hope drained from the trio's faces as Perfect Cell flexed her hand and shook the green fluids off of her new limb.

"Cell can regenerate," Trunks mumbled numbly. Of course. Of course! Cell had Piccolo's DNA! How could he not know that? How had he not figured it out before?! God, he was so _stupid!_

"So," Perfect Cell said while rolling her shoulder, "You didn't _technically_ disappoint me, which makes you a lucky little boy. You do seem tired, though, so–" Perfect Cell was suddenly in front of Vegeta and rammed her fist up into his gut. Vegeta's hair instantly flipped back to black and his muscles deflated as he collapsed from the impact and practically crumpled around her hand before falling down toward the ground below. Perfect Cell dusted off her hands as she watched him tumble down and cracked her knuckles with a smirk. That, she hated to admit, was a little close. If he'd just moved it a little to the right for a change…

"Suno," Trunks muttered as he pushed Suno off of him, "Go get my father. Then go back to the Lookout and heal yourselves." Suno looked at Trunks suspiciously, raising one of her eyebrows.

"And what are you gonna do?" she asked. Trunks glowered and grabbed the handle of his sword.

"I'm going to end this," he hissed between his teeth.

OoOoOoO

"So," Piccolo observed with a numb glibness, "Vegeta's ki just dropped sharply."

"Wait," Bulma asked worriedly as the color drained from her face, "You don't mean…" she couldn't actually ask it out loud. She couldn't explain it but she definitely felt an affection for the insufferable warmonger and not just because he was an epic roll in the hay.

"Don't worry," Piccolo assured her, "I can still sense something. He's alive but in pretty rough shape and definitely out of the fight."

"I can sense Suno heading back this way with him and Krillin," Ten added, "But Trunks is staying behind."

"What?!" Bulma asked explosively. "Why?!"

"Guess he thinks he can take Cell himself," Launch assumed. Bulma looked at Launch before looking back at the horizon and chewing nervously on her thumbnail. Her baby…

OoOoOoO

Perfect Cell casually watched Krillin and Suno fly off with Vegeta's carcass before turning her attention toward Trunks as he flew toward her with murder in his eyes.

"Well daddy's not here," she pointed out, "So you don't have to worry about hurting his pride. I can tell you were holding back against me because of him, even when you were trying to kill me." She casually gestured for him to bring it on. "Go ahead, let's see what you've got." Trunks narrowed his eyes malevolently and drew his sword.

"Gladly."

Trunks' body flashed with flickers of golden light like his body was a thunderstorm. Then his aura exploded around him without warning and his muscles began to expand, his whole body writhing as if it could barely contain his power. The blue scrunchie Bulma had given Trunks burst into flames and his hair exploded out in all directions while his eyes went white. He screamed with rage, the power distorting his voice. He was boiling with fury, overflowing like a volcano, as two decades of powerlessly suffering in terror exploded to the forefront and his power grew and grew, surpassing Vegeta's almost immediately.

OoOoOoO

"Unreal," Piccolo whispered as he broke out into a cold sweat. "Simply unreal! How does Trunks have this kind of power?!" Bulma was practically bursting with pride as she shook her fists in the air like a cheerleader.

OoOoOoO

"Stop," Perfect Cell said suddenly. "Stop. Just stop." Trunks was so startled that he actually _did_ stop powering up. She didn't sound frightened or confused, instead she sounded… bored. "Sorry," she added, "It's just… I don't want to do this anymore."

"What are you talking bout?" Trunks asked, his voice half an octave deeper and slightly gravelly, both from the powering up and the screaming.

"I mean all of… this," Perfect Cell explained, gesturing to all of him. "You power up, you get big and strong but really slow, we fight, I slap you around, you die. It's just so… _boring!_ I've done it like fifteen times already and each time it's the same." Trunks narrowed his eyes contemptuously and choked up on his sword like he was gripping a baseball bat. He let out a war cry and swung for the fences at Perfect Cell's neck, intending to take her head off. Perfect Cell rolled her eyes and caught the blade in one hand a second before even the breeze would have touched her neck. Her fingers closed around the blade and it resisted for a handful of heartbeats before exploding as easily as if it were sugar glass. Trunks pulled away as if he'd been electrocuted, staring at the jagged bits of metal sticking out of the sword hilt in shock and dismay before powering down almost immediately. "That's better," Perfect Cell said agreeably as Trunks crumpled to his knees.

"What _are_ you?" Trunks asked her. "How did you know I could transform? How do you always seem to just… know things that you shouldn't know?" Perfect Cell smirked and floated up into the air until she was lying on her back with her arms crossed behind her head and one leg hooked over the other.

"Stop me if you've heard this one," she told him while lounging casually in the air. "Dr. Gero creates a monster called Cell that starts gobbling up all of humanity. Cell absorbs all of your friends, your father, and kills Gohan. But the difference," Perfect Cell went on, "Is that I killed you and Bulma, too." Trunks stared up at her in shock. "Oh, yeah. I _won._ Killed the last few humans on Earth and completely replaced Earth's population with bioandroids. Although, I'll give Bulma credit, she went down swinging."

OoOoOoO

 _Perfect Cell wiped Trunks' half-saiyan blood off her hands with the shirt his headless corpse was wearing when she heard a whistle._

" _Hey bugbitch!" Bulma screamed furiously from atop the Capsule Corp building with tears in her eyes. Perfect Cell looked at her curiously as Bulma pointed a hand high up toward the night sky, her other hand holding some kind of remote control. "Suck on my moon laser!" The clouds parted and Perfect Cell looked up at the bright full moon, Bulma's face glowering down at her and her mouth opening wide with a purple light coming from inside._

OoOoOoO

"Full credit where it's due," Perfect Cell continued, "That hurt _almost_ as much as the Final Flash. But anyway, I was deciding what to do next, probably head off into space or something, when I came across your mom's time machine and her notes on time travel. See, it was your mom that introduced me to the concept of multiple timelines. Being the perfect lifeform with perfect logical reasoning, I decided that if in this timeline I _won,_ there must also be timelines where I lost. That was just unacceptable. So I fueled up the time machine, instantly mastered the controls, and went to one of these timelines."

Trunks could barely wrap his head around it all. So this Cell was from a _third_ timeline, where she had already won. The fact that this Cell had killed him was more than a little unnerving. Or it would have been if he didn't feel so… completely numb.

"That first time was a mess," Perfect Cell admitted painfully. "Had _no idea_ what I was doing. Didn't realize that I had to get back down to my larval state to even fit in the machine, I was weak and it took _forever_ to get my power back. By that point, they'd all killed 17 and 18 in that timeline to keep me from becoming Perfect and killed me. I'd had to be very careful and nearly bit the dust a few times but I eventually got them all. Finally got enough power to become Perfect by eating Gohan, actually. I can still remember how surprised he was right before I absorbed him." She chuckled and shook her head. "Each time after that, I got a little smarter. I went further back in time and made sure to make adjustments, always made sure to absorb myself before someone interacted with the Cell of that timeline to avoid a mess. I was careful, I got prepared. Not _too_ prepared, though, because every timeline has its little fluctuations."

"How… how long have you been doing this?" Trunks asked in a worried tone. He wasn't really sure he wanted the answer. Perfect Cell rubbed at her yellow chin and thought.

"If I had to guess," she guessed, "Which I don't, because I have Perfect memory… I've been messing around with timelines for about fifty years now. They're all more or less the same, no matter how things change. In some timelines, Goku's a man, in some of them Gohan's a girl. Sometimes _you're_ a girl, sometimes you don't exist at all. Raditz is a good guy, Goku never hits her head, all these little ups and downs and tiny fluctuations that I've grown to appreciate over the years. It's like finding easter eggs, y'know? Still," Perfect Cell went on as the weight of that knowledge left Trunks horrorstruck, "I started to get _bored_ after a while. So I stopped following the same pattern for a little bit and just messed around for about five years. I killed Gohan before he ever found Goku in the woods, I ate baby Bulma. I killed the Nameless Namekian the minute he landed on Earth, I set Mutaito on fire, I strangled Freeza in his crib. Just to _fuck_ with people, y'know?" She chuckled to herself. "I really should go back and check on those timelines at some p–"

"Why don't you just kill me?" Trunks asked suddenly, his voice hoarse with emotion. "You've probably done it before, plenty of times. So why not just get it over with already?! Just do it and end this sick game of yours!" Part of him wanted her to do it. If she'd just kept winning, over and over again, and there was no way for him to stop her… he just wanted it to end. The nightmare of the last twenty-three years. He could just… close his eyes and let it all go.

"Like you said," Perfect Cell retorted, "I've already done it. In fact, I've already pretty much done everything. Although it's funny you call it a game, Trunks, because that's exactly what I was thinking. I'm gonna shake things up for this last time." She held out one arm, stretching out the thumb and forefinger of one hand to indicate the size of the headline on an imaginary newspaper. "The Cell Games! An open invitation for Earth's Champions to battle the mighty Perfect Cell to the death to save the world. After I win," she continued, "I figure I'll go _all_ the way back to the beginning of time, remake the universe in my Perfect image." Perfect Cell unhooked her legs and uncrossed her arms before standing up in the air and dusting off her hands. "I won't do it right now, of course," she clarified, "Give you some time to lick your wounds, kiss people goodbye, all that jazz. It'll be… ten days, a week? Still workshopping the exact time. Til then, just keep the TV turned to the news, okay?" Then she flew off without another word.

Trunks knelt there on the glass for a long time, the wind occasionally blowing through his long blue hair and making him shiver. He looked down at the broken sword as he processed everything Cell had said. Then, without warning, he took a single long breath and fell face-first into the ground as he broke down and cried.


	91. Here Comes Gohan! Mother-Son Adventures!

Chapter Ninety-one

Here Comes Gohan! Mother-Son Adventures!

It had been more than a month, by Gohan's estimation, since he and Goku had entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It had been simultaneously the most fun and most harrowing time of Gohan's young life. It was fun because, for the first time since he was a baby, Gohan got to spend time with his mom. When they weren't training, Goku would tell Gohan stories about her adventures from when she was younger. They were stories that Suno had told him before and that Bulma and Krillin had talked about on the journey to Namek but it was just fun to hear Goku's perspective on them.

"So then Tao threw a rock at me after I beat him up. I guess he was just a sore loser, so I kicked it back in his face!"

"Are you sure it wasn't a grenade, mom?"

"Oh… oh, yeah. That would explain why he was all metal-y when he showed up at the 23rd Budoukai. Ah, well. He was a jerk anyway."

The harrowing part was the actual training itself. The training was even more intense than what he had undergone with Mr. Piccolo but with the added pressure of a goal in mind. Every day that Gohan didn't turn into a Super Saiyan was a day that Gohan considered a failure. His mom was doing her best to try and impart the knowledge onto him but the transformation, Gohan had realized, wasn't something that could easily be taught.

"Hey mom," Gohan asked during lunch when they were taking a break one day, "Not that I want to cut back or anything but how come we're training so hard? Do you think Cell is still stronger than Vegeta?" Goku took a second to respond, still chewing on one of those weird hunks of meat with a bone stuck through it that no one knew _quite_ what part of the animal it came from.

"Well," Goku started, "I don't think Cell's stronger than Vegeta right _now._ But let's be honest, do we really trust Vegeta to be the strongest guy on the planet?" Granted, Goku had a higher opinion of Vegeta than the others. She'd had her suspicions that Vegeta was a better person than he gave himself credit for all the way back on Namek. She was sure that, deep down inside, he could be a good guy if he just stopped taking himself so seriously all the time. Still, she knew that the others didn't like Vegeta all that much and she figured that if her being stronger than him made them all feel better, that was fine. Besides, she wanted to be the strongest, anyway. "I mean," she added, "I don't _think_ Vegeta'll do something really stupid but he might. I mean, _really, really_ stupid. So we should keep training just to be sure." Gohan nodded and the two finished lunch before walking back out into the void.

OoOoOoO

Another week passed and Gohan wasn't any closer to being a Super Saiyan. "Power has to come from a _need,_ not just wanting it really bad," Goku explained after Gohan screamed in frustration following another fruitless attempt at forcing himself to power up. "Just powering up won't make you turn into a Super Saiyan. You need to _create_ that need, Gohan."

"But how?!" Gohan asked irritably, almost snapping at his mom. "How am I supposed to create it when it's just me and you in here?! I can't just wait until I might have to fight Cell or watch someone die! We're wasting time!" Goku was silent for about a minute, which made Gohan wonder if he'd done something to upset her. "Mom?"

"No," Goku said, "It's okay. You're right. I've been doing this kinda wrong." Then she put her hands on Gohan's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Do you remember when I became a Super Saiyan the first time?" she asked. Gohan nodded. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to forget that day. "That was what I thought about the second time I transformed back on Yardrat. Even though I knew you and Suno were perfectly safe and that Freeza… well, I _thought_ he was dead, anyway. Just the thought of you guys in danger like that again made something inside me explode. Can you think of something like that?" Gohan nodded and closed his eyes. He pictured Cell killing people. All the deaths that Trunks said Cell was responsible in his timeline and all the death it would cause if they didn't stop him. Then the people Gohan was close to: his mother, Krillin, Mr. Piccolo, his friends at school. He couldn't imagine Cell killing mom, though. Even though he knew that she had died once before, he just couldn't wrap his head around the idea. She was always so strong, always rushing in when thing seemed their bleakest. "If you've got it," Goku said, "Hold onto it. When you want to try and transform, let it scream out from the depths of your heart!"

"Got it," Gohan whispered resolutely with his eyes shut tight. Then he heard the soft "whoosh" of his mom pushing off into the air and slowly opened one eye. "Uhhhh, mom?" he asked as he watched Goku fly higher and higher up. "Whaaaat are you doing?"

"Something drastic," she called down as she transformed into a Super Saiyan. Gohan wasn't entirely sure he liked the sound of that. "I think I've been taking it too easy on you," Goku explained. Gohan found that _extremely_ hard to believe, given how hard his mom had been pushing him and the intensity of their sparring. "If we're going to get you turned into a Super Saiyan, I need to push you to your absolute limits!" Gohan wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that. "So I'm going to attack you," Goku continued, "And the only way you're going to be able to survive is if you become a Super Saiyan!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Gohan exclaimed. His mom… his mom was joking, right? She wasn't seriously going to do anything like that, was she?

"Ready?" Goku called down.

"Not rea–" Gohan started to say before Goku immediately cut him off.

"Here it comes!" she cried. Gohan could see his mom bring her hands to her side and could see the bright blue light within the golden aura. "Kaaaa meee…" Gohan closed his eyes, both to try and focus on the images in his mind and to keep from focusing on how large the blue light had already become. "Haaa meee…" He could do this. He had to. He tried to picture everyone that Cell was going to kill, all the pain and destruction Cell had caused and would continue to cause if it wasn't stopped. It filled him with an even greater anger than he had felt when he was small when Mr. Piccolo or his moms had been hurt. "HAAAAA!" Gohan kept his eyes shut tight, not even looking up as he focused on the anger. It wasn't just that he was _more_ angry, it was a different _kind_ of anger. Everyone was counting on him! They needed him to be ready. They needed him to be strong!

Something inside Gohan changed in that moment. It wasn't that something _broke_ as it had when he was little and got angry, or even, although he didn't know it, the way something had broken inside Trunks, Vegeta, or Goku when they had transformed, pushed to the edges of rage and despair. Something woke up inside Gohan, like a flame that had been stoked suddenly blazed into a colossal inferno. Power was bursting out from inside him, filling him up, threatening to overwhelm him. His eyes snapped open and he threw out his hands, catching the Kamehameha against his palms and gritting his teeth as he dug in his feet. Then, rather than holding onto the beam, Gohan actually began to push it back.

"Kaaaameeeehaaaameeeehaaaaa!" Gohan roared, letting out a scream from the depths of his heart. The blast completely overwhelmed Goku's Kamehameha and sent it hurtling back at her. Goku dove out of the path of the beam at the last second, watching it fly off into the infinite abyss with her mouth open wide. She had no idea that Gohan had _that_ kind of power in him! She looked back down toward Gohan as he threw back his head and screamed triumphantly, his young muscles standing out against the blue bodysuit, his aura flaring around him in a golden blaze, and his long, shaggy hair standing out in golden spikes. He'd done it! Gohan had become a Super Saiyan.

"That's my boy," Goku whispered happily with a huge smile on her face. No parent had ever been so proud of their child. Then Gohan's aura faded and he started to collapse forward, the strain of the sudden and violent transformation apparently being more than his young body could handle. Goku was there before he'd even started to fall, catching him in her arms and putting him over her back like when he was little to carry him back to the chamber for some rest.

Of course, Goku reflected as she carried him, Gohan had never been in any _real_ danger. If he wasn't going to transform or it looked like Gohan was going to be overwhelmed, Goku had enough ki control that she could have drastically weakened the blast, or even cut it off entirely, at the first sign of trouble.

But hey, why tell Gohan that?

OoOoOOO

"So wait," Gohan asked as they sat on the steps of the time chamber with Goku behind him, "Why do I need a haircut? I mean, now that I can turn Super Saiyan it'll just go _up,_ right?"

"Yeah," Goku admitted while brushing Gohan's long red hair, "But it still makes a blind spot when you need to turn your head around and stuff. Trunks' hair wasn't too long before and I noticed he was wearing it back when he came out of here like Suno usually does. Yours is different and we don't want it getting in the way."

"Oh," Gohan muttered. "Oh yeah." That was obvious. Why hadn't he thought of that? Wasn't he supposed to be the smart one?

"Jeez," Goku remarked as she continued to brush her son's hair, "Your hair is _thick._ I guess you get that from Raditz, huh?"

"Yeah," Gohan said with a shrug, "I guess so. He'd look pretty silly as a Super Saiyan, huh?" The pair of them laughed at the image. "Do you ever think about him?" Gohan asked after they were silent for a moment.

"Raditz?" Goku asked before shrugging. "Eh, not really. He was just kind of a jerk that fell out of the sky. I mean, I know he was my brother but I never really cared about that."

"I used to," Gohan admitted softly. "Him and Nappa. They used to give me nightmares when I was little. Freeza still does, sometimes." Goku smiled sympathetically and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Well don't worry," she told him, "You can kick all their butts now. Now hold still." Goku held a fistful of Gohan's hair while she raised her other hand high overhead in a chop. A blue-white aura flared around her hand and she brought her hand down swiftly, slicing the extra hair right off.

"Wow," Gohan exclaimed as he ran his hands over the cut, his hair feeling much lighter now, "That's awesome!"

"It's nothing special," Goku told him with a shrug. "Focusing ki like that into a weapon is pretty easy once you know what you're doing."

OoOoOoO

Out in the depths of space, Salza stopped in the middle of his stressful workload. With King Cooler training and Sorbet dead when Geldaria was mysteriously destroyed, _he_ was the commander of the Arcosian forces. Yet as taxing as the job of commanding a military that could literally populate three whole galaxies was, he couldn't shake the sudden feeling that his honor had been insulted.

"Merde," he muttered under his breath as he shook his head and went back to work.

OoOoOoO

There were times during their training where Goku would wake up a few hours before Gohan. She'd leave him alone when those happened since he was usually still snoring and worked himself pretty hard so he needed the rest. Goku found that, unlike Suno or the others, she only really needed a few hours of sleep a night. Heck, when she was training on her way to Namek, she could go days without sleep. Gohan still needed more sleep than her, which she figured was because Gohan was still a growing boy and, probably, because he was only half-Saiyan.

These hours before Gohan woke up left Goku alone with her thoughts. Sometimes those thoughts led her to ponder how much she missed Suno- these were the times Goku was glad Gohan was sleeping- but, other than that, Goku sometimes found herself worrying. Would she be strong enough to beat Cell on her own? Would Gohan be able to defend himself if it became his fight? Was Cell, was all of it, her fault in some way? The pressure of it all, the weight on her shoulders, the incredible responsibility she had to bear… but that kinda thing usually made her feel down so she cheered up by thinking about Suno again.

This time also left Goku to train by herself which was the time where Goku tried to tap into the higher levels of Super Saiyan power. She knew that there was more to the form than what she was capable of. She could feel it every time she powered up, like a pressure in her mind. She thought that she'd discovered it one night but the forms she had tapped into were bulky and inefficient. One had a lot of power but burned it up while the other one had even _more_ power but made her so slow that all the power was useless!

"These suck," Goku muttered as she powered down out of the bulkiest form. "There's got to be a better way…"

OoOoOoO

Weeks passed, the intensity spiking significantly after Gohan gained the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan. It was only now that Gohan began to recognize how talented of a fighter his mom was. He'd always known she was the best but now that he himself was more powerful, he noticed the intricacies of Goku's abilities. She used a different style in every single spar, forcing Gohan to adapt in turn. There would be times where she could focus on speed and precise attacks where other times she would throw heavy strikes in a relentless attempt to overwhelm him with brute force. Sometimes Goku would focus entirely on ki attacks and sometimes even grappling. She would even change tactics in the middle of a spar, forcing Gohan to adapt his style repeatedly. In this way, Gohan realized, his mom was teaching him all of the techniques and skills that she herself had learned in all her travels and studying but in a very distilled way.

It also gave Gohan an opportunity to see how inventive his mom was as a fighter. When they weren't sparring, Gohan was able to watch his mom test herself and her abilities of ki control and manipulation. She didn't _invent_ techniques as much as experiment with them and learn their intricacies. This was how the pair of them discovered that Kaiouken and Super Saiyan didn't mix, which cost them a whole day of training while Goku recuperated. On one occasion, Goku had even asked for Gohan's help while experimenting.

"Just fly out as far as you can," Goku told him, "But not so far out that you can't see the chamber anymore." Gohan nodded and, although not entirely sure what his mom had planned, he flew off into the void at top speed, stopping once the chamber was just a golden speck in the distance.

"Okay," he shouted, using ki to amplify his voice, "I've stopped flying!" Then he waited. For what, he wasn't entirely sure, but he knew that his mom must have had _something_ in mind and so he waited to see whatever it was. He was starting to get bored and was actually almost _missing_ homework when Goku suddenly appeared in front of him and startled Gohan so badly that it nearly knocked him off of his feet.

"I did it!" Goku exclaimed. "I was able to use Instant Transmission without putting my fingers to my forehead!" She held out her hand for a high five, which Gohan gave her eagerly. On the flight back, Gohan had a question.

"So what do you think you'll do now that you've got such better control of Instant Transmission?"

"I dunno," Goku admitted, "But it definitely makes my hands free, which is useful." She grinned at him. "I'm sure I'll think of somethin'." Once they reached the chamber, Goku actually stopped Gohan from powering down. "Hold on." she told him. "Are you feeling comfortable with transforming into a Super Saiyan?" she asked.

"Yeah," Gohan replied, "I think I'm getting the hang of it. It's a little tricky to maintain but I think I can manage. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Goku assured her son, "But I don't want you to power down. We're going to try and maintain Super Saiyan for as long as we can for the rest of the time we're in here. When we're training, when we're eating, all the time."

"Why's that?" Gohan asked curiously. It seemed like they could be using that time better to become stronger or to access a higher form of Super Saiyan, if such a thing existed.

"Because we're wasting power right now," Goku explained. "The strain of transforming and of maintaining the Super Saiyan form burns up valuable ki. We could be so much stronger than we are now and by the time we're finished with this, being a Super Saiyan will come as easily to you as breathing." Gohan supposed that made sense. "Now sit here," she told him as she sat down herself and patted a space beside her. "We're gonna see how long you can stay Super Saiyan while meditating." Gohan nodded and sat down beside his mom, folding his legs and putting his hands in his lap. Without having his anger to focus on, Gohan dropped out of his Super Saiyan form almost immediately so he had to power up again. This was clearly going to take some time.

OoOoOoO

The next several months flew by as their training progressed and Gohan could feel himself growing stronger with each passing day. He also spent more time talking with his mom and more or less hanging out than he would have expected, although that in itself was probably training, just more stuff to keep Gohan occupied while maintaining the Super Saiyan form, a task that was getting a little easier with every day.

OoOoOoO

"Need to stop, guh… huh… I-I can't–" Gohan gasped as sweat ran down his face and along his Super Saiyan hair, running across the stiff spikes like water down a knife. His arms were burning and he was panting with the exertion.

"Don't gimme that," Goku told him somewhat sternly, "You can do it! You've already done five thousand pushups, what's another thousand? Yesterday you could only do three thousand, look how strong you're becoming!" Goku got down into the pushup position beside Gohan and smiled. "C'mon," she encouraged him, "I'll do 'em with you. Let's go!" Gohan nodded and the pair dropped down before pushing back up again. To Gohan's surprise, he was still able to keep pace with his mom but he just told himself she was holding back on his account. That would make sense, right?

OoOoOoO

"Hey, Gohan," Goku said as the pair of them were having lunch one day, still maintaining their Super Saiyan forms, "I wanna ask you something."

"What is it?" Gohan asked while slicing a pear, using precise ki control to turn the tip of his finger into a knife.

"Do you know who you like yet?" Goku asked while making an absurdly tall sandwich.

"What do you mean?" Gohan responded curiously. His mom wasn't asking about… _that,_ was she?

"I mean, y'know, your mother likes me," Oh dear God she was, "So I figure she likes girls. I kinda like everyone but if I think about it, I always kinda thought Launch and Bulma were pretty more than I thought any guys were pretty. Maybe Krillin, I guess. So, do you know if you like boys or girls? Or both? ...Gohan?" Gohan's response was somewhat delayed as he was trying not to choke on a slice of pear while hitting himself in the chest.

"Guh… huh…" Gohan finally panted out once he no longer had fruit jammed in his esophagus. "I dunno," he replied. "I think… I mean I dunno, I haven't thought about it too much. I mean, I guess there are some girls that are cute at school but… maybe both?" Goku smiled and tousled her son's hair while compressing her giant sandwich in her hands.

"That's nice," she told him before shoving her entire sandwich into her mouth and eating the whole thing in one bite, something that would have earned her Suno's sternest reproach. "Whoever you decide you like," Goku continued, "I can't wait to meet them someday. And I know they'll be really lucky." She giggled as Gohan's face got bright red and he buried it in his hands.

" _Moooom,"_ he groaned.

OoOoOoO

Gohan and Goku now had near-complete control of their Super Saiyan forms. Five months ago, Gohan had been able to meditate for maybe a second before dropping out of his Super Saiyan form. Today he had already been meditating in this form for four hours. His mom was trying to help him learn Instant Transmission like she'd promised him that she would. The tricky part of that was that, within the endless pocket dimension of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, there were only the two of them. Not a lot of ki to try and focus on. When Gohan tried to expand his consciousness and sense the ki of the world outside of the chamber, however, it messed with his head.

"Everything out there feels so… _slow,"_ he muttered. Goku nodded with a grimace, no doubt having tried to do the same thing.

"Yeah," she agreed, "It's pretty weird." She could sense, however vaguely, that Vegeta had done the dumb thing. She sighed and shook her head in clear disappointment. Vegeta still clearly had a long way to go.

"What's wrong, mom?" Gohan asked. Goku sighed again and started to get up. Clearly Gohan hadn't been able to sense it yet so there was nothing to worry him about yet.

"Nothing," she told him. "We'll focus on the Instant Transmission training once we get out of here. Let's get back to sparring!" Gohan nodded and got back to his feet eagerly before getting into a fighting stance. That day's sparring had been highly educational for Goku for two reasons. The first one was that, when Gohan had hit her, it hurt. A _lot._ Gohan had been progressing tremendously in the last several months and was already an equal to her skill as a fighter but now he was matching her power as well!

The second one came at the end of the spar, after Goku had knocked Gohan to the ground with a blow to the back of the head. He dropped out of his Super Saiyan form and collapsed onto the white ground, the sight of which made Goku power down herself with concern etched onto her face.

"Gohan!" she cried worriedly. "Are you alright?!" Gohan didn't reply but he was starting to stir at least, which made Goku give a sigh of relief. "Come on," she told him as she started to walk towards him, "Let's call it a day. We've been sparring for twelve hours. I think it's time for a break." Then Gohan said something that surprised her.

"N-no," he groaned out, his gloved hands scraping against the smooth, glass-like surface of the floor as he pushed himself up slowly to his feet. "No, mom! Everyone's counting on us! I can't just be strong, I have to be the best! I have to be as good as you!" It was as if Gohan was suddenly filled with renewed life and his aura flared brighter than ever as he transformed into a Super Saiyan again. "I-I know I can keep going!" Lightning crackled in his aura and around his hair as his resolute expression turned furious. "Don't baby me, mom! I can handle it!" His mouth twisted into a cold smirk before he threw back his head and screamed with all of his heart. For half a heartbeat, Gohan's hair spiked even higher than normal and his ki skyrocketed higher than ever before. Then the moment passed and Gohan collapsed, his hair black again. The whole thing had left Goku absolutely stunned. She knew that Gohan had tremendous power but nothing like this…

' _He can do it,'_ she thought proudly as she carried Gohan back into the chamber and put him to bed. ' _He can really do it!'_

OoOoOoO

There was only a month left before Goku and Gohan would have to finish their training or else be locked inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber forever. In that time, Gohan's strength and abilities continued to increase and he became more and more confident in his power. Yet, as their time drew to a close, Gohan would never have been prepared for what his mother was about to tell him.

"So mom," Gohan asked one day during a break from their sparring, "Do you have a plan for beating Cell?" They were sitting on the steps of the chamber and seeing how far they could throw peach pits out into the abyss. By this point, Gohan was so comfortable with being a Super Saiyan that he didn't even think about it sometimes. He'd see his mom as a Super Saiyan and it would make him remember that he, too, was a Super Saiyan.

"Not really," Goku admitted. "But I didn't really have a plan for Freeza, either. Figure I'll just hit Cell really hard and see what happens." She grinned at Gohan and that made him realize it was a joke, so they shared a laugh. "Actually," Goku admitted, "I _do_ have a plan for beating Cell."

"Really?" Gohan asked as he grabbed a peach pit and pulled his arm back to throw it. "What is it?"

"You, Gohan," his mom stated matter-of-factly. "You're gonna beat Cell." The peach pit slipped from Gohan's hand and bonked him on the head.

"Say what?" Gohan asked while cocking his head to one side. _Him? He_ was going to beat Cell?! What was his mom talking about?! "D-do you mean that Cell's not as strong as you?" Gohan wondered, trying to grab for something that made sense. "That's what you mean, right? And you're just going to give me a chance to prove myself?"

"Nope," Goku said plainly. "I can't really accurately gauge how powerful Cell is from inside here but I do know one thing: If _I_ can't beat Cell, _you_ can. You're stronger than me, Gohan." This was it, Gohan decided. Clearly, the extreme isolation had finally driven his mother insane. Why else would she say something like that? Him? Stronger than _her?_

"M-mom," Gohan replied with a nervous chuckle, "You-you're kidding, right? You're… I mean, come o–" Goku screamed suddenly and swung her fist at Gohan in a punch. Gohan brought his hand up quickly to catch her fist in his palm, the impact making a "THOOMP" sound like a bomb going off underwater. Despite the sound of the impact, and the fact that the shockwave sent their pile of peach pits tumbling off into oblivion, Gohan didn't feel any pain in his hand.

"I just tried to punch you as hard as I could," Goku pointed out. Gohan blinked in disbelief and stared at his hand. There was no way… this couldn't be happening. "And you've got even more power inside you than you realize. I'm so proud of how strong you've become!" Gohan just shook his head slowly as if he still couldn't fathom what he was being told. "I know it's a lot to take in," Goku told her son as she put her arm around him, "But I know you can do it. I believe in you, Gohan. I always have."

"I just… I don't know if I do," Gohan admitted softly. "I mean, I've always tried to help and I can do some damage when I get mad but you're always the one who's saved the day. It's hard for me to believe that I have this kind of power or that I can actually do what you think I can." Then he looked up at his mom and gave her a weak smile. "But if you believe in me… I guess I can at believe in the me that you believe in." Gohan wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that but it made him feel a little better.

"You'll see," Goku said encouragingly as she pulled Gohan in for a hug which he happily returned. "Just don't tell your mother about the plan, okay? I'm pretty sure she'd freak out." Gohan laughed and nodded before Goku let go of the hug. Then Goku said something else that surprised Gohan. "Y'know what?" she said as she hopped up to her feet. "Let's get outta here!"

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked even as Goku held out a hand to help him up. "We still have another month left! There's more time to train!" Goku shook her head with a smile.

"Believe me," she told him, "We've done all that we can. I've gotten as strong as I'm going to and you're already more than powerful enough. Plus, I miss Suno and I'm sick of the color white. Come on!" Gohan had to admit that he was getting pretty sick of this place. It'd be nice to experience things like weather and sounds beside sparring and his own breathing again. To hear a voice that wasn't his mom's or his own. To talk to a third person. Mother and son walked to the doors of the chamber side by side with each one taking a door handle and swinging it open, walking out into the light, prepared for whatever awaited them on the other side.


	92. The Tournament of Terror!

Chapter Ninety-two

The Tournament of Terror! The Savior Has Come!

Trunks wiped his eyes and slowly sat up, still on his knees in the dirt. This was it. It was over. He was never going to defeat Cell. He'd never had a chance. Wallowing in the absolute depths of his despair, Trunks looked at the broken sword in his hands. There was still about an inch of jagged, broken steel jutting out from the hilt. He felt his heart racing as the sunlight glinted off of the point of the blade.

"It'd be so easy…" he whispered. His hands were trembling so horribly that he nearly dropped the sword. He closed his eyes… but when he closed them, he saw Gohan. Not the Gohan of this timeline but _his_ Gohan. The look of surprise and horror on his face. The hole burned right between Gohan's wide open eyes. Trunk squeezed his jaw shut and his grip tightened on the sword as his eyes opened slowly. "No," he muttered in a resolute growl. "No," he said again, more emphatically, as he rose to his feet. "Cell doesn't get to win this easily!" Then he took off into the sky again to head back to the Lookout. He had to tell the others what he'd learned. He knew _he_ couldn't defeat Cell so the only ones he could hope for was Goku and Gohan. That was a little funny, actually. From the stories his mother had told him growing up, that was how things had usually gone for everyone before Cell, too.

OoOoOoO

" _You said that if Goku is alive in the other timeline, they'll be able to defeat Cell," Trunks said as he helped his mother work on the time machine, handing her tools from her toolbox when she reached for them. "Was she really that powerful a fighter?"_

" _It's not that," Bulma replied, her voice slightly echoing with her head buried in the Time Machine's inner workings. She reached a hand out and Trunks handed her a soldering iron. "Goku_ was _the strongest of us but her greatest strength was what she could do for others. She inspired us and made us feel like everything would be okay. As long as we knew Goku was coming, it gave us an energy to fight on. All we had to do was hold the line."_

OoOoOoO

Yet even as he reflected on his mother's words, Trunks remembered what Cell had told him. If Cell had been travelling through time for fifty years, she _must_ have fought Goku before and defeated her. So much for Goku's inspiration. Was there _any_ hope of winning?

"It's funny," Trunks muttered bitterly to himself. "I didn't even know I had any hope left to lose." He flew in silence on the way back to the Lookout and the expectant expressions on everyone else's faces hit him like a punch to the stomach.

"Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed with worry as she ran up to him and stroked his face with motherly overexcitement. "What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need a senzu?"

"Trunks," Piccolo put in before Bulma could smother the young man, "What happened with Cell? We felt your power skyrocket before it dropped down to almost nothing and then Cell flew off."

"Yeah," Launch added, "You don't _look_ like Cell kicked the shit outta ya." Trunks started to reply when Bulma wrapped her arms around Trunks and held her time-displaced son close.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Bulma muttered. Being hugged by his mother, whom he had almost assuredly failed and was more than likely dead, was almost more than Trunks could stand.

"Trunks?" Suno asked as she saw tears forming in the corners of Trunks' eyes. "What's wrong?" Trunks reluctantly shoved Bulma away and forced himself not to cry, feeling Vegeta's glare on him from a distance. He wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction of thinking he was weak. Then he let out a shaky breath and told them everything Cell had told him. Their faces fell at the revelation and a cloud of dread seemed to hang over them when Trunks was finished.

"Well..." Tenshinhan observed succinctly, "Shit." Launch and Krillin nodded, clearly sharing his sentiment.

"So what the hell are the 'Cell Games?'" Suno asked. "Is… she," she was still getting used to the idea of calling Cell that and she'd actually seen Cell's Perfect form. Ten, Launch, Bulma, and Piccolo had a _very_ difficult time of wrapping their heads around that. "Is she gonna like… host a big track and field event or something? Whoever throws the shotput the furthest wins and if she wins she blows up the world?" She wasn't being serious, obviously, but she really had no idea _what_ was going to happen. This was so… _weird._ Freeza had toyed with them back on Namek but that was different from Cell turning the fate of the world, of the _universe,_ into a literal _game._

"I don't know," Trunks admitted. "Cell just said to watch the news." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry," he muttered glumly. Krillin patted him on the arm and gave him a weak smile.

"It's okay," he assured Trunks, "You did your best. Besides, world's not over yet! We've still got practically a whole day before Gohan and Goku come out of there! Who knows what kinda power they'll have when they come out?"

"Oh yes," Vegeta scoffed, speaking for the first time since Suno had shoved a senzu into his unconscious mouth and forced him to swallow it like a dog with medicine. "Grovel before Kakarot and wait for _her_ to solve the problem. Bunch of cowards!" Trunks' face burned with anger as he shoved past the group to stomp towards Vegeta. He smirked at Trunks' fury and shook his head in disappointment. "And you're the worst of the lot," he said harshly. "No doubt you intend to put all of your problems and your failures at _my_ feet like the disappointment you are, refusing to accept ant responsibility for your actions." Trunks' eyes widened at Vegeta's insult and the King of Saiyans glowered in contempt. "You had all this power inside you. You could have finished Cell off at any time! So why did you not do so?" Trunks seethed as his fury smoldered in his dark eyes, looking more like his father in that moment than he could ever realize. "Well? Come on, let's hear it!"

"Because," Trunks spat contemptuously, "I wanted to believe in you. I wanted to give you a chance to do the right thing. Because despite everything my mother told me, I wanted to believe you could be a good person. Because I was an idiot." He sneered at Vegeta in utter disgust. "I can't believe I ever wanted to know you. I don't want anything to do with you!" Then he turned sharply away from Vegeta and headed back toward the others, leaving Vegeta to ferment in his anger and his wounded dignity.

"So," Krillin asked, "What now?" Piccolo shook his head.

"We know that Cell isn't going to make an attack for at least a week," he observed. "Goku and Gohan, as Krillin already pointed out, won't be coming out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for several more hours." He gave a shrug, his blue cape billowing slightly in a sudden breeze. "I suppose we'll just have to wait until they come out." There was a slight pause. "...I more or less live here now," he remarked, "But you all are free to go home."

"Oh yeah," Launch muttered, "You and Kami merged. Kinda forgot about that in all the excitement. ...Which means there's no more Dragon Balls."

"I'm sorry, _what?!"_ Bulma exclaimed. She'd missed that particular revelation as she had been cut out from the telepathic relay of this conversation earlier.

"When Kami and I merged," Piccolo explained, "The Dragon Balls became inert as Kami technically no longer existed and the Dragon Balls were tethered to his life force."

"Oh no," Bulma muttered as the color drained from her face. "Oh no, this is bad."

"Yes," Ten remarked dryly, "We already came to that conclusion."

"Well, wait a sec," Krillin objected. "What if we went and got a Namekian to come from New Namek to serve as Earth's Guardian? I mean, we _did_ save their entire race, I don't think they'd mind that much."

"That'd be great," Bulma muttered sarcastically, "If I hadn't lost the paper that the coordinates were written on." The rest of the group promptly face-fell.

"Oh, you've gotta be fuckin' _kidding_ me," Suno groaned irritably. Bulma held her hands up defensively as the others glowered at her and got to their feet. "Well maybe Kaiou knows. Has anyone tried asking him?" There was an awkward silence. "Wait, _can_ any of us talk to him?"

"I've never tried," Tenshinhan said with a shrug. "His jokes aren't really my style." They all waited for the expectant "I heard that!" that would usually follow that sort of statement but it didn't come and they collectively shrugged. Except for Trunks, who just stared at them. His mother and Gohan had mentioned Kaiou in their stories about the way things were before everything went bad but as neither of them had been dead there was only so much they could tell him.

"I tried while we were waiting for Vegeta and Trunks," Piccolo admitted, "But I couldn't get any response. Even with Kami's knowledge and energy expanding my spiritual consciousness, it was as if he simply… wasn't there."

OoOoOoO

In the year 850 on the technological marvel that was Toki Toki City, Northern Kaiou, the supreme God of the Northern Universal Quadrant and greatest martial artist among the lesser Kaious, stood in the domicile of Chronoa, the Time Kaioushin, master of all time, the oldest of the Kaious, despite her youthful, childlike appearance and impulsive, energetic nature.

They were in Chronoa's kitchen and Kaiou was giving her cooking lessons.

"Thanks for coming by," Chronoa said cheerily as she watched Kaiou expertly dicing carrots and leeks on a cutting board while she used a mortar and pestle properly for the first time in her nearly-infinite life. "Honestly, I dunno what I'd do without you stopping by every couple hundred years."

"I just don't understand it," Kaiou muttered as he pushed the vegetables into a neat little pile and started cutting up mushrooms. Chronoa looked at him quizzically.

"Don't understand what?" she asked. Kaiou pulled down his sunglasses and peered at her with a certain measure of exasperation.

"You're the Time Kaioushin," he pointed out, "The observer and controller of all of time! How can you not find enough time to figure out how to cook? I swear, the last time I visited you were nearly chopping off your fingers!"

"Well I don't have an answer to that," Chronoa admitted, "But you know what I _can_ do as the Time Kaioushin?" her childlike face suddenly hardened as her eyes narrowed. "I _can_ go back in time and ensure that you were never born. I mean I kinda _shouldn't_ because I'm supposed to preserve the time stream but, hey, as long as _a_ Northern Kaiou is born, no harm done." The color drained from Kaiou's face and his blood ran cold.

"S-so," he stammered as a nervous, force smile curled onto his lips, "C-can you get me the wok? You wanted to learn how to make stir fry today, right?"

OoOoOoO

The group looked at each other again and shrugged. "I guess we'll all meet here tomorrow," Suno suggested. "Not like there's any point in hanging around here for the rest of the day." Everyone nodded and those who could fly started to make for the edge of the Lookout while Bulma popped one of her plane capsules.

"Make sure to keep the news on!" Launch called as the human quartet walked off the edge of the Lookout and flew off in three separate directions. Tenshinhan and Launch came home to find that Chaozu had returned from the Wolf and Ox household with about half a dozen extra pancakes from Chi-Chi. Suno returned home and tried to grade some tests before almost immediately quitting with _far_ too much on her mind to focus on who got what history question wrong and sat down to flick through the TV.

Krillin floated out over the open ocean and was nearly at Kame house. He hung in the air and listened to the rolling of the waves as he felt the breeze brush over the smooth surface of his shiny head. He was completely alone. It was in that moment when he recognized his solitude that he cracked. He threw his head back and screamed in anguish and heartbreak before burying his face in his hands, sobbing pathetically. He'd just let her _die._ If he had just been stronger, if he'd been more of a man, none of this would have happened. They could've killed Cell and then gotten one of the Namekians to be the new Guardian and wished everyone back. But he'd screwed up again, because he was weak. This was his fault.

"Hey, Trunks?" Bulma asked as she started to climb into her yellow plane, "What happened to your sword?" Trunks gave a start and looked down at his hand, having almost completely forgotten that he held the broken blade in his tightly-clenched fist. "Trunks?" Bulma repeated softly as he stared at it.

OoOoOoO

" _Mom," Trunks said eagerly as he tugged on Bulma's shirt to get her attention. He couldn't have been more than nine or ten. "Mom, mom!" Bulma set her tools down on the workbench and pulled off her helmet, smiling down at Trunks. She was probably already working on the time machine, even back then._

" _What is it, sweetie?" Bulma asked as she dropped down to a crouch to look at Trunks eye level._

" _You need to make me a sword!" Trunks told her firmly, as if this were an undeniable fact. Bulma raised her eyebrows curiously and gave Trunks a weary, questioning smile._

" _What the heck do you need a sword for?" she asked. "Who would even teach you how to use it?"_

" _Gohan showed me some of the books he read when he was my age," Trunks explained. "In his stories, the hero always beats the monster with a sword! If I'm going to beat Cell then I need a sword, too!" Bulma laughed and tousled Trunks' hair._

" _Okay," she told him. "One sword. I think I can take care of that." She was probably already overworked and exhausted, to say nothing of the stress of losing nearly everyone and everything that had mattered to her. Yet she still made Trunks that promise. "Anything for my little hero," she added before kissing Trunks on the forehead._

" _Mooooom!" Trunks groaned as he pushed her away in embarrassment and tried furiously to rub the smooch-stain off._

 _It was nearly two years later when Bulma handed it to him. Trunks stared at it wordlessly in breathless amazement as he drew it from its sheath and watched the light of the workshop glinting off the almost mirror-like surface of the blade._

" _It's beautiful, mom!" Trunks exclaimed as he gave a few practice swings, testing the balance and listening gleefully to the way it swished through the air. "As long as I've got something like this, Cell doesn't stand a chance!"_

OoOoOoO

"Trunks?" Bulma asked again, having gotten back out of the plane to put a hand gently on Trunks arm. "What's wrong?" She saw the tears in the corner of Trunks' eyes as his face screwed up in guilt and self-loathing. His hand shook so badly that the broken blade rattled in the hilt.

"Nothing," Trunks grumbled as he pulled sharply away from Bulma's touch, which startled her. "It's just a stupid sword. Just a stupid dream." He powered up to a Super Saiyan and screamed with rage as he threw the sword as hard as he possibly could, watching with contempt as it hurtled off toward the horizon. Then he flew away, leaving Bulma to watch her son with concern.

OoOoOoO

Back at the Capsule Corp building, Bulma managed to get Trunks to sit down with her in the living room to watch some TV with her and his "past" self. Trunks sat down in a bit of a huff with his arms folded while Bulma channel surfed. She stopped on a trio of ducks in colorful sweatshirts and matching caps.

"Oh, I used to watch this when I was a kid!" she exclaimed happily. "I didn't know they were still rerunning it."

"Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes," the theme song sang, "It's a duck blur! Y'might solve a mystery or rewrite history!" Trunks looked incredulously back and forth between the television and his mother, who was dancing in her seat with the baby Trunks happily giggling in her lap.

"Wh… what is this?" he asked in bewilderment.

"It's a cartoon," Bulma explained. Trunks didn't look any less confused. "What," Bulma asked, "You never watched cartoons?"

"When?" Trunk asked flatly with growing irritation. "When would I have _ever_ had an opportunity to–" He stopped himself and set his fists in his lap, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to–" They were interrupted as the TV set crackled and immediately switched to a human man in a dark brown suit sitting behind a news desk. The dark-haired, clean-shaven young man was Caesar Firecracker, kid brother to famous field reporter Jimmy Firecracker, and the new lead anchor for the ZTV afternoon news after the previous head anchor, a skunkman, was forced to step down for "inappropriate workplace conduct." The young anchorman was clearly sweating bullets and looked absolutely terrified.

"L-ladies and gentlemen," he stammered while trying to maintain some level of professional conduct to rein in his mind-numbing terror, "We interrupt your regularly-scheduled broadcast to bring you this emergency b-bulletin." He swallowed and started to speak again when a voice from off-camera cut him off.

"It's alright," Perfect Cell assured him as she sauntered on screen and stood behind Caesar's chair, "I can take it from here. This will go out to _everyone,_ right?" Caesar nodded nervously. "Super!" Perfect Cell then looked straight into the camera. "Imperfect dregs of the Earth," she began, "My name is Perfect Cell!"

" _That_ chick is Cell?" Bulma asked in disbelief. Trunks nodded, his jaw clenched shut and his fists squeezed so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Vegeta watched the broadcast on the television in his bedroom and his face curdled with rage at the sight of Perfect Cell.

OoOoOoO

"Wait, what?!" Launch exclaimed as she, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu stared at the television. Yet again, their new show had been interrupted. This time it had been the big fight between Mob and Teru. Tenshinhan merely stared with all three eyes bugged out wide.

"...Not bad," Chaozu muttered appreciatively and received _immediate_ death glares from the other two. "What?"

OoOoOoO

Roshi and Krillin watched the broadcast on Kame Island, Roshi sitting on the couch and Krillin leaning over the back of it, glowering at the television. Roshi took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes, squinting at the picture.

"I thought you said it was some kinda bug," Roshi muttered. Krillin only glowered at the screen.

OoOoOoO

"If you're wondering around the cause of the recent disappearances in cities all across the globe," Perfect Cell continued before pausing dramatically and chuckling, "You're lookin' at her. Thankfully, your time of terror is nearly at an end," she flashed a malevolent smile with murder in her eyes. "Because you're all going to die."

OoOoOoO

"Good heavens!" Yuki gasped as she watched the broadcast on her little TV. She held tightly onto Chief Eighter's big hands as he stood beside her and watched worriedly. She hoped Suno and her family would be alright.

OoOoOoO

"Sooo," Upa said as he sat on Mai's desk while he, Mai, and Iris watched the news on the TV in their office, "Time to skip town for a little while?" They'd been lucky so far, honestly, Epicenter City being one of the few major cities that hadn't been hit yet. Maybe they could go visit his father at the Holy Korin land, away from the rest of the population, until this blew over.

OoOoOoO

Yamcha frowned and ground his teeth as he watched on the Ox King's big screen TV. The rest of the family was outside in the backyard, the kids wanting to play with "Pawpaw" and the swing set that Ox King had bought and and built for them. He'd let them stay out there and tell them about this himself later.

OoOoOoO

"Now don't worry, I'm not gonna just blow up the Earth," Perfect Cell continued with an almost teasing tone to her voice. "Did that already and it's just kinda boring after the eighth time. You'll have a chance to avoid your planet's fate and protect it from my wrath in… the Cell Games!" She turned around to face the map of the world on the wall behind her and stabbed her finger through the map in the plains between Epicenter City and the Northern Mountains. "Exactly ten days from today," Perfect Cell explained as she turned to the camera again, "I will be holding an open invitation tournament: Me versus the entire population of this planet! Those seem like pretty good odds, right? All you have to do is defeat me in single combat. Or heck, rush me all at once, I don't really mind!" She spread her arms out wide in a challenging gesture, beckoning with her hands, as if she was genuinely expecting the world to attack her right there. "So go ahead, get your strongest fighters! Come one, come all! Don't hold anything back! Because if you _can't_ defeat me?" Perfect Cell chuckled and put a fingertip on Caesar's desk. "Boom." The desk burst apart into subatomic ash, causing Caesar to collapse to the floor since he'd been leaning on it. "See you all in ten days!" Perfect Cell said with a parting wave before flying up through the ceiling like a rocket, laughing maniacally and melodramatically. Caesar climbed up into his chair and did his best to look professional.

"W-we will bring you more on this story as it develops," He said, "But for now we will return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast." Suno watched the whole thing with a steely expression on her face, her hands on her lap as she hunched forward to lean closer to the TV.

"When my wife gets out of that chamber," she muttered resolutely, "She's gonna kick the shit outta you." A few minutes passed and Suno had barely settled back in to watching her show when the television cut to static again before going to the front of some large mansion with a balcony overlooking an enormous crowd that had gathered in front of it. "Huh," Suno muttered, "That was quick."

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Jimmy Firecracker as the camera panned down to the beleaguered and bespectacled correspondant, "We now bring you live to Orange Star City, the home of the World Champion, who will give a statement as to what you just heard."

"World Champion?" Suno muttered as she scratched her head. That sure didn't look like _her_ house.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a deep and sonorous voice boomed from the house, "Have no fear, your savior is here! The champion of the 24th Tenkaichi Budoukai–"

"Wait, when did _that_ happen?" Suno, Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Launch all asked at the same time.

"The man of the hour," the voice continued, "The tower of power, too sweet to be sour, too hot to handle and too cold to hold! The Immortal, the Headliner, the Showstopper, the Icon, the Main Event! The Once in a Century Talent! The People's Champion, the Best in the World, the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rollah! The World's Most Dangerous Man, the Lethal Weapon! The Phenomenal One! The Greatest Man that Ever Lived! Big Daddy Cool! He is the Best there is, the Best there was, and the Best there ever will be!" At this point, white smoke had begun to billow up from the balcony and the crowd was shaking their fists and stomping their feet, working themselves into a frenzy. "The Man They Call… Hercule!" Hercule Satan, as he had legally changed his name, burst through the balcony's double doors to rapturous cheers as the gathered crowd roared and screamed his name.

OoOoOoO

"Oh my fucking God!" Tenshinhan exclaimed in exasperation while Launch was reduced to peals of wordless, helpless laughter, falling off the couch and kicking her feet in the air as she turned red in the face.

OoOoOoO

"Wait, seriously?!" Yamcha asked incredulously. " _This guy_ won the Tenkaichi Budoukai?!" He wished someone had told him when the 24th tournament had been. He could've actually won it for once!

OoOoOoO

It clearly wasn't just the Tenkaichi Budoukai that Hercule had won as he had more than a dozen championship belts from various tournaments he had won draped over his arms and strapped to his waist and legs, with his wife Miguel holding up two and his young, pigtail-wearing daughter Videl holding one in her arms. Hercule held up his hands and the audience immediately went silent, hanging onto his every word.

"Well lemme tell ya something, Perfect Cell!" Hercule boomed, his voice amplified by the earpiece microphone that he was wearing. The audience cheered and Hercule waited for them to stop before continuing. "You show up outta nowhere, ya kill a whole buncha innocent people, and you think that makes you bad?" Hercule gave a short, rhetorical pause before immediately roaring, "It doesn't matter what you think!" The crowd parroted his words as he said them and cheered again. "You forgot one thing, Cell," Hercule continued. "You forgot about The Man! You forgot about The Champ! You forgot about the guy who's gonna stomp a mudhole in your ass and walk it dry!" The crowd roared as Miguel gasped and looked down at Videl, who heard all of this with a huge grin on their face. "In fact, why don't you all tell Cell what's gonna happen when I get my hands on her in ten days?" Hercule asked, gesturing down to the crowd.

"Cell's gonna get her fucking head kicked in!" The crowd chanted, clapping their hands rhythmically before chanting it again. "Cell's gonna get her fucking head kicked in!" Hercule laughed and beckoned for the crowd to keep chanting, cupping his hands to his ears to make them chant even louder. Miguel's eyes went as big as dinner plates and she quickly covered Videl's ears while she elbowed Hercule in the ribs and gestured angrily down toward Videl with her chin. Hercule, as if realizing his mistake, quickly gestured for the crowd to hush, which they did immediately.

"My dad's gonna kick Cell's fucking butt!" Videl exclaimed. Miguel nearly fainted on the spot as Hercule threw back his head and laughed boisterously. The crowd roared as Hercule scooped Videl up and put her on his shoulder before grabbing Miguel and putting her on his other shoulder, thrusting his arms triumphantly into the air as the crowd cheered.

"Fuck 'er up, Hercule, fuck 'er up!" They shouted before clapping and stomping their feet. "Fuck 'er up, Hercule, fuck 'er up!"

OoOoOoO

"Soooo," Tenshinhan asked the still laughing, still-red-faced Launch on the floor, "We're not _actually_ going to let him fight Cell, right? She'll kill him just by looking at him really hard."

"I-is that supposed to make me _not_ want him to fight?" Launch asked, barely able to get the words out as tears ran down her face. Ten sighed and rolled his eyes. What a circus this was turning out to be. It would almost be funny if it weren't also completely terrifying.


	93. Goku and Gohan Return!

Chapter Ninety-three

Goku and Gohan Return! Meeting of the Mightiest Maidens!

When Suno got up the morning after Cell's announcement, meaning that there were only nine days until the Cell Games, she ate a quick breakfast, showered, dressed, and grabbed fresh gis for Goku and Gohan before immediately flying toward the Lookout. Her yellow summer dress fluttered in the breeze as she sailed up toward the Lookout and, to her surprise, everyone from yesterday was already there. They looked more or less the same as they had the day before, only with a change of clothes. Trunks had abandoned his Saiyan armor for a pair of blue jeans, a pastel green polo shirt, and yellow-and-black sneakers, all of which looked brand new and all of which Suno had the strong suspicion Bulma had bought for him the day before.

"Guessing you guys were feeling a little restless too, huh?" Suno asked dryly. Krillin chuckled and gave a half-shrug.

"Well, y'know," he said, "I think we're all just kinda waiting for Goku to come out and tell us she's stronger than Cell so we can stop freaking out."

"Speak for yourself!" Vegeta shouted from the edge of the Lookout while clearly making a concerted effort to stand as far away from the group as possible. Suno rolled her eyes and sat on the steps of the Lookout's main temple. She'd expected to wait for a few hours and had even brought a deck of cards to pass the time. So she was immensely surprised when, only about an hour or so after she had arrived, she heard the doors to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber open and barely managed to get to her feet and turn around before she was tackled by a pair of golden blurs. Suno let out a whoop of surprise as she was lifted effortlessly into the air by the blurs, which she realized were her wife and son.

"G-guys!" Suno laughed with her face red from embarrassment as everyone looked up at them. "P-put me down! Jeez!" Goku and Gohan floated down with enormous grins on their faces, still hugging Suno between them until she gave them a good-natured shove. "Gah," she muttered as she waved a hand in front of her face, "Not that I'm not happy you guys came out early but you couldn't have taken five minutes to take a shower?" Mother and son stood there with their saiyan armor scratched, scuffed, and full of holes and exchanged somewhat-bashful glances. It was only then that Suno finally noticed their appearances. "Oh my gosh!" Suno exclaimed proudly. "Gohan! You're a Super Saiyan!" Gohan beamed with pride as Suno ran her hands over the stiff spikes of his hair.

"Took you long enough," Vegeta grumbled as the crowd gathered towards them. "I see you're only a Super Saiyan, Kakarot," he remarked smugly. "All that time and you couldn't ascend?" Goku gave Vegeta a curious look.

"What," she asked, "You mean those buff forms?" She made a "psssh" sound and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Those are dumb!" Vegeta let out a wordless bark of anger and snarled as his face turned red. "Gohan and I worked on a better way to increase our power by training until it was as easy to be a Super Saiyan as it was our base forms." She gestured to herself and Gohan's spiky hair and the complete lack of strain they were under. "See?" she asked with a grin. "No sweat!"

"I beg to differ," Krillin grumbled as he took a few steps away from Goku and held his nearly-invisible nose, fanning a hand in front of his face. Everyone mirrored his gesture and stepped backwards from the Super Saiyan duo. Goku and Gohan smelled their underarms curiously and gagged. Maybe they _should_ have bathed before they left the chamber…

"So what have we missed?" Gohan asked. "I'm guessing by the way you were all waiting for us so anxiously, _someone_ screwed up." He shot Vegeta a dirty look and the King sneered right back at the halfbreed in contempt.

"Well," Bulma explained, "Apparently Cell's a girl now." That was a surprise in and of itself as Gohan reflected on the bug-creature he had encountered in Parsley City and Goku thought about the weird buff green thing she'd saved Ten and Piccolo from. "Also, she's been time travelling for a while. I guess she's bored with it because now she's gonna go back and start time all over if nobody can stop her. She did a whole big thing on the news yesterday about the 'Cell Games' in nine days and–"

"That sounds like a tournament!" Goku interjected excitedly. Bulma sighed and shook her head. Some things never changed.

"Yes," she replied, "It _is_ a tournament." Goku grinned from ear to ear and let out a squeal of excitement before Piccolo moved toward her.

"Not to spoil your fun," Piccolo asked, "But judging by your confidence, I'm assuming you're strong enough to defeat Cell?" Goku rubbed at her chin thoughtfully and closed her eyes, sensing Cell's ki. If that was Cell's base power in its… in _her_ Perfect Form…

"It's hard to gauge," Goku admitted, "But I think so. I can't really be sure, though." Everyone stared at her with wide eyes and bodies rigid with terror. Everyone except for Vegeta, of course. "What?"

"Goku," Tenshinhan suggested as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down his forehead, "If you're not sure that you're strong enough to defeat Cell, you need to head back into the Time Chamber as soon as possible!"

"I've already decided on the most efficient way to divide our time," Piccolo explained. "I'll go in first. Then tomorrow, Vegeta and Trunks will–"

"Absolutely not," Trunks said bluntly. Piccolo rolled his eyes and let out an irritated breath.

" _Fine,"_ he groused. "Vegeta will go in tomorrow. The following day Trunks will go in, then Tenshinhan and Launch after him, followed by Suno and Krillin, and finally you and Gohan can go back into the chamber. That still gives us four days to spare and prepare mentally."

"Nah," Goku told Piccolo while exchanging sly looks with Gohan. "We don't need it!" If at all possible, everyone's eyes grew even wider and their bodies more tense with fear. "Look, guys, there _is_ such a thing as overtraining. There's a limit to how strong we can get inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and the conditions in there are so intense that you can't properly rest or breathe. We'd just be torturing ourselves."

"Goku," Suno asked cautiously, "Are you sure about this?" She trusted her wife implicitly but, well, this _was_ the end of the world they were discussing. Potentially the end of literally everything. These were pretty extreme stakes.

"Trust me, Suno," Goku told her with a reassuring smile. "Gohan and I can handle the rest of our training out here." Then she leaned in to whisper in Suno's ear. "Besides, I don't wanna spend another year without you around." Suno blushed and giggled despite herself while Piccolo, the only one who had heard, rolled his eyes.

"Well, well, well," Vegeta said and chuckled smugly as he walked up to Goku and crossed his arms. As one who had literally been neck-deep in corpses at various points in his life, body odor was among the least-unpleasant smells he had experienced. "It seems that the mighty Kakarot's power has a ceiling after all. The ceiling of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as it turns out."

"But doesn't the Time Chamber go out infinitely in all directions?" Trunks asked slyly. Vegeta glared murderously at his son before turning his attention back to Goku.

"Unlike you, Kakarot," Vegeta continued, "I do not have a woman's constitution that shrivels at the prospect of a little pain." Bulma was about to remind Vegeta _which_ one of them had given birth. "I shall be more than happy to reenter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and face this so-called 'torture' that you fear so much."

"Hey," Goku told him encouragingly, "Just 'cause I don't wanna go back in there doesn't mean you guys shouldn't go in there to try and beef up. Feel free to push yourselves!" Vegeta glowered at her in unadulterated loathing.

"I spent enough time around Freeza to know when I am being condescended to," he spat. "What are you implying, exactly, Kakarot? That you are simply that much more powerful than I?"

"Yup!" Goku told him with what could only be described as blunt pleasantness. "By a lot, actually." Vegeta stared at her in shock, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. He was so far past the point of furious that his brain seemed to have short circuited. Then Goku looked at Suno and grinned. "You guys ready to go?"

"Just a sec," Gohan said as he moved away from his moms and walked towards Piccolo. He looked down at the gi Suno had brought him with a slightly guilty and apologetic expression before turning back to Piccolo. "Uh, Mr. Piccolo? You know how how made me that gi that looked like my mom's when we were training for the Saiyans? And then you made the other one that looked like yours when that one got all ripped?"

"Let me guess," Piccolo replied with a slight smile, "You want me to make you another gi like your mom's?"

"Actually," Gohan told him with a smile of his own, "I was… hoping you could make something that looked like mom's _and_ yours." Piccolo gave a start and his cheeks flushed a slightly darker shade of green. "And your old cape?" Gohan added. "Just… maybe with the shoulders a little smaller." Piccolo beamed proudly as he put his hand over Gohan's head. There was a burst of light and Gohan's saiyan armor had vanished, replaced by a purple Turtle-style gi with a blue undershirt, belt, wristbands, and brown boots. A cape with slightly-smaller shoulders completed the ensemble and blew softly in the wind as Gohan looked down at his outfit and beamed.

"Oh, hey," Launch interjected before the Son family could leave. "So the Dragon Balls are gone–"

"Oh, right!" Goku remarked as she looked at Piccolo. "Y'know, I almost didn't notice your new outfit. So you and Kami fused, huh?" Piccolo nodded while fidgeting with the collar of his blue cape. He clearly missed the shoulders.

"Anyway," Launch pressed on, "Dragon Balls. Gone. This is a problem. None of us had been able to get in touch with Kaiou so we were hoping you could talk to him and he could point you to New Namek."

"Oh, sure!" Goku assured the gang. "No problem! I'll go to his planet after I go home and shower and junk. See you guys later!" The Son family gathered together with Gohan and Suno putting their arms around Goku.

"You guys should come by once everyone's had their day," Suno told the others. "We really ought to do like a picnic or something if the world's gonna end." Then they were gone in the blink of an eye.

"Boy!" Vegeta snapped at Trunks as he snapped back to reality. "The Chamber! Now!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Trunks shot back irritably.

"Fine," Vegeta scoffed as he stomped into the Temple. "I don't need your whining distracting me anyway. Or your mutterings about Gohan keeping me up!" He disappeared and there was a "Slam!" a few moments later as he entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Piccolo grumbled and pressed his face into his hand. Honestly, what was the point of setting up a timetable if everyone was going to ignore it?

"Soooo," Bulma said after a slightly-awkward silence as she turned to Trunks and fussed with his messy hair. "Let's go get you that haircut!"

OoOoOoO

"Okay, you two," Suno told the invincible alien warriors of legend firmly as they entered the house. "Shower, now!" She shoved Gohan into the bathroom first and washed his new, already-sweaty gi while he cleaned himself up. She wasn't really sure what to do with the cape so she let it air out on the clothesline. Gohan was out in about fifteen minutes while Goku, who went in right after him, took considerably longer.

He also couldn't find his mother anywhere during that time.

Gohan passed the time waiting for his mom to come out by reading his comics. He'd planned to catch up on his homework but then he remembered that it had only been a day. This, he realized, was going to take some getting used to.

"So!" Goku exclaimed as she came out of her and Suno's bedroom in her clean gi in the early afternoon. "Change of plans. I'm gonna take you to Kaiou and then he's gonna point _you_ to New Namek. You interacted with the Namekians more than I did so you'll probably have an easier time talking to them and convincing one of them to come live here."

"What are you gonna do?" Gohan asked. Goku rubbed the back of her head and gave a sideways glance.

"Talk to Cell," she told him hurriedly. Gohan blinked at her in confusion. "Just, y'know, get a better idea of who I'm fighting and stuff. If she went through all the trouble of announcing this 'Cell Games' thingy, I don't think she'd wanna jump the gun and fight right away just because I showed up." Gohan supposed that made sense. "Now you've never met Kaiou," Goku reminded Gohan, "So you're gonna have to hold onto me while I find his ki." Gohan nodded and held his mom's hand while Goku closed her eyes. "Now where the heck are you…" she muttered.

OoOoOoO

Kaiou looked at his watch, which was still tuned for the time that Chronoa had grabbed him from, and realized that he had better get going. "They were in the middle of something when I left," Kaiou reminded her.

"Oh right," Chronoa murmured offhandedly as she deveined a squid. "The whole Cell thing."

"Right," Kaiou said with a nod. "So right about now, they'll probably need my help on something."

"Yeah, no problem!" Chronoa replied cheerily as she put down her knife. She waved her hands intricately in the air, sparkles drifting from her fingertips as a temporal bubbles surrounded Kaiou. "Oh, by the way," Chronoa said suddenly, "If you could just not tell Goku about how I kinda grabbed her dad from the point of his death and brought him to the future that'd be super. I just don't want her messing up the timestream by leaving her point in the timeline to come try and meet him." She'd grabbed Bardock because he was historically significant, of course. And a capable warrior who could help train the Time Patrollers. Not because she had a crush on him. Nope. Although, if she _did,_ could you really blame her? The guy was a freakin' _fox._

"Eh," Kaiou shrugged, "Goku's never really cared about her Saiyan history all that much but sure. I'll keep it under my hat." Chronoa beamed appreciatively and tapped the bubble, causing it to pop and return Kaiou to his normal point in the timeline.

"Chronoa!" bellowed the gruff voice of the aforementioned scar-faced warrior. "Use those Super Balls or whatever the hell they're called to wish me up some better Time Patrollers! These ones _stink!"_

"H-hey! My Time Patrollers are great!" stammered an offended Trunks who technically didn't exist yet. Although from a nonlinear, nonsubjective viewpoint...

OoOoOoO

"Oh!" Goku declared as she locked onto Kaiou's ki. "There he is!" Goku and Gohan popped out of the Son household and popped onto Kaiou's front lawn an instant later. Gohan and Kaiou gave a simultaneous cry of shock as they met one another for the first time. While Kaiou recovered relatively quickly, Gohan was preoccupied by the strange purple-pink sky, the endless fields of yellow clouds, and the diminutive size of the planet itself. "Hey, Kaiou!" Goku greeted with a cheerful wave while Gohan gaped and gawked.

"H-hi, Goku," Kaiou gasped while clutching at his chest. "So what brings you here? Some kinda crisis, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," Goku said nonchalantly. "See, Piccolo fused with Kami, which means that the Dragon Balls don't really work anymore. I need to grab a Namekian from New Namek to be Earth's new guardian but nobody really remembers where it is."

"And you need me to help you find it," Kaiou surmised.

"Yeah!" Goku replied with an eager nod. "Well, not _me,"_ she quickly clarified, "I gotta… take care of some stuff back on Earth. Gohan can handle it, though, I taught him Instant Transmission!" Then she turned to Gohan and grinned. "You should be able to feel my ki from New Namek," she told him, "So just pop over to–" she paused and thought about that for a second. "No, better idea. You come back _here_ and then Kaiou will point you and the Namekian back to the Lookout. Have fun!" Then she was gone.

"So…" Gohan asked as he looked down at the strange blue catfish-god with tiny sunglasses. "Where do I go?" Kaiou took Gohan by the shoulders and turned him in a direction that Gohan could only guess was West. It was hard to tell exactly as there was no sun. In fact, Gohan had no idea _where_ the light source was for this planet, this whole _dimension_ , and it left the budding scientist in him baffled.

"It's in that direction," Kaiou clarified. "Just focus on a familiar ki. There should be one or two you recognize from your adventure on Old Namek." "Adventure", Gohan thought to himself as he put two fingers to his forehead, was _hardly_ the term he would use to describe the time he'd spent on Namek. "Unending parade of terror" was probably a closer fit. He closed his eyes and expanded his consciousness like his mom had taught him to do. It was surprisingly easy from this vantage point, as if the place where he were standing was disconnected from his entire universe. More scientific questions… Gohan pushed them out of his mind and focused on the ki again. He recognized a few of them from the fleeting time that there were more than a handful of people alive on Namek. One ki in particular, however, jumped out to him clearly. Just like that, Gohan was gone.

OoOoOoO

Dende was having a perfectly average, perfectly ordinary day on New Namek. He had just finished his studies with Elder Moori and was going to play the Earth kicking-ball game with some of his friends and his brother Cargo with the peculiar singular sun shining down on them.

Then a pale-skinned figure with golden growths coming out of his head appeared in front of Dende, dressed in clothes like the Earthly Namekian Piccolo. The sight was so startling to Dende that it knocked him off of his feet and he cried out in shock as he looked up at the stranger.

"Dende!" the stranger exclaimed in a reassuring voice. "Dende, it's okay! It's me, it's Gohan!" Dende looked up at him and, as his shock subsided, he recognized the other boy's features.

"G-Gohan?" Dende stammered out. "Y-you look so different! What happened?" Gohan held out his hand to help Dende to his feet and effortlessly pulled him up.

"Let me explain–" Gohan started to say before he caught himself and shook his head. "No, there's too much. Let me sum it up."

OoOoOoO

Back on Earth, Perfect Cell stood among the burning wreckage of the Royal Army force that had been sent out to attack her and clucked her tongue in disapproval. When she said _ten days,_ she meant _ten days._ She waved a hand and vaporized the destroyed vehicles and mangled corpses, leaving the area pristine. She had chosen this particular region to host her Cell Games for a specific reason. In an alternate timeline, she had discovered that this particular spot was home to a massive deposit of white marble. Perfect Cell raised her hands and reached out with her mighty psychokinetic powers. She ripped a massive slab of marble effortlessly up from the very earth and held it transfixed in the air with one hand. With her other hand, she expertly carved an intricate latticework of Perfectly square tiles. She scattered them in Perfect alignment with a flick of her wrists, the tiles falling and interlocking with one another. She then added a few layers of trim around the outside of the tiles to make steps and Perfectly shaped four conical spires for decoration, laying each one down on a corner of the ring. Three hundred feet by three hundred Perfect feet. Perfect Cell even blasted one of the absurdly large and mossy boulders that seemed to cover the plains to fill up the hole she'd ripped the marble out of.

"First try," Perfect Cell declared proudly. "Definitely, positively, one hundred percent first try."

OoOoOoO

Son Tenshinhan stopped his globetrotting and stared in confusion at the field stretched out before him. There were more than a dozen mismatched and oddly-shapen configurations of marble tiles. They looked almost like the ring of the Tenkaichi Budoukai only… not good. Although they got progressively less sucky.

He shook his head and adjusted the pack on his back before he resumed his journey. He had to get back to training. There were only two more years until the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai and he had a sneaking suspicion that he'd see Kakarot there.

OoOoOoO

"So wait," Suno remarked as she propped herself on her elbows to sit up on the bed, still draped in the blue negligee she'd put on as soon as Goku had gotten out of the shower. "You're _actually_ going to go talk to Cell?" She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.

"The last time I saw her, she was a weird monster-thing," Goku reminded Suno. "And not a she. I want to know where I stand and what to expect when I fight her in ten days." She saw Suno pout and put a hand on Suno's knee. "I'll only be a little bit. Ten minutes, tops!" Suno smirked and playfully pulled her knee away from Goku's hand.

"I'll be waiting," she murmured as she stretched her leg out, lifting it and pointing her foot seductively at Goku, running it along her arm. Goku grinned and then she was gone.

OoOoOoO

As she stood in the center of her Perfect ring, Perfect Cell reflected on what she was going to do once she inevitably won. After all, she'd never lost across the dozens of timelines she'd encountered so why should she expect things to change now? First and foremost, Perfect Cell decided, once she'd killed everyone on Earth, she was going to fix the time machine. She'd make it taller so that she could actually fit inside of it without regressing to her larval stage. She was sick of it. Regressing to an "it", losing her identity, the work and the struggle to become Perfect again. Although this time, she'd done in record time, at least. Not even a week, as opposed to her original timeline where it had taken her nearly two decades. Because of 18's influence tipping the scale into her Perfect form's feminine physique, every time she purged the twins' energy from her body, Perfect Cell lost that part of herself. She lost the ability to even recognize her femininity. No more, she decided firmly.

The first time she'd become Perfect, Perfect Cell had nearly gone insane as she attempted to reconcile her directive with her desires. She was supposed to be Earth's champion and protect the people of Earth. However, they were all so… disgustingly _imperfect._ Violent, hateful, conceited, stupid, and not to mention _ugly._ They were all misshapen, some too tall, some too fat, their faces all wrong, totally asymmetrical. How was she, the _Perfect_ lifeform, expected to protect something so disgustingly _imperfect?_ So she had crushed the voice of Gero inside her head into dust and resolved that she would still achieve her goal. She would protect the people of Earth. _Her_ people. A better, no, _Perfect_ people. And soon, she would make an entire Perfect uni–

"Hiya there!" Goku declared as she popped right in front of Perfect Cell. Perfect Cell gave a startled cry before she managed to collect herself and resume her normally smug composure.

"Ahhh," she breathed, "Son Goku. All pumped up and ready to fight?"

"Yeah!" Goku replied eagerly before adding, "Just, not today, y'know?"

"Oh, of course," Cell agreed, "Not _today."_

"I mean, you told everyone ten days."

"I _know!"_

"And it'd be rude to just punch you in the face before you were ready."

"Thank you! Someone who gets it!"

"Really, I just came here to figure out who I was dealing with," Goku explained. They stood in silence for a moment and eyed one another. Goku looked at Perfect Cell's body, taking every little detail into account. The parts of her face that seemed to come from Vegeta, Freeza, Piccolo, Suno, and even herself. The lay of Perfect Cell's muscles and the set of her exoskeleton. How her chest moved as she breathed, her posture. Every bit of information, no matter how small, told Goku something about how Perfect Cell fought. "So why are you doing this?" she asked suddenly. Judging by Perfect Cell's face, if she _had_ eyebrows to raise, she would have done so. "I mean, you're Perfect or whatever now, right? Why threaten to kill everyone? Why the big tournament? It doesn't have anything to do with the Red Ribbon Army, does it?"

"The Red Ri–" Perfect Cell muttered in confusion before realization hit her and she laughed. "Ha! Oh, man. You know, it's been so long that I actually forgot that Gero even worked for those clowns?" Then she shook her head. "No, this has nothing to do with the Red Ribbon Army. Heck, it doesn't even have to do with killing people. I could've done that a while ago. There's plenty of ways to do that without anyone being able to stop me. Blow up the sun, Death Ball the Earth's core, shove the planet out of its orbit… Oh! One time, I threw the moon at the planet and hit it _so_ Perfectly that the planet cracked in half!" Perfect Cell chuckled at the memory. "No, the real reason I'm doing this… is because I can. I want people to try and challenge me. I want to prove that _I,_ Perfect Cell, am the strongest being and the greatest fighter to ever live."

Goku nodded and rubbed her chin. "Y'know what? I get that." Perfect Cell looked genuinely surprised. "No, really, I do. Wanting to prove I'm the strongest, looking for challenges, constantly testing myself. I do that all the time. I guess it makes sense, with you sharing my DNA and all. It's kinda my thing."

"You _do_ make up thirty percent of my genetic code," Cell pointed out. Goku nodded although she wasn't _super_ sure what that meant. Then she sighed and shook her head.

"It just sucks that you're evil, y'know? I bet you'd make an awesome sparring partner!" Then she gave a shrug and a wave goodbye. "Gotta go. See you in nine days!" She was gone in a blink, startling Perfect Cell again.

Perfect Cell had been examining Goku, too. Every aspect of her, every detail of her face. Not because she was looking for clues to how to defeat her. Just remembering her face. This would be the last time, after all, and they had only interacted a total of five or six times in all of Cell's timeline hopping. It really was a _rare_ treat to murder Son Goku.


	94. Welcome to Earth, Dende!

Chapter Ninety-four

Welcome to Earth, Dende! The Countdown Begins!

"So Piccolo is dead?" Dende asked curiously as he and Gohan sat at a table inside Elder Moori's hut. Dende had brought Gohan to the Elder to tell him the story as well. They had tried as best they could to process the story Gohan had told them but, even as summarised as Gohan had assured them it was, it was a lot to process and somewhat difficult to understand.

"No, Piccolo's fine," Gohan assured him, "But because he and Kami became one person again, Kami doesn't exist anymore, so our world doesn't have Dragon Balls."

"And you need a new Elder for your planet," Moori replied, "To resurrect all those consumed by this… Cell creature." He was still startled by the power of the Dragon Balls that Katas's son had created held such a power. They had literally saved the entire Namekian race.

"Yes," Gohan replied. "Which is why I'm here, Elder Moori. I came to New Namek hoping that one of your people would be willing to return with me to Earth as its new Guardian. I know it's a lot to ask of one of your people, for them to leave behind the world they know–" Elder Moori held up a hand and smiled as he shook his head.

"Say no more, Gohan son of Goku," Moori said amicably. "The people of Namek owe their lives to you. You saved our people in the time of our darkest despair. How could we possibly deny you in your own time of trouble?" He rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes in thought. "You are right, though," he admitted. "It will be difficult to find a Namekian willing to leave our new ho–"

"I will go," Dende offered immediately. Gohan and Moori both looked at Dende in surprise and he actually shrunk slightly under their gaze before sitting up in his chair. "I-I want to help. I want to repay Gohan and his friends for the good they did to help save our race. Besides," he added, "I wouldn't want anyone else to be faced with this decision. It'll be a strange planet to me as much as anyone but at least I'll have some friends." He smiled at Gohan who smiled back at him and gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you, Dende," he said happily. "This is really great, thank you so much!" Moori nodded and put a hand supportively on Dende's shoulder.

"This is very brave of you," Moori told him encouragingly. "Guru would be proud." Dende smiled appreciatively and hugged Moori. The Elder put an arm around Dende before the three of them exited the hut. "My sons and brothers!" Moori called as he lifted his arm to get the rest of the villagers' attention. "We must now say goodbye to Dende. He has chosen to travel the stars and repay the kindness that the people of Earth have given us. Let the spirit of Namek travel with him, so that he may always remember his people and spread the example of our ways across the stars!" Then Moori said something in Namekian that Gohan didn't understand and the other Namekians echoed it. Cargo came up to Dende and hugged his brother closely. The pair exchanged words in Namekian before Dende let go of his brother and walked back over to Gohan.

"What did Moori say?" he asked.

"There isn't really a word in Basic for it," Dende explained, "but it's a Namekian expression of affection and remembrance, to let the other person know that they have touched you deeply and will never be forgotten."

"Oh, we have something like that," Gohan said. "We say 'I love you.'"

"Oh," Dende replied with a nod. "I see." Then he looked around in confusion. "You didn't come here in a ship," he noted. "So how are we going to get back?" Gohan held out one hand for Dende and smiled.

"Take my hand," he told his friend. Dende nodded and held tightly onto Gohan's hand as Gohan touched two fingers of his other hand to his forehead. "Here we go. Hold your breath!" Then they were gone.

The pair reappeared on Kaiou's planet a fraction of a second later, startling Kaiou so badly that he fell out of his lawn chair and spilled hot tea on himself. The deity uttered out a string of graphic obscenities in a language that was older than either of their species as the two youths helped him to his feet and Gohan patted him down with a tamp hand towel from the kitchen.

"So," Kaiou sighed as he regained his composure, "I see you found a Namekian to come with you." Dende nodded and held out his hand.

"Hello," he said amicably, "My name is Dende." Kaiou shook his hand with a bit of a smile.

"Nice to meet you in person," he replied. "I'm Kaiou, deity of the Northern Galactic Quadrant. I don't meet many Namekians. You guys are usually over in Western Kaiou's domain."

"Oh!" Dende gasped with sudden realization. "Then you're the one who told me what to wish for on the Dragon Balls!" Kaiou nodded and lifted the tip of his hat.

"Yeah, that's me," he admitted before turning to Gohan. "Alright, let's get you two back to Earth." Gohan took Dende's hand again as Kaiou's antennae flicked and quivered almost as if he were searching for a radio station. "Ah-ha!" he cried as he seemed to find what he was looking for. He took Gohan by the shoulders and turned him in the right direction. "There we go," he told them. "The Lookout is thataway." Gohan nodded and closed his eyes, locking into Piccolo's ki. Then the pair of them popped out of existence again and Kaiou grumbled as he bent down to pick up his teacup and saucer. Hopefully he'd get some peace and quiet for a while now without Goku or the others throwing another one of their problems on his lawn again.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo gave a start as Gohan appeared in front of him with Dende by his side but returned to his stoic and vaguely-approving expression before either of them noticed. "Hello Goha–" he looked down at Dende and his brows raised slightly in surprise. "Welcome back, Dende," he greeted as pleasantly as Piccolo managed. "So I take it you're here to take over the position of Earth's Guardian?" Dende nodded and Piccolo turned his head. "Popo!" he called to the djinn. "Go and fetch Shenron's phylactery!" Popo, who was standing on the edge of the Lookout and turned slowly to Piccolo. He gave the Namekian and nodded before wandering almost absently into the Temple while still clutching Kami's staff tightly.

"Is he alright?" Dende asked curiously. Whatever a "Popo" was, he seemed to be greatly troubled by something.

"Even though Kami no longer exists," Piccolo explained from the memories and knowledge he now had that were once Kami's, "Mr. Popo cannot reincarnate until a new Guardian has been chosen. Most Guardians choose their own replacements so the change is almost instantaneous. Popos aren't supposed to exist independently for this long."

"Ohhh," Dende muttered with a nod. "I see."

"Do you really?" Gohan asked. Dende gave a bashful shrug.

"Not really," he admitted. That actually made Piccolo chuckle. While they waited, Dende let go of Gohan's hand and walked out toward the edge of the Lookout to stare out toward the horizon and at the world down below. The endless blue sky, the white clouds, the rising mountains and the rolling green fields. He'd never seen anything like it. Even when the Namekians lived here for a year, he had never seen the world in all its splendor like this. From up here, it was breathtaking.

"It's really something, isn't it?" Gohan asked as he walked beside Dende. The other boy nodded and they looked out together.

"So this is all mine to protect?" Dende asked softly. Gohan nodded and gave Dende a reassuring pat on the arm.

"Don't worry," he assured his friend, "You'll do great. Besides, you've got us to help you out!" The trio heard the padding of a fourth set of feet and turned to see Popo walking toward them with the silver dish and lid that held Shenron's phylactery in both hands with Kami's staff held under his arm.

"Are you the one who will be the new God?" Popo asked. Dended looked nervously over at Gohan who nodded to let him know it was the same thing as being the Guardian.

"Y-yes," Dende said with a nod, "I am." Popo nodded and set the dish down before bowing low and handing Kami's staff to Dende. Dende took the staff in his shaking hands, as if he could feel the weight of responsibility radiating off of it. He gasped as soon as he made contact, feeling a rush of energy pass through him as his consciousness and knowledge expanded and his power grew. He could sense the energies of everything on the planet beneath him and felt an affection toward it he had never felt, from the mightiest king to the smallest ant and from the tallest mountain to the tiniest blade of grass. He could feel a pair of powers suddenly, in the back of his mind. One was very far away and was all that was good. It was warm and gentle, filling him with a positive energy. It was always present, always watching. The other power was even further away and yet a thousand times greater. It was all that was dark and terrible. It was destruction, violence, war, and death. He could tell that, for now, it was dormant. He prayed to Porunga that it never stirred.

"Goodbye, God," Popo whispered softly. Then he dissolved and shrank down into nothingness until only his turban remained. A moment later the turban flew a good three feet into the air in a burst of light and fell onto the head of a new Popo. He looked very similar to the old Popo, although not exactly the same. His limbs were a little more slender and he had three fingers instead of four. But perhaps most alarmingly of all were his clothes. Aside from his turban, he wore a long, multicolored scarf over a blue suit with a brown jacket. "Hello, God!" he greeted brightly as though nothing were amiss.

"H-hello?" Dende greeted in confusion. "But, uh, call me Dende." Popo nodded smartly and waved again.

"Hello, Dende!" Then he turned on his heels and walked off toward the temple. "Going to get myself acquainted with the Temple," he explained. The trio blinked and stared before looking down at the tray with Shenron in it and Gohan lifted the lid to reveal the Dragon statue with the seven stones that were once the Dragon Balls arranged neatly around it.

"So this is your Porunga?" Dende asked. "It's… uh… it's nice." Gohan rolled his eyes.

"We can't all call on the God of Dreams to grant our wishes," Gohan retorted dryly and Dende gave a playful smile before looking up at Piccolo.

"So what do you want?" he asked. "I can make a new Dragon and Dragon Balls but that would take about one hundred days."

"We don't really have that kind of time," Piccolo reminded him. "In ten days there might not be a planet anymore, never mind one hundred. Can you make them like Namek's but with mass revival?"

Dende hummed for a moment as he thought, "I'm sorry but that's beyond me right now. I can make them grant three wishes either way but you'll have to choose between unlimited revivals or mass revivals. Also, in the latter case, wishing for a mass revival will reduce your number of wishes to two."

"That'll be fine, Dende," Gohan said. "We're not used to being able to revive a person more than once anyway." Besides, they could always go to Namek if need be. Dende nodded appreciatively before looking down at the statue. He thrust his hands downward and spoke something in Namekian that even he did not know. They were words known only to the Dragon Clan, although Piccolo knew them well.

"Arise, Dragon! Give life to the seven spheres! Make any hope a truth and give life to any dream!" Then the seven balls glowed and shot off into the sky, scattering in all directions. Gohan and Piccolo watched the light scatter with grins on their faces before Gohan hugged Dende.

"Thank you, Dende!" he exclaimed happily. "I'll come back later but now I've gotta go get my mom so we can gather the Dragon Balls." Then he was gone. Dende looked up at Piccolo who nodded proudly down at him and scratched the spot behind his antennae fondly. So this was his home now. It wasn't so bad.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Suno were lying in bed naked and staring up at the ceiling with Suno cradled against Goku's chest and looking quite a bit more ragged than her wife.

"S-so," she muttered weakly, "That uh… that Super Saiyan is really somethin'." She looked up at Goku with a dreamy smile. "And you're gonna keep that on for the whole ten days?"

"Yep," Goku replied with somewhat-oblivious cheer. "It's great training to make sure that I can maintain this form under all conditions."

"Okay God," Suno murmured under her breath, "I know my life's been kinda rough sometimes but we're even now."

"What was that?" Goku asked curiously as she looked down at Suno.

"Nothing," Suno assured her. "Goku–" then they heard the front door click open and sat up quickly in bed, moving to the couch in a rush and looking for all the world completely normal, both in their clothes with Suno reading a book and Goku pretending to take a nap.

"Mom!" Gohan called as he walked into the house. "Dende fixed the Dragon Balls! I figured you'd wanna go the the Rad–" he stopped and looked at them, his eyes fixing on Suno for a moment. Then his face turned red and he immediately spun on his heels and made for the door. "Y'know what, I'm just gonna… go see what Trunks is doing. Or Krillin. I'll grab Krillin and we'll go hang out with Dende. I'm just gonna be… not here." Then he, quite literally, flew out the door. Suno wondered what that was about before she looked down and saw a tag sticking up out of her shirt.

"You dolt!" she exclaimed in embarrassment as she clocked Goku over the head with her book. "You put my shirt on backwards!" Goku giggled despite being bonked and rubbed at her head. "Anyway," she said, "What I was saying before was… are you sure you can beat Cell? I know you said you didn't know if you were stronger than her but I just… are we going to be okay?" Goku put her arms around Suno and held her close.

"It's going to be okay, Suno," she assured her wife as she rubbed her back. "I promise. We're gonna win." Suno thought it was a little strange that Goku said "we" rather than "I". Who else did she expect to face Cell? Then she grinned at Suno. "Here," she offered, "Let me fix your shirt."

"Ohhh no," Suno warned playfully as she scooted away from Goku off the couch. "No, I know that look! Goku, stay back!" Goku's grin broadened and she looked like she was about to lunge. "Hey! No! I need a minute, okay! Get away!" Then she jumped off the bed and dashed away to escape Goku's grasp in a giggling fit.

"You know you can't escape me!" Goku taunted as she chased after her. Outside the house and already some distance away, Gohan cursed the fact that he had inherited his mom's hearing and flew faster.

OoOoOoO

Vegeta roared as he pushed himself into his Super Vegeta state, firing blasts out into oblivion that he arched back toward himself only to deflect them or blast at to make them even stronger. He did pushups and backflips, he punched and kicked at the air, and all the while he snarled and raged as he tried to push himself as far as he could.

"She's right, you know," he heard himself say. Vegeta turned and saw himself as he had looked when he first came to this planet, leaning against one of the absurdly large hourglasses. "We could have crushed Cell. We had her in our power. They would have worshipped us as a god."

"There was no glory in it," Vegeta snapped at himself as he tried to return to his training. Only half a year in isolation and he was already going mad. Brilliant.

"Was there glory in what came next?" he asked himself. "Getting pounded into the ground over and over again? Beaten and dismissed as though we were nothing?"

"Shut up!" Vegeta snapped at himself before screwing his eyes shut and trying to block the voice out. It was insane. It was a lie. But how could he lie to himself?

"We lie to ourselves all the time," he told himself. "You're lying to yourself right now that what Cell said wasn't true. Because all our power, all our pride and bluster, is just trying to hide that we are a failure."

"Shut up."

"We could not kill Freeza. We could not avenge our race. We have no kingdom to rule. We did not become the Super Saiyan first. We achieved nothing when we became it. And the boy…"

"Silence!" Vegeta roared at himself with murder in his eyes.

"He hates us," Vegeta continued flippantly. "And he barely even knows us. You would think we would have tried a little harder, given our relationship with our _own_ fath–"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Vegeta bellowed as he blasted the apparition. The hourglass exploded violently and green sand was cast out across infinity. Vegeta sighed and walked back toward the temple, powering down to Super Saiyan. "Maintaining the state at all times…" he muttered to himself. Maybe Kakarot did have a point. He slowly sat down on the temple steps… and closed his eyes.

OoOoOoO

"See?" Bulma asked as she ran her fingers through Trunks' new haircut. "Isn't that so much better?" Mother and son had gotten matching bob haircuts and Trunks paused to look at his reflection in one of the storefront windows they passed as they walked through West City.

"Yeah," he admitted, "It is pretty nice." Bulma grinned and they continued walking.

"Who woulda thought," she teased, "That scissors are better at cutting hair than swords?" Then she noticed Trunks had stopped again and was staring at something. "What is it?" she asked. Trunks pointed at a family walking down the street eating ice cream cones.

"What are they eating?" he asked with a genuine, almost childlike curiosity.

"You've never had ice cream before?" she asked. Trunks shook his head. Bulma grinned and hooked her arm around her son's arm. "Okay," she told him, "Forget training. For the next ten days, momma's gonna show you all the things that you missed 'cause Cell was a jerk and blew up your timeline!" Then she took him into the nearest ice cream parlor. They walked out a few minutes later since Bulma _owned_ the place and got to cut in line.

"Do the sprinkles make it taste better?" Trunks asked as he looked down at his two scoops of chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. Bulma had gotten a scoop of rocky road and a scoop of mint chip.

"Nah," Bulma admitted as she watched Trunks take a tentative lick, "They just make it look nice." She laughed as Trunks came to a dead stop and his eyes opened wide. "So whaddaya think?" she asked. He shoved the entire cone into his mouth and Bulma laughed. "I guess that answers my question. What should we do next?" Trunks pointed up into the air and Bulma looked up to see that he was pointing at a huge billboard for the carnival that had just come to West City. She grinned and took his arm again. "C'mon, you. Let's go win you a stuffed bear!"

 _Eight Days Until the Cell Games_

"Not that I don't appreciate the visit," Korin assured Goku as he looked up at her and Gohan, who had both spontaneously appeared on his tower, "But what are you doing here, Goku? Shouldn't you be getting ready to stop the end of the world?"

"Yeah," Goku admitted with a nod, "That's why I came by. I wanted to do something really quick before me and Gohan went and gathered the Dragon Balls," she said as she patted the Dragon Radar in her pocket. "You can sense Cell's ki pretty clearly from up here, right? I was trying to do it on the Lookout when we got out of the Chamber but there were too many people and down on Earth there's even _more_ too many people. I just wanna see how close it is, y'know?"

Korin nodded and stroked his whiskers. "I see," he murmured, "Yes, I think I can handle that. I've got a lock on Cell's ki now."

"Cool!" Goku exclaimed eagerly. "Let me power up then!" Then her golden hair began to glow as she suddenly roared with power. Her aura flared up around her and whipped Gohan's cape around in the wind she created as her ki rose and rose. Korin was sent flying back against the railing and had to cling on for dear life as Goku continued to power up and the tower shook down to its base. Far down below, they could hear Goku's cry and those who could sense ki were almost overwhelmed by her power. Far above, they were nearly knocked off their feet on the Lookout and even Vegeta, deep inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, could sense Goku's ki faintly and with maddening irritation.

"Goku!" Korin called as the force of Goku's ki pushed back his cheeks. "Goku, that's enough! I get the idea! You can stop now!" Goku stopped powering up on a dime and Korin flopped down onto the floor with a groan.

"So yeah," Goku continued casually, "That's about half my power."

"Half?!" Korin exclaimed incredulously as he slowly got to his feet. "For crying out loud, Goku, how much stronger do you need to be?!" Then he sighed and stroked his whiskers thoughtfully again. "That being said… if that really _is_ half your power… it's hard to say," he admitted slowly, "But I have to give the edge to Cell right now."

"Okay," Goku said with a nonchalant shrug. "That's what I figured. Thanks, Korin!" She and Goku turned to leave before Korin stopped them.

"Wait!" he called after her. "How can you be so calm? Was that not half your power? Do you have some kind of plan? Tell me you're not just gonna hope for the best here!" Goku smiled with her back still to Korin.

"Don't worry," she assured him as she gave Gohan a sly wink. "We've got it aaaall figured out." Then they flew off and Korin let out a weary sigh. He was getting too old for this crap.

OoOoOoO

Trunks and Bulma were getting ready to leave for another day of fun and adventure when they caught Vegeta walking toward the Gravity Chamber. His clothes were in a tatter and it was clear that a whole year of training in isolation wasn't enough for him. He was also a Super Saiyan for some reason. Trunks was prepared to walk past him but Bulma stopped and called out to him.

"Hey!" she shouted. "It's been nice having a gravity chamber that isn't smashed to shit for a while! Think you could keep it that way?"

"Stay out of my business, woman," Vegeta snapped at her. "You worries don't concern me!" Trunks covered the distance of a few hundred feet in an instant and grabbed the front of Vegeta's bodysuit as he drew back a fist.

"Shut up," he snapped. "Don't you talk to her like that!" Vegeta looked up at Trunks and smirked with his fists at his sides.

"Go ahead," he taunted, "Take a swing. Maybe you'll act like a man for once instead of the boy you are. Pretending to be the hero and a warrior without knowing what either of those things mean. Child." Trunks' face burned with fury and his fist shook as he held it in the air. It made Vegeta laugh. "That's what I look like when I'm angry," he remarked. "You're more like me than you know, boy."

"I am _nothing_ like you!" Trunks insisted furiously as he reached back and swung. His fist was a hair's breadth away from Vegeta's face when Bulma stopped him with a word.

"Trunks!" Bulma cried out. "Come on, let's get going. We've gotta be at Suno and Goku's later!" Trunks seethed as Vegeta smirked and dropped his hands, letting Vegeta go before spinning on his heels and following after his mother. Vegeta scoffed and entered the Gravity Chamber, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Really working on improving that father-son relationship, I see," he said sardonically to himself.

"Shut it!" he demanded.

OoOoOoO

Goku and Gohan returned home after gathering the Dragon Balls to a dark house. The shutters were even drawn to make sure all the light was blocked out.

"Hello?" Gohan called out into the dark as Goku fumbled for the light switch. He could sense a lot of ki in he–

"Surprise!" came a collective cry as Goku turned the lights on. Gohan blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden change and saw his mother, some of his friends from school, and all of their other friends (except for Tenshinhan and Launch who had taken Trunks' day in the time chamber), standing around a huge chocolate birthday cake with a small pile of presents on the table and a banner stretched over the dining room that read "Happy Birthday, Gohan!" Gohan grinned from ear to ear as Goku put an arm around her son in a hug before pushing him into a throng of affection.

"Goku could've gathered all the Dragon Balls herself," Suno explained as Gohan was pushed from one hug to the other, "But I kinda needed you out of the house for a little while to set all of this up." A few of the girls from Gohan's school noticed that he had gotten taller and looked like he'd been working out. They also liked his new hairdo.

"I'm not really sure what a birthday is," Dende admitted, "But I wanted to be here if this day was as important to you as Suno made it sound." Gohan gave his little green friend a hug before Suno started lighting the candles. Everyone sang to Gohan, except for Dende who didn't quite know what was going on, before Gohan blew the candles out. Even Piccolo joined in and he had a surprisingly good singing voice. Then Suno cut the cake and started handing out presents. They were mostly toys and games from Gohan's school friends, although Krillin got him a pretty neat-looking telescope since he had noticed that Gohan had liked to stare at the stars on their way to Namek. Yamcha and Chi-Chi gave Gohan a flute that had apparently been carved from the horn of some monster they'd defeated on one of their jobs and Piccolo gave him a hat with a replica of the four-star ball sewn into it. The replica he'd apparently made himself, while Suno had sewn the hat herself. Trunks gave Gohan a giant compendium of all the Kamen Rider comics, admitting bashfully that it was one of the only things he remembered Gohan enjoying in the future.

Then came Goku's gift. She held it out to him carefully, a slender tube rapped somewhat-clumsily in bright green paper that she had clearly wrapped herself. "Mom," Gohan insisted, "You didn't have to get me anything. Just spending time with you again has been great." Goku held it for him somewhat-insistently and Gohan smiled before carefully taking it from her hands and unwrapping it slowly. He stared down at the smoothed, polished brown wood and held the staff reverently in his hands, rubbing the string on the staff's sheath between his fingertips. "This is–"

"My Grandpa's Power Pole," Goku finished. "I got it from between Korin's tower and the Lookout yesterday while you were off being anywhere but here." She smiled as Gohan's face flushed in a mixture of emotions. "It was your great-grandpa's, who I named you after, and it helped me a lot on my adventures when I was your age. It always felt like I had Grandpa with me." She smiled at him and ruffled Gohan's hair. "As long as you have this, you'll have me with you, too. Hey," she asked softly, "Are you okay?" Gohan nodded as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and he flung himself at Goku, hugging his mom tightly. Goku hugged him back and Suno put her arms around the pair of them. Everyone "Awwed" in unison at the group hug.

Yes, even Piccolo. Though he will deny it to his grave.

 _Seven Days Before the Cell Games_

Everyone was waiting somewhat-expectantly for Tenshinhan and Launch to come out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. They would be the first humans who had entered the Chamber and Suno and Krillin were wondering with some trepidation as to what state they would be in.

What no one had expected was for Launch to be eight months pregnant.

"Oh," Suno said as the pair walked out of the temple. She wasn't really sure what else to say. "...Congrats?"

"Yeah," Launch said with a grin as she looked down at her swollen stomach, "I guess it was gonna happen, huh?" She elbowed Ten playfully. "He even thought we should stop training.

"Wait wait wait," Krillin interjected. " _Tenshinhan_ wanted to stop training?" he pointed at the aforementioned triclops. " _This_ Tenshinhan?"

"I was worried about the danger," Tenshinhan muttered defensively and Launch elbowed him again.

"And _I_ told him that I was gonna be fine. Pretty sure I could lift New East City by this point, I can handle eight pounds in my stomach."

"As fascinating as your reproductive cycles are," Piccolo said in a voice dripping with sarcasm to make it clear that he didn't find it fascinating at all, "It's my turn." Then he wandered into the Temple and into the chamber, the doors slamming shut behind him. Piccolo stared out into the void and grit his teeth. He wasn't going to spend twelve months by himself, he decided. With a bit of effort he forced himself into four Piccolos, each of whom carried a fourth of his ki. If he could get all of them up to even half of his power, it would be a dramatic improvement when they reformed.

"So let's go over the rules," one Piccolo said. "No touching the face."

"Like it wouldn't be an improvement?" Another Piccolo asked with a chuckle.

"You realize you insulted yourself, don't you?" A third asked.

OoOoOOo

Chi-Chi found Yamcha in the spare room they were staying in at her father's palace where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had his gi in his lap and was looking down at it thoughtfully. Not his gold and white one but the old one he'd worn as a Turtle Student.

"I know that look," she muttered as she sat down beside him. "You're thinking of going, aren't you?"

"Yeah…" Yamcha muttered softly, still looking at his gi, not able to look at her.

"Why?" Chi-Chi asked wearily. "Yamcha, I love you, but what do you expect to do? I don't know how much more of this I can take, you rushing off into this impossible, deadly scenarios just because!"

"It's not just because," Yamcha insisted stubbornly. "It's the principle of it, Chi-Chi! These are my friends! I can't just hide while they go out and risk their lives! I'm not a coward!"

"Well what about your _wife?!"_ Chi-Chi asked tearfully. "What about your children?! Don't _we_ matter? Shouldn't we get to keep you around?!" She wrapped her huge arms around Yamcha and held onto him tightly as if she were terrified to let go. Mostly because she _was_ terrified on some level. "I can't… I can't lose you again. I can't go through that again, Yamcha. Please don't make me." Yamcha hugged Chi-Chi close and cradled her in his arms, a tear running down his own cheek.

"Hey," he whispered tenderly. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. Chi-Chi, I…" he sighed and kissed her forehead softly. "This'll be the last one, I promise. After this, whatever happens, I'm hanging up my gi for good. But I have to see this through to the end." Chi-Chi nodded and kissed Yamcha softly, praying that these next few days wouldn't be the last time they kissed.

 _Six Days Until the Cell Games_

Gohan and Goku were there to see Suno and Krillin off before they entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Each one had a pack over their shoulder with some extra clothes and some nonessentials to pass the time when they weren't beating the crap out of each other. Suno had next semester's curriculum to plan and Krillin had some books about learning to become a police officer. Like Yamcha, he was a little tired of the whole fighting-for-his-life drama and was looking for something more normal to do that would still make good use of his incredible powers.

"We'll be here as soon as you get out," Goku promised as she and Gohan gave Suno a last big hug.

"I know you will," Suno replied as she kissed Goku on the cheek, "And _I'll_ make sure to take a shower before I leave." Then she grinned as Goku and Gohan let her go. "Don't worry," she added, "I'll try not to beat up your best friend too bad, Goku."

Krillin rolled his eyes. "And I'll make sure to do the same to your wife," he retorted. Suno let out a laugh.

"Like _that's_ gonna happen," she taunted as they walked into the Temple.

"Hey, our power's always been pretty close," he shot back, "And we trained a lot during the three years before Cell arrived, I bet we're pretty close."

"Believe me," Suno retorted, "Nothing keeps you in shape like boning a Super Saiyan."

"Okay, that one's just mean."

OoOoOoO

Shen looked up from his typewriter to see Muten Roshi standing in his room with a bottle of sake and two glasses. He lowered his sunglasses and glared at the man contemptuously.

"And how," he asked, "Did you get past my students?" Muten chuckled and pulled out a chair with his foot before sitting down at the table with Shen.

"Come on now," he teased, "Do you really think any of your kids can stop me? The only one that could was Ten and I'm guessing he doesn't come around here anymore." He gestured to the typewriter as he poured the sake. "What're you working on?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Shen spat, furious that Muten would rub the salt of his failures in again, "But I am crafting my memoirs. I am over three hundred years old. There's quite a story to tell there."

"Y'know," Muten remarked as he stroked his beard, "I dunno why I didn't think of that. Always figured no one was interested in thirty chapters of 'I sat on the beach, drank liquor and read porn. It was a good day.'" That actually made Shen chuckle. "Heh," Muten chuckled, "I was wondering if you remembered _how_ to laugh." Shen rolled his eyes and set the typewriter aside. It was obvious he wasn't going to get Roshi to leave.

"Why are you here, Muten?" he asked sourly. "Come to gloat? Laugh about how your students have saved the world while mine are killers and traitors?" Roshi rolled his eyes and took off his sunglasses.

"Damn it, Shen," he sighed wearily, "We're the oldest living people on this planet except for my sister and a cat." Shen wasn't quite sure what _that_ meant. "We might live forever. How long are you going to hold onto this grudge? Until the end of time?" He held one glass out to Shen. "Let's be friends again. Or at least _try._ And if it's really that awful?" He shrugged. "World might end in six days, anyway." Shen sighed and took the glass from Muten's hand. The pair clinked their glasses together and drank. When they finished the bottle Roshi brought, they broke out one of Shen's own bottles. They laughed, drank, told stories, drank, remembered, drank, confessed things that they had kept to themselves for centuries, and drank. For one night they were brothers again. That night, Mutaito smiled down at them.

OoOoOoO

"Too long," Cell muttered as she looked up at the stars. "Ten days was _waaaay_ too long. Should've gone with a week." Still, she reflected, ten days gave her plenty of time to perfect her little side project. Why should Goku be the only one to get a cheering section, after all?

 _Five Days Until the Cell Games._

The Son Family returned from the Lookout and the Hyperbolic Time Chamber as happy as could be, arm-in-arm-in-arm as they walked through the front door and into the Son household. Krillin had said something about getting some of the gang together and see who wanted to hit the clubs for a day. Goku wasn't sure what that meant but she hoped Krillin and the others had fun.

OoOoOoO

"Goddamn it!" Tenshinhan slurred as he flung the broken handle of the slot machine away, "Thass the fiff one! Thessh things are _weak!"_

"Ooookay," Yamcha said gently as he pulled his friend away from the machines before they got thrown out. "I think you need to take it easy, Ten, you're a _liiiitle_ drunk."

"I'm not drunk, _you're_ drunk!" Ten insisted vehemently.

"Y'know what's the crazy thing?" Launch remarked to Roshi, Chaozu, and Krillin from the blackjack table. "I think he only took like three shots of vodka."

OoOoOoO

"So mom," Gohan asked, "What do you wanna do for training tod–" Suno put a hand on Gohan's shoulder and he looked up at his mother curiously.

"Actually," Suno told him, "I think Bulma said she and Trunks were going to a water park today. Doesn't that sound fun? Why don't you grab your bathing suit and go join them? In fact, you can stay over at their place, go pack an overnight bag! I'll help Goku train today." There was something in the tone of his mother's voice that left no room for an argument and he rushed into his bedroom before flying back out with an overnight bag over his shoulder and he rushed out the door.

"Bye Gohan," Goku called after him, "Have fun!" Then she turned back to Suno, "So what kinda training did you wanna d–" she looked down and noticed Suno was holding something in her hands. It was the box that Suno kept the Device in. "Ohhhh," Goku said with dawning realization. Suno grinned and nodded before tackling her wife to the ground. They hadn't used it in a few years, what with them having to train for Cell and the androids, then Goku going in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and then Suno using it, and all the other stuff. But now… what the hell?

 _One Day Until the Cell Games._

Hercule Satan sat in his trophy room, looking at all his belts and trophies that adorned the walls. He looked at every framed magazine cover and newspaper clipping, every scrap of every moment from when his life changed after the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai. Everyone was counting on him. They believed in him. He was the one that the whole world was pinning their hopes on. But Cell seemed so powerful. All the death and destruction she had caused. He was only one man. Could _he_ really stop her?

"Yes," he decided resolutely as he puffed out his chest. "I _will_ do it. I'm the Champion of the World! I can do any goddamn thing I want!" He slammed his fist emphatically into his hairy chest.

"Daaaad!" he heard his daughter, Videl, call from down the hall. "Come ooon! You said you were gonna teach me the Dynamite Kick today!" Hercule spun on his heels and walked out of the trophy room with a fire in his heart. He _had_ to defeat Cell. If not him… who else could?


	95. The Day of Reckoning Arrives!

Chapter Ninety-five

The Day of Reckoning Arrives! Can Hercule Do It?!

Vegeta sat up in bed on instinct as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon and into his bedroom window. He sat alone and in silence for several moments with no other noise but the sounds of his breath and his heartbeat. He climbed out of bed and, to his mild surprise, found another clean gi sitting on top of his dresser. This one had come with white fingerless gloves. He was sure that he had locked the door the night before so how in the Nine Hells had the matriarch entered his room? He decided the question was unimportant and showered in water that humans would consider scalding. It would make their skin turn red, make them cry in pain, and shrink from the heat. For the King of Saiyans, it was barely warm enough. Then he shook himself dry and dressed in his fresh clothes and knelt in front of the window with his hands on his lap, facing the sun. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as he reflected on the prayer his father had taught him when he was young. It was no ordinary battle prayer that was taught to the Low Class, or the Elites, or even the Super Elite. This was a King's prayer. Despite all the fighting Vegeta had done in his life, he had never had an opportunity of such perfect stillness as this to contemplate it.

' _Let my strength never wane, no matter the struggle. Let my courage never falter, no matter the foe. For I am no mortal man, no beast crawling in the mud. I am a King. I am greater than all the others and so my resolve must be greater still. I am a pillar of strength. I am a beacon of light. I am the one that all must follow. It is to me that all shall bend the knee. This foe is mine to crush. This glory mine to claim. I am the King. It is my right. When the battle is done, all shall sing my praise.'_

Vegeta knelt in silence for several minutes more as the sun slowly rose and touched his face while the world began to wake. Cell would pay for her foolishness. She would pay for mocking him and casting him aside. As would Kakarot, for disregarding him so flippantly. Who was she to think that she would look down on him? He was her King! They would all see how foolish they were.

"Of course they will," he heard himself say sarcastically. He opened his eyes and glowered at his reflection in the mirror above his dresser before spitting in disgust onto the floor and instantly transforming into a Super Saiyan. Then he flew out the window and toward Cell's energy. He had heard the woman rambling to his bastard that Kakarot planned to have everyone meet on the Lookout and arrive at the Cell Games together with her Instant Transmission. As if he would sully his honor by appearing to be part of their ridiculous merry band. The very thought of it made him nauseous. He would face Cell as he had faced every challenge. Alone.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo watched the sunrise crest over the horizon and turn the world a bloody shade of red. He only hoped that would not be an ill omen.

' _Wonderful,'_ he thought sarcastically. ' _I picked up the old man's superstitious musings.'_ Although Kami's spirit of responsibility could finally be at peace now that Dende was guarding the world, it seemed as if some part of the ancient Namekian would be a part of him forever. As well as Kami's desire to protect this world that he loved so much and that Piccolo himself had come to love. Even if he no longer desired to conquer it. Even if he could not defeat Perfect Cell, he would stay in this fight. Fighting Cell had been one of the the first things he had done once he had merged and been reborn. Besides, from what Trunks had told them of Vegeta's battle with Perfect Cell, Piccolo's own DNA had helped to make her so formidable.

Piccolo wondered, absentmindedly, how Kami's age affected Piccolo Daimaou's wish for eternal youth. Perhaps he would gather the Dragon Balls next year and wish for an answer to that question. Or perhaps he didn't want to know. He was only fourteen, as baffling as it seemed. Barely older than Gohan. Hardly the age one starts to consider his own mortality. ' _Though you_ have _died already,'_ he thought again. He really needed to start talking to Dende more if he was going to live up here. His inner thoughts were _far_ too sarcastic.

OoOoOoO

Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu ate breakfast quietly that morning. There was a tension that hung over the kitchen table as they munched on toast, ate scrambled eggs, and drank coffee. They all looked at each other with an unspoken understanding exchanged between their glances. They all knew that they were probably just going to be spectators today. Which was frustrating and somewhat demoralizing but didn't come close to comparing to the underlying fear that if they _were_ forced to get involved in the actual conflict, there was an overwhelming likelihood that one or all of them could die today. Especially Chaozu, who had the least reason of all to go and had trained the least of the three. Yet even so, he wouldn't let his friends go off to fight alone. It was a feeling that made Launch put a hand instinctively over her stomach. Ten had tried to persuade her at length the night before that she should sit this one out.

Launch had almost broken his nose.

Once breakfast was finished and the dishes washed and put away, the trio left the house in silent solidarity and flew off toward the Lookout. There was simply nothing left for the three to say that hadn't already been said in the days or weeks before. Their bond was stronger and deeper than they could express in words. They would simply have to face this danger together and face it to the end.

OoOoOoO

Krillin sat up in bed in the room where he, Goku, Yamcha, and Launch had slept when they were students with a groan and a slight headache. Upon reflection, it was definitely not his smartest idea to get a hangover the day that the fate of the world was at stake. But Roshi had wanted to have a little fun with Krillin being so serious these days and had dared him to have a few swaps of sake with him. Apparently it was ancient, enchanted stuff that he'd won from some priestess in a card game or that some empress had given him when he'd saved her kingdom. It was all hundreds of years ago and the stories for how Roshi got his various trinkets and baubles tended to blur together. The point was that whatever this magic stuff was it was apparently strong enough to even give people like them a buzz. To Krillin's surprise, Roshi had gone with him shot for shot. What, was the old man doing secret training these days? Then again, Roshi was still snoring upstairs while Krillin brushed his teeth so maybe not.

As Krillin got dressed in his gi, he thought about what Roshi had told him the night before. That he didn't want Krillin to die. Not just for the obvious reasons, of course, but because as Roshi had told him, "Someone'll have to reopen the Turtle School when all this mess is done." That had startled Krillin beyond words. Roshi hadn't meant _him,_ had he? Krillin, who never made it further than the second round of the Finals? Krillin, who had never won or accomplished anything? Krillin, who still lived in his master's house and didn't have a job? Krillin, who was weak?

"Shut up with that talk," Roshi had scolded him. "Who else is it gonna be, huh? Goku's no teacher. She's done alright by Gohan but the boy's as naturally gifted as she is. She wouldn't know how to impart the teachings or help someone who was struggling. Yamcha's too settled down and Launch has spent more than a decade as a Crane. But you, Krillin? You've been a Turtle through and through. Strong and steadfast. And you worked hard for every bit of it. You've survived every battle and struggle, you've been out into space and fought enemies far tougher than this old man ever saw. You should be proud of how far you've come." Then Roshi had looked him in the eye and told him earnestly and sincerely, "I always thought when I was young that once I was old and all battled out, I'd pass whatever school I opened onto my son. Well, I never married or had any children that I know of… but I'm proud to say that's exactly what I'm doing now." In his inebriated state, the sentiment had nearly brought Krillin to tears.

' _Okay, admit it,'_ Krillin thought as he pulled on his socks and shoes. ' _You bawled like a big, bald baby.'_ Of course now Krillin was left with a dilemma. Did he take over the Turtle School as Roshi wanted him to or pursue his own passion and become a police officer? Was he really that sold on the idea of becoming a cop, anyway? It was just a passing idea that he'd studied for a day. Okay, a year, but whatever. Still a lot less time than he had devoted to the martial arts. ' _Forget it,'_ Krillin thought to himself as he flung open the window. ' _Just focus on being alive after today.'_ He put his foot on the windowsill but stopped himself before flying off and padded softly over to Roshi's room. The old man was snoring and laying in a tangle of limbs, his blankets strewn across the bed and his left leg hanging off the side. Krillin sighed and shook his head with a chuckle before fixing Roshi more comfortably in bed. ' _So long… Pop,'_ he thought as he flew out the door.

OoOoOoO

"So wait," Bulma asked as she, her son, and her future son sat down to a breakfast that her mother had made for them, "You've _never_ had waffles?"

"I told you," Trunks reminded her as he watched Bulma feed a tiny chunk of bread and sugar to his infant self. "Pretty much all supplies of regular food are gone in my time. I've basically been eating synthetic foods my whole life. Which are okay but, now that I've eaten actual food that wasn't repurposed air and dirt molecules, I can definitely tell the difference."

"Well before you head back," Bulma promised him, "I'm gonna make sure I give you a whole capsule full of boxes of waffle mix." The suggestion made Trunks laugh but as he was flying toward the Lookout in a new set of Saiyan Armor, he thought about what his mother had said: "Before you head back." He would only be able to head back if Cell was defeated. Once again, he struggled to come to grips with the idea even as a concept. He had almost never known a time in his life where the looming threat of Cell hadn't hung over the world like a cloak of dread that smothered everything. He had thought that Cell had actually been defeated before, when it looked like his father was going to kill her. Which just reminded him how much hope was good for.

' _It's going to work,'_ Trunks assured himself as he rocketed up into the sky. ' _It_ has _to. Goku is alive. She has to have a plan. She's supposed to be the best of us. She'll know how to stop Cell.'_

OoOoOoO

Suno and Gohan woke up that morning to the smell of blueberries and the sound of someone whistling a song. Although it was the second time Suno had woken up, as when she first woke up about two hours previously, she and Goku had both decided "five more minutes" and went back to sleep. So she was a little surprised when she woke up alone in bed. Gohan had slept fitfully the night before and had tossed and turned, his dreams and his bouts of sudden wakefulness fraught with the pressure of this day. Could he really do it? Could _he_ save the world? He'd have to, right?

Mother and son walked out of their bedrooms and into the kitchen to find Goku making blueberry pancakes. She turned and smiled at them with a spatula in one hand.

"Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully as she pointed to the tall stacks of pancakes on their plates.

"Goku!" Suno exclaimed in surprise as she and Gohan sat down. "Since when do you make breakfast?" For all her love of food, Goku had never been much of a cook. So to see what could only be described as picture perfect pancakes sitting in front of her was more than a little surprising.

"Whoa," was all Gohan could say as he sat down at the table. His own stack was so tall that it obscured his mother from sight when he sat across from her. Despite all his worries, he _was_ hungry. He was a little bit less surprised by his mom's ability to cook since they'd spent a year making their own food in the time chamber. What surprised him was that this was _good._

"It was something my Grandpa used to make when I was little," Goku told them as she sat down with them. "You're always the one to make food so I figured I could handle it for a change!" Suno put a forkful of syrupy, buttery pancake in her mouth and her eyes went starry.

"Okay," Suno muttered while shoveling pancake eagerly into her pancakehole, "You are officially on breakfast duty from now on." Goku laughed and the Son family ate as if it was a perfectly normal morning. Suno couldn't help but feel as if Goku was putting it on a little thick just to try and put Suno at ease. She was being far too casual considering the day that they were facing. On the one hand, that was just Goku. Yet at the same time, there was something… different this time. As if Goku didn't have a single worry in the world. Was she really _that_ confident she could beat Perfect Cell?

OoOoOoO

Yamcha took his sweet time getting ready that morning. He had stayed in bed with Chi-Chi for a while and then took his time getting dressed. He was surprised his old gi still fit, actually. He wasn't sure if he'd have put on more muscle or lost it with being half-retired but he guessed it had all evened out. He took Ocha and Shouronpo flying around out in the yard while Chi-Chi made breakfast, which she had insisted she could handle herself while he played with the kids. Then when it seemed like there was nothing left to do, Yamcha finally started out the door before Chi-Chi grabbed him and pulled him into one last kiss.

"Come back to me," she whispered softly as they held each other close. "Please." Yamcha was about to say something when they heard two pairs of feet rushing toward them and Yamcha looked down at the twins clinging to his legs. God, they were already getting so fast.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Shouronpo cried excitedly over and over as she let go of his leg and held out her hands. "Up, up, up!" Yamcha laughed and scooped the kids up into his arms.

"Okay," he told them, "One more up! Gosh, you two are getting heavy!" He was only playing, of course, but it still made them laugh.

"Go win, daddy," Ocha told Yamcha supportively as he put his arms around his father's neck. Yamcha laughed again and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek.

"You got it, kiddo," he told his son before handing the twins off to Chi-Chi. He gave them a wave and flew out the door towards the Lookout. They were his whole world. He would do anything for them. So if his son wanted him to win? He'd manage it somehow.

OoOoOoO

Everyone had gathered on the Lookout by the time that the Son family arrived. Everyone with the exception of Vegeta, of course, although Goku kinda expected that. He was still kind of a loner, after all. But he'd come around in his own time.

"Hey, everyone!" Goku said with a grin and a wave. "We ready to do this or what?"

"You mean ready to watch you kick Cell's butt?" Launch asked sarcastically. "'Cause I'm not sure what you expect _us_ to do." Suno's eyes drifted to Launch's stomach and she couldn't help but say something.

"A-hem," she coughed. "Uh, Launch, not that I don't appreciate you being here but are you sure that it's–" Launch cracked her knuckles and Ten quickly shook his head and waved his hand across his throat a few times. "Okay then, never mind." Goku laughed and while Krillin watched her make small talk with Trunks and Piccolo, he couldn't help but notice how much happier she seemed now than when they'd been fishing the other day.

OoOoOoO

" _Hey Goku," Krillin said while the pair of them looked up at the clouds and waited for a fish to bite their line. "What's up? You seem kinda down. I figured you'd be all pumped up with the Cell Games coming up. What's eatin' ya?" Goku sighed and sat up with a shrug._

" _It's nothing," she told him. "It's just… I missed hanging out with you, Krillin. You're the only one who still treats me like a person." Krillin blinked at her in surprise._

" _Like a person?" he asked in confusion. "What the heck does that mean?" Goku sighed and looked down at the ground, plucking up a blade of grass as she spoke and slowly peeling it apart._

" _No one really looks at me as an equal anymore," she explained. "It just feels weird. Like, I know you guys are still my friends and I know Suno loves me. I love you all, too. But some time ago, I dunno when, everyone stopped looking_ at _me and started looking_ up _to me. I didn't ask to be a hero or a savior but that's what I am now. Everyone's been counting on me for three years now to be the one to defeat Cell. It's a lot of pressure, Krillin. Maybe after–" but Goku stopped when she saw her lure bob beneath the water and laughed as she hopped to her feet. "Got one!" she cried before diving into the lake. She popped out a few moments later with three enormous fish writhing in each hand, an enormous grin on her face and her introspection completely forgotten._

OoOoOoO

Krillin had been wondering for the last few days what the "after" was that Goku had been talking about and now he wondered what had caused the sudden shift in Goku's attitude. Maybe she'd just been anxious having to wait for her big fight and was happy it was finally here. That would be just like Goku, after all.

"Hey Gohan," he called and approached the young hybrid while he was talking to Dende. "You alright, buddy? You look how I feel." The slight reddening of Gohan's cheeks made it clear that he'd been trying to hide how nervous he looked and was embarrassed to have been outed so easily.

"I-it's nothing," Gohan assured him. "Just another one of these days, you know?" Krillin nodded sympathetically and patted him on the arm. The poor kid had been in these "end of the world" situations since he was four years old. Krillin would have honestly been more surprised if he wasn't worried.

"Hey," Krillin told him with a grin, "Don't worry about it. Your mom's got this."

OoOoOoO

Caesar Firecracker had a single bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he looked into the camera and gave the morning news. He had already dropped his notes once and had stuttered a few times while reading the teleprompter. As he was already being recognized in his young career for professionalism and calm delivery, this was a little surprising. Still, Caesar could hardly be blamed. After all, his big brother was live at the Cell Games which might erupt into a warzone at any minute. It would be enough to shake even the strongest nerves.

"We–" Caesar's voice cracked and he cleared his throat before starting again. "We take you live now to the scene of the Cell Games as we continue our comprehensive and exclusive coverage of what will surely be the most important day in human history. Jimmy Firecracker is standing by. Jimmy?"

OoOoOoO

"As you can see, Caesar," Jimmy said as he stood on the edge of the ring where the battle would take place, "We are still waiting on the appearance of Hercule and any other champions that might come to defend Earth's–"

"Excuse me!" Perfect Cell called from over Jimmy's shoulder. "Would you mind just moving a little to the right? Otherwise I'm not in the exact center of the shot." Jimmy looked back at her and swallowed nervously before taking a few steps to the right. "That's _Perfect,_ thank you. You can continue." Jimmy nodded and patted his forehead with his pocket square before turning back to the cameraman. Jimmy had made his name as a young reporter covering the conflict between the Red Ribbon Army and the Royal military and had done a multi-part series on the aftermath of the East City Event which had won him much of his acclaim. Even so, he couldn't imagine any more terrifying a scenario than the one he was in right now.

"As I was saying," Jimmy continued, "We wait for–" he stopped and looked up into the sky as a blue and gold blur streaked toward them and landed emphatically several yards off to Jimmy's left, the impact of his landing nearly knocking Jimmy and the cameraman off their feet. "What's this?!" Jimmy declared excitedly. "It seems we have a champion here to challenge Perfect Cell and save the world!" It was a man in a blue gi with white fingerless gloves and white sandals, with blond hair that bordered on radiant and piercing teal eyes. He glared at Perfect Cell with murderous intent and there was something about his face that Jimmy found strangely familiar. "Excuse me, sir!" Jimmy called as he and the cameraman approached the stranger, "Are you here to fi–"

"Come any closer to me," the man warned them, "And I will vaporize you with a breath." Jimmy and the cameraman exchanged looks and moved back several feet.

"Sir," Jimmy said again, "Do you intend to–"

"That does not mean speak to me from a distance," the man told them coldly, "That means do not speak to me at all. I am above peasants such as you."

"Oh, Vegeta!" Perfect Cell called in a sing-song voice. "Have you come to fight? Or are you just here to cheer Goku on from the sidelines? I honestly think it's safer for you at this point. Unless you want another beating?" She laughed as Vegeta bared his teeth and balled his fists.

"I will give Kakarot the first shot to make a fool of herself," he boasted. "After that I will teach you the price for your insolence!" Perfect Cell gave a Perfectly demure chuckle as she brought one hand tastefully up to her mouth.

"Oh, that I _have_ to see," she teased. Vegeta glared at her and before Jimmy Firecracker could get in another word, nine more people suddenly materialized out of the aether.

"And look at this!" Jimmy Firecracker declared as he and the cameraman rushed toward them. "Nine new contestants seem to have arrived!" Jimmy held his microphone up to the blonde woman's face excitedly and she looked down at him curiously. "Jimmy Firecracker here with ZTV news, ma'am. Tell us, are _you_ here to compete in the Cell Games and save planet Earth?!"

"I'm Son Goku," she declared excitedly with a blazing smile as she pounded her fist into her palm, "And I'm here to punch Cell in her face!"

"Perfect Cell," Perfect Cell corrected as she stood in the exact center of the ring. "And I see the gang's all here!" She cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders with an excited squeal not unlike the sort of sound Goku herself would make at the prospect of a challenge. "Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! Who wants to take the first shot?" Before Goku could step up to the plate, however, they all stopped and stared as a large airship with Hercule's face painted onto the side came down onto the field. The doors opened and out rushed a fleet of technicians while they watched in confusion, disbelief, and in Goku's case, interest.

The technicians set up pyrotechnical displays at the four corners of the ring and a black entrance aisle that connected from the back of the plane to one side of the ring, as well as curtains across the back of the plane and smoke machines along the entrance aisle. Then they laid out a stage off to one side as well as two guitars, a bass, two microphones, and a drumset. After which they spent several minutes setting up the sound system and then after _that,_ the band EngineSkull, of which Hercule was good friends with and who played his theme music, shuffled out in all their black clothes, long hair, and scruffy beards. The lead singer was still smoking as he tapped the microphone and they ran sound checks. As if things weren't already absurd enough, a man with a microphone in one hand climbed out of the plane in a blindingly-sequined three piece hot pink suit with enormous lapels.

"Llllladies and gentlemen," he declared sonorously as Jimmy Firecracker's cameraman focused on him, "The time for terror has passed! Your fear is over! Because he has arrived! The World's Champion! The Strongest Under the Heavens! Your Hero and Mine! Here he comes, it's HEEEEEERCUUUUUULE!" EngineSkull started aggressively rocking and the lead singer let out a wordless, guttural roar as massive clouds of white smoke billowed up from the entrance aisle, through which Hercule's dramatic silhouette was barely visible. The heroes and Perfect Cell only watched in bemusement. Vegeta found himself tapping his foot despite himself. The man was as good as dead but at least he had good taste in music.

"And as we fall," the chorus rang out as Hercule emerged dynamically from the smoke with his cape billowing behind him, "The spirit carries on! That a hero will come and save us all! As we call the ones we left below, we all dream of the day we'll rise above!" Hercule tossed away his pristine white cape and walked right up to Perfect Cell as the pyrotechnics exploded in the air around them, the camera following Hercule's every movement. Hercule took a few steps back and roared in defiance, flexing in front of Perfect Cell as the song went through the second verse. He roared and posed some more as the song went into the chorus again and got into a fighting stance as the song finished playing out. A stunned silence followed before Goku started clapping enthusiastically. Suno could only marvel at Hercule's intense and resolute expression. Did… did he actually think he could _win?!_ Perfect Cell seemed to be wondering the same thing before she suddenly began to snicker and even laughed aloud.

"Are we really gonna let him do this?" Krillin muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Eh," Launch shrugged. "He put all this effort into it. Might as well." Perfect Cell wiped a tear from her eye and shook her head.

"Thank you," she sighed. "I-I needed that. I don't think I've ever seen you before. This is new! I like it!" then she waved her hand away as if she were shooing off a stray dog. "Now run along, mustache man. The grownups are going to fight and–" she realized Hercule was still staring at her. "Oh my Perfection, are you serious?! Are you really going to fight me?!" Then she laughed again. Perfect Cell laughed so hard that she snorted and doubled over at the waist, her whole body convulsing with laughter.

"Shut up!" Hercule snapped at her as he clenched his fists. "I don't have any fun catchphrases for a murdering piece of bug garbage like you, Cell! I'm here to put you down!" That just made Perfect Cell fall backwards and kick her legs in the air, helpless with laughter. For half a second, Hercule faltered. Why wasn't she taking him seriously? Was… was that how little of a threat he posed to her?

OoOoOoO

All across the world, people sat glued as the news played on every television, a similar feeling of dread passing through them and sitting in their stomachs like a lead weight as Perfect Cell laughed at their hero. Was this it? Were they doomed? A muttering passed through the crowds in the streets of the capital cities as they stood below the massive screens that were playing the footage in the city square.

"This is it," they muttered. "We're dead. If Cell's laughing at our greatest heroes, what hope do we have? It's all over. We haven't got a chance." Once voice rang out in protest.

"Come on, Hercule!" a young boy cried as he sat on his father's shoulders, a Hercule action figure clutched desperately in his fists. "You're the Strongest in the World! You can beat her up! Don't be scared!" His hope passed through the crowd and they all cheered and gave words of encouragement.

"Come on, Hercule!" They cried across the world. "You're the greatest! You're our hero! You can do anything!"

OoOoOoO

Hercule seemed to hear their words and it filled him with a fire as he pounded his fists together. His eyes flashed with light and he let out a roar as he charged at Perfect Cell with one fist drawn back. Perfect Cell had barely gotten to her feet as Hercule leaped into the air, putting everything he had into the ultimate punch.

"Hercule Supreme Megaton Blow!" he bellowed as he brought down his fist with an almighty force. Perfect Cell blinked at him and a rush of air struck Hercule in the chest, sending him rocketing away from her and hurtling into the sky. Goku was suddenly in the air and caught Hercule's prone body after Cell had launched him away with a kiai.

"Hey," she told him encouragingly as she descended, "Nice fight. You gave it your best shot." Then she set him down beside his plane and cracked her knuckles before stepping into the ring. ' _Don't worry,'_ Goku told Gohan telepathically, ' _I'll take the first shot. It'll give you a chance to study her fighting style and everything.'_

While she did this, Cell laughed and got into her guard. "Now this," she declared excitedly, "Is more like it! A proper challenge for my Perfect Form."

"Go to Hell!" Vegeta snapped, although neither she nor Goku paid him any mind. They both stood their in their guards for a moment, analyzing each other and this moment.

Perfect Cell had been Perfectly designed for this. For almost the sole purpose of killing Goku. All of her techniques, all her knowledge, and the knowledge and skills of everyone Goku had faced. Decades of travelling throughout time and space had let to this moment, to this Perfect battle. Goku, as prepared and as powerful as she could be, and Perfect Cell, at her Perfect peak.

Goku couldn't imagine a better opponent. It was as if her whole life had led to this moment. Meeting Bulma, going after the Dragon Balls. Fighting Tao, the Red Ribbon Army, Ten, and Piccolo Daimaou. Finding out she was a Saiyan, fighting Vegeta, battling Feeza, becoming a Super Saiyan. Heck, the ring even looked like a bigger version of the Tenkaichi Budoukai Ring. All the knowledge and skill she had gathered throughout her life, to battle the ultimate opponent.

"Just so you know," Perfect Cell told Goku, "You can win by ring-out, submission, knockout… or _death."_ Goku flashed her a grin.

"Awesome," Goku retorted eagerly. "Nothing to hold back, right?" Cell nodded. They were the two most powerful women in the universe. The ultimate martial artists. One who had gathered her skills over a lifetime and fought to push herself past her limits. One who had been bred for and carefully created for this battle. A bloodthirsty warrior who had become a protector. A protector who sought to bring the end of all things. It had all come down to this. One was life. One was death. After today, nothing would ever be the same.


	96. The Awesome Battle!

Chapter Ninety-six

The Awesome Battle! Son Goku vs. Perfect Cell!

"W-we have received reports," Caesar Firecracker said in a picture-in-picture feature that put him in the corner of the screen while the majority of the shot was on Goku getting into the ring followed by she and Perfect Cell in their battle stances, "That along with the blonde woman claiming to be Son Goku, the other participants who have gathered at the Cell Games include former Tenkaichi Budoukai Winner Tenshinhan; former Finalists Launch, Chaozu, and Son Suno; the famous 'Bald Tiger' Krillin; Yamcha, the former finalist and one half of the 'Wolf and Ox' hero-for-hire team; and the being who claims to the be reincarnation of Piccolo Daimaou. The identities of the two blond young men are still unknown."

A third window opened to show the shot of Vegeta that Jimmy had managed to get before the others arrived and a fourth window of helicopter footage that had been taken of Nappa and Vegeta when they had arrived on Earth for the battle in the Wastelands.

"Also," Caesar continued, "This evidence strongly implies that the warrior who arrived first and was identified by Perfect Cell as 'Vegeta' is also one of the two alien assailants who attacked our planet nearly four years ago." The pictures of Vegeta were replaced with grainy, amateur drone footage from a great distance of Goku and Vegeta fighting in the air followed by a quick cut to the beam struggle between Goku and Vegeta before fading away, leaving only Goku, Perfect Cell, and Caesar on the screen. "It is unclear at this time if this 'Vegeta' can be trusted but, at this point, this reporter is willing to accept any help the earth can get. We'll give you more on the story as it develops but for right now, we'll continue to focus on the action."

OoOoOoO

Perfect Cell suddenly stood up out of her guard and clucked her tongue, shaking her head and wagging a finger in admonishment. "Silly me," she chuckled, "I'd almost forgotten my surprise! After all," she went on, "Why should you be the only one with a cheering squad?" She put her fingers to her lips and let out a long, piercing whistle that made Piccolo grimace in pain. "Worth it," Perfect Cell muttered to herself in a slightly pained tone as six lumps of earth rumbled and shook at the side of the ring opposite from the heroes.

"Saibamen?" Suno asked as she scratched the back of her head in confusion. It was the only thing she could think of, although she had no idea _how_ Cell would have gotten her hands on them, or why.

"I sure hope not," Chaozu muttered. "Those guys gave me the creeps." No sooner had Chaozu finished his thought then six brightly colored blurs burst out of the earth and posed dramatically, the sun shining down on their spotted carapaces. They were all almost identical to Perfect Cell except that they were shorter, all of them being an identical five feet tall, with shorter horns and wings and more slender builds. They looked, oddly enough, how Perfect Cell might look if she were meant to be a teenager. They were also all different colors.

"Geki!" The Red Mini-Cell declared in a take-charge and authoritative young man's voice while he struck a rather ridiculous pose.

"Dan!" The Blue Mini-Cell shouted in a slightly nasally young man's voice as he struck a pose of his own.

"Mei!" The Pink Mini-Cell cheered in a bubbly young girl's voice with a skip and a jump into a pose of her own.

"Goushi!" The Black Mini-Cell called in a smooth and easygoing young man's voice as he danced into his pose.

"Boy!" The Yellow Mini-Cell sounded off with a serious and studious young girl's voice as she posed gracefully.

"Kou!" The White Mini-Cell called out in a clear and confident tone as he got into a fighting stance. If it weren't for the fact that he looked almost exactly like Cell, you'd almost think he was one of the heroes.

"Aren't they just _precious?"_ Perfect Cell cooed proudly as she clapped her hands and the six Mini-Cells dropped out of their poses nonchalantly. "I call them my Cellspawn. They're the new, better race of Bioandroids I told Trunks about before. I've got entire _planets_ full of them. Took me a while to get the design right, though. The first batch was a rambling band of ugly, stunted little blue things. But these six are just _Perfect!"_

"Wait," Krillin observed, "So the yellow one's a girl… but her name is Boy?" Perfect Cell shrugged without ever taking her eyes off of Goku.

"Honestly, I don't know where or how they get their names," she admitted. "They just come out knowing who they are. But don't worry," she added, "They won't interfere as long as you don't."

"Are we going to fight now?" Goku asked somewhat-impatiently, having never gotten out of her battle stance. Perfect Cell chuckled.

"By all means," she said with a tip of her horns, "After you." Goku nodded and they charged at one another, colliding in a tremendous explosion that nearly knocked the other heroes off their feet and sent Jimmy, Hercule, the band, the technicians, and the cameraman flying. Perfect Cell attacked first with a precise chop to Goku's neck that Goku expertly blocked with a forearm before attacking with a jumping knee aimed to catch Perfect Cell under the chin. Perfect Cell leaned her head back with mechanical smoothness before responding with an effortless roundhouse kick. Goku ducked under it masterfully and shot up out of her crouch with an uppercut aimed artfully at Perfect Cell's stomach that Perfect Cell brought her hands down to block, the force of the attack shoving her up into the air. Goku followed her into the air with a series of lightning-fast jabs that Perfect Cell Perfectly blocked, efficiently evading Goku's attacks before grabbing her wrists and driving her feet into Goku's chests with the first real attack, sending her toward the ring. Goku rolled backwards and landed in a three-point stance. Goku immediately jumped back as Perfect Cell smashed a fist down into the ring where Goku had been less than a millisecond before and swung with a crescent kick, cracking Perfect Cell across the jaw and sending her flipping end over end before landing gracefully and Perfectly on her feet.

The Cellspawn cheered and shouted words of encouragement to their mother as Goku and Perfect Cell eyed each other coolly and got back into their guards, smirks on their lips.

"That was a pretty fun little warmup," Perfect Cell said as she rolled her neck and shoulders. "But I think it's time we got serious, right?"

"Sure thing," Goku shot back as she flexed her fingers and bounced on the balls of her feet. This was awesome! She'd never fought someone so powerful and skilled before. It was great!

"W-wait," Trunks stammered as Goku and Cell flew at each other again in a blistering flurry, moving even faster than before. "That… that was a warmup?" The humans were hopelessly lost, catching flickers of gold and green, feeling and hearing the shockwaves from their impacts more than they actually saw anything. Even the special new camera lens that the cameraman was operating was only catching the occasional person-shaped blur, and the camera had been specially built and designed based on specifications Bulma had gotten when she'd asked Goku to show her how fast she could move during the ten days. Piccolo, Trunks, and Vegeta had a slightly better idea of what was going on, following green and golden blurs moving in contrails around the ring. Vegeta was the nearest among them to following along. Gohan, on the other hand…

Suno looked to her son and noticed his intense and resolute expression, his eyes focused and following something that she couldn't see. "Gohan," she asked, "Can you actually follow this?"

"Yeah," Gohan told his mother as he watched Perfect Cell and his mom battle. He could follow everything perfectly. Why was Goku moving so slowly? He could tell Cell was holding back but was she? Was he _really_ that much more powerful than either of them? He still couldn't really believe it.

"Makankousappou!" Perfect Cell cried as she thrust two fingers out, the yellow-purple spiral shooting straight for Goku's chest. Goku actually ran _toward_ the beam before suddenly dropping down to her knees and sliding across the ring, rolling forward up onto her hands and shooting up in a handstand, spinning her legs and cracking Perfect Cell with a spin kick. Perfect Cell went flying backwards and actually went out of the ring… before stopping herself parallel to the ground and floating back up, smirking as she entered the ring again. She charged at Goku again and they met with the force of two colliding asteroids, once again knocking the underprepared non-fighters end over end.

"Hey," Goku asked as she and Perfect Cell dodged one another's punches and kicks by infinitesimal fractions, "How come you even said we could lose by ring-out if we can fly?"

"Eh," Perfect Cell muttered in a verbal shrug that she couldn't physically give with her arms preoccupied. "Nostalgia, I guess? Not for me, obviously, but for you guys, really." Then she swung a ki ball directly into Goku's face, causing her to cry out in pain. She followed up with a combination of jabs while Goku was blinded and an axe kick that cracked Goku over the head and sent her crashing down into the ring. Cell dove down after her and swung with another ki blast, the beam shooting straight into Goku's back and through an afterimage. She clucked her tongue in disappointment. "Come on now," she scolded as she spun to look overhead, "As if I'd fall for something so old." She thrust out her first to where Goku was supposed to be… only she wasn't. Then Goku was behind her, driving her knee into Perfect Cell' back. Perfect Cell cried out in pain before Goku grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her forcefully down into the tiles.

"Guess you don't know everything, huh?" Goku asked as she hopped away from Perfect Cell, who got to her feet in the blink of an eye and charged in for another attack.

"How did you do that?" Perfect Cell demanded. "There's no way you could be that fast!" Goku just smirked and drove a spear strike into Perfect Cell's solar plexus and Perfect Cell gasped in pain. She'd used Instant Transmission to pop over to Baba before using it again to come back and attack. Perfect Cell growled and grabbed Goku's arm in her armpit, slamming her other palm into Goku's shoulder and causing Goku to cry out in pain as the impact nearly forced the arm out of its socket. Perfect Cell grabbed both sides of Goku's head and growled, headbutting Goku in the face before elbowing her in the jaw. Perfect Cell smirked as she shoved Goku away before Goku caught herself in the air.

"Come on," Goku taunted before spitting out some blood. "This is just starting to get fun!" They brought their hands down to their sides and started firing off rapid-fire ki blasts, filling the air with explosions. The cameraman stayed focused on the action now that Goku and Perfect Cell were actually standing still while Jimmy Firecracker walked over the Hercule, the reigning World's Champion, to try and get a statement.

"Hercule!" Jimmy cried out to get his attention over the din, holding the microphone up to the champ. "Hercule! What are we seeing here? Is this a trick? Some sort of elaborate light show? Advanced military hardware? What the hell is going on?!" Hercule looked at Jimmy in a cold sweat and forced himself to put a smile on his face.

"I'll tell ya what it is," he replied as he tried his best to act like his stage self, "It's a sign that I gotta train more!" He laughed boisterously as Jimmy walked over to the others. Once the microphone was out of his face, however, Hercule couldn't shake the absolute, unshakable terror that filled him as he watched. These two… they were like gods! Even that jackass with the ponytail who'd murdered his master couldn't dream of having their kind of power. What the hell was this?!

"I don't have time to explain ki to you," Krillin told Jimmy dryly as he kept his eyes on the action. "Get in touch with my agent."

"Wait," Yamcha asked as he actually turned away from the fight to talk to them. "Do you seriously not remember the Budoukais where everyone was shooting Kamehamehas? Where Goku turned into a giant monkey and Ten blew up the ring? None of that?"

"I turned into a giant!" Piccolo remarked indignantly. "I destroyed Papaya Island and I tried to take over the world! Twice!"

"What did I tell you about talking to me?" Vegeta asked icily. Jimmy gave up and walked back over to his cameraman whose eyes were still focused on the action. Goku and Perfect Cell had stopped their ki attack and had dropped back down the the ring, grabbing each other in a knuckle lock as they tried to shove one another, each trying to impose her will onto the other. They roared in each other's faces as their powers rose and their auras grew, tangling and intertwining with each other as the earth shook under them. There was a sudden, blinding flash and when the light faded, the ring had completely vanished from sight with Goku and Perfect Cell were still locked in their struggle, as well as Hercule's entrance walk and plane. It had all been vaporized from existence from the sheer power on display. Perfect Cell suddenly jammed her foot into Goku's knee, making her leg buckle and causing Goku to stumble. Perfect Cell grabbed Goku's arm in both her hands and slammed Goku hard into the ground, smirking and flying backwards before launching off a volley of ki blasts while Goku was pinned down. Goku floated up out of the dust and tore off her tattered golden gi top, tossing it away and letting it get blown away in the wind, now just in her blue undershirt and golden pants and boots.

"All my hard work," Perfect Cell sighed as she looked down at the ring. She shook her head and shrugged before looking back up at Goku. "I guess the only way to win now is to be the last one standing."

"I dunno," Goku retorted as she looked down at the ring. "I beat Piccolo by ring out after _he_ blew up the ring. I can kinda still see the outline of this one. So I probably _could_ still win by ringou–"

"My tournament, my rules!" Perfect Cell cried out hurriedly as she slammed into Goku with a flying kick, driving them both down into the dirt. Goku came roaring out of the Earth with a furious eruption of hooking blows to the face and body that pushed Perfect Cell back, digging a trench along the landscape. Perfect Cell avoided one punch with an afterimage and came in from Goku's left with a flying kick that sent her hurtling through the dirt. She unleashed a salvo of kicks at Goku, slamming her feet viciously into the Super Saiyan's chest. Goku coughed up blood before bringing her hands up to her face.

"Taiyoken!" they called out simultaneously as Perfect Cell attempted to cut her off. They blinding flashed magnified against each other and the women clutched painfully at their eyes, both temporarily incapacitated. Still blind, Goku attacked on instinct and threw out a kick to Perfect Cell's chest but Perfect Cell countered, grabbing her leg in both hands and swinging Goku back toward the others where the battle had begun. Goku went sailing before Perfect Cell was instantly on top of her, slamming her fist into Goku's ribs. Goku cried out in pain before Perfect Cell smashed her feet into her chest and then pushed off into the air to hurl hundreds of ki bolts, crying out furiously as she threw them down with murderous intent. The land was blasted beyond all recognition as the fighters fought to stay on their feet and the regular humans were once again sent tumbling end over end, the camera still surviving, the audience occasionally catching glimpses of Perfect Cell's attack as the cameraman flipped over the right way. Finally, after nearly a minute of a constant attack, Perfect Cell finally relented and dropped her hands to her sides, gasping for breath. The others waited nervously as the smoke cleared… but there was no sign of Goku.

' _No,'_ Suno thought as she stared, her eyes scanning frantically for any flash of blue or scrap of gold. ' _She's gotta be around here somewhere. I just need to focus on her ki.'_ Everyone else seemed to have the same idea as they searched among the rubble.

"Come on," Perfect Cell demanded impatiently. "Come on! Where the hell are you hiding?! Don't tell me what was it!" She dropped down to the ground and started searching amongst the rubble, kicking over rocks and sending them hurtling out into space. "We're not done yet, Goku! Don't tell me you've given up!" Once again, Gohan knew exactly where his mother had gone and turned his gaze upward. Everyone else followed his line of sight and even Perfect Cell noticed, looking up into the air and gawking up at Goku, who hovered high in the air above them like a bright, golden star. Her face was a furious mask of concentration and effort as she clenched her fists and her ki rose to its maximum height.

"That power," Trunks muttered as they stared at her. "It's incredible! What's Goku planning?!" Everyone else was wondering the same thing and received their answer in short order. Goku's face screwed up in furious concentration as she slammed her hands down to her side.

"Kaaaa meeee…" Goku boomed with her voice echoing across the land. Everyone gasped in shock while Perfect Cell only chuckled.

"You've got to be kidding," Perfect Cell called up condescendingly. "Do you really think I'll fall for that bluff?! Like you'd really aim for the–"

"Haaaa…" Perfect Cell's mouth puckered shut as her eyes bulged in her head.

"What is Kakarot thinking?!" Vegeta wondered aloud in disbelief. "At that kind of power, she'll easily destroy the planet by shooting down at Cell!"

"I know," Suno remarked. "That's usually your move." She was only so calm because she knew that Goku was bluffing. She had a plan… right?

"Meee…" The blue-white light filled Goku's hands and built up to nearly completely envelop the space between her arms as beads of sweat ran down her face, mixing in to the blood as she grit her teeth in concentration. ' _Got to get this right,'_ she thought as she focused on Perfect Cell's ki. ' _Even if I can't beat Cell, I've gotta give this my best shot!'_ Perfect Cell took her eyes off of Goku for half a second, no doubt planning to make her move and escape or intercept Goku's attack. That flicker of fractured focus was all that Goku needed. In that split-second, Goku was in front of Perfect Cell in a low crouch and pivoting her body upwards. Perfect Cell had half a second to realize what was happening and opened her mouth to scream in horror as Goku thrust her hands forward and roared. "Haaaaaa!" The monumental blast exploded from Goku's hands and caught Perfect Cell flush, enveloping half of her body in its destructive path as it shot off into space. When the light faded, Perfect Cell's body was standing in front of Goku… a pair of legs and a badly burnt abdomen. Goku dropped her arms to her side and gasped for breath as Perfect Cell's corpse fell backwards like a collapsed tree. Goku doubled over and put her hands on her knees, gulping down air, her body drenched in sweat.

"Mother!" The Cellspawn cried in horror as the heroes cheered and hollered. Even Vegeta nodded in approval. Even though it showed him just how far the gulf between himself and Kakarot remained, that was fine. With Cell out of the way, he could commit himself fully to their rivalry.

"Come on, you idiot," Jimmy muttered off-mic as he shoved his cameraman, "Get the shot!" The beleaguered cameraman focused on Goku standing triumphantly over Perfect Cell's obliterated carcass. "And there you have it!" Jimmy crowed. "I just cannot believe it, ladies and gentlemen! Son Goku has defeated Perfect Cell!"

' _I knew it!'_ Gohan thought proudly. ' _I knew mom was still the best!'_

Everyone cheered… except for Trunks. He never took his eyes off of Perfect Cell's body, glaring at it intently. ' _Not yet,'_ he thought to himself. ' _Not yet.'_ He wouldn't let himself believe yet. He couldn't.

OoOoOoO

People around the world roared and cheered at Perfect Cell's defeat, hugging each other and crying and leaping for joy. It was as if an enormous lead weight had been lifted off the collective chest of the world and everyone could breathe again. The specter of death had hung over mankind once again, and once again–

OoOoOoO

Perfect Cell's foot twitched. Goku hopped away from it as Perfect Cell's headless and torsoless corpse bounded up to its feet. The burned and blackened flesh bubbled and roiled as the heroes stared at it in horror. Without another warning, Perfect Cell's upper body exploded from the ruined flesh of her abdomen, drenched in green fluids and Perfect Cell gasped for air as if she had just come up from beneath the water.

OoOoOoO

The joy everyone felt immediately turned to terror and despair and their cheers turned to shrieks and sobs. Not only because the sight was so grotesque and horrifying but because now it meant they were dead. Of course they were. How could they not be? If Perfect Cell could recover from _that_ then what could possibly kill her?

OoOoOoO

"Knew it," Trunks muttered bitterly as Perfect Cell shook green fluid off of her fingers and the Cellspawn cheered for their mother's recovery.

"Oh!" Perfect Cell gasped as she took in another breath. "Oh, man! I… woo, I forgot I could do that! It… it has been… a _loooong_ time since that has happened."

"Wait, what the fuck?" Launch interjected. "How the _fuck_ did you survive that? Even Piccolo still needs his _head_ to regenerate."

"W-well," Perfect Cell panted out, "You see…" she paused and doubled over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh man, excuse me…" She muttered breathlessly. Then she stood up and took a few more breaths before continuing. "As long as my core cluster of cells remains intact," Perfect Cell explained, "I can regenerate from any damage. Luckily for me, I have such perfect control over every part of my body that I can move that cluster anywhere with a thought."

"Not gonna lie," Goku admitted with a smile, "That's a pretty neat trick. Kinda wish _I_ had some Namekian cells sometimes." It would have probably helped to be able to heal herself about a dozen times by now. ' _At least now Gohan knows how hard he'll have to fight to beat Cell once and for all.'_

"So," Perfect Cell sighed as she got back into her guard. "You ready? I think that Kamehameha took a lot out of both of us but I'm pretty sure I can take you." Even after several minutes, Goku was still breathing heavily, although Perfect Cell was, too. Only now, she was still covered in cuts and bruises while Perfect Cell's body was halfway-undamaged. She smiled and shook her head.

"No," she told her, "That's okay. I forfeit." Everyone, even Perfect Cell, stared at her in shock. "I can't beat you," Goku continued, "And I kinda always knew I couldn't. I just wanted to test myself against you."

"W-wait," Perfect Cell stammered dumbly, "What're you talking about, 'forfeit'?! You're Son Goku! You don't give up! D-did you miss the whole part about how I said I was going to destroy the Earth?!"

"Yeah," Suno asked her wife nervously, " _Did_ you?!" She tried not to get too worked up. There had to be a game here. Goku _had_ to have a plan.

"Oh, I didn't forget," Goku assured Perfect Cell, "And you _are_ going to die. It just won't be me who does it. 'Scuse me," Then she vanished, returning seconds later with a bag of senzu. "Here ya go," she said casually as she tossed one into Perfect Cell's slack-jawed mouth. Perfect Cell crunched the bean down and swallowed it, her wounds healing instantly.

"Goku, what the _fuck?!"_ Tenshinhan exclaimed in disbelief. Goku looked at him curiously as she tucked the bag of magic beans into her belt.

"What?" she asked. "I couldn't let Cell fight with her energy drained like that. It wouldn't be fair." Perfect Cell was still too gobsmacked to correct her on her name. Then Goku smiled at Gohan and gave him a nod. "It's your turn, Gohan," she told him proudly. Gohan nodded and began to walk toward Perfect Cell.

"Wait," Suno said sharply as she grabbed Gohan's shoulder. "I'm sorry, _what?!"_ She locked her eyes sternly onto Goku's and Gohan could tell his mother was squeezing his arm as hard as she could. "Goku, tell me I did not just hear that. Tell me you are _not_ sending our baby out to fight– to the _death–_ with an opponent that _you_ just admitted you couldn't beat."

"Don't worry, mother," Gohan said reassuringly as he put his hand on top of hers. "I can handle this. This was the plan the whole time. Mom says I can beat Cell."

"Oh!" Suno exclaimed angrily as she threw her hands in the air. "Oh, so this was the _plan!_ Well I'm glad I'm learning about it _now!_ Why the hell didn't either of you tell me before?!"

"Honestly?" Goku admitted reluctantly. "I told Gohan not to tell you. I kind of knew you'd react… like this."

"Of course I was going to react like this!" Suno snapped at her. "He's our son! For crying out loud, _I'm_ the one who brought him into the world, why _shouldn't_ I be upset when it looks like you're trying to take him out of it?!"

"I am _not_ trying to–" Goku started to say before Gohan put his hands between his mothers.

"Mom! Mother!" Gohan exclaimed to get their attention. "That's enough, okay?" Then he turned to Suno and tried to smile for her. "It's okay, mother," he assured her again. "Mom believes in me. She knows I can do this." Suno sighed and nodded reluctantly before grabbing Gohan and pulling him into a hug. Gohan hugged her back before pulling away and walking towards Perfect Cell. Perfect Cell actually seemed to think the whole thing was almost funny.

' _Please,'_ Trunks prayed fervently as he watched Gohan walk toward Perfect Cell. Even though every moment of his life had proved to him that there was no one listening, he still had to try. ' _Please don't make me see him die twice…'_

"You know something?" Perfect Cell remarked as Gohan walked up to her. "I always knew it would come down to this. Even when I was fighting Goku, I knew it would wind up me and you. I just figured I would kill her first." She towered over the young Demisaiyan but he looked up at her unafraid and got into his guard. "It always comes down to us. In almost every timeline I've been in where you're born, this fight happens. It's almost predestined. It's kind of beautiful, honestly." Perfect Cell chuckled darkly as she cracked her knuckles. "Would you like to know how many times I've killed you?"

"No," Gohan retorted calmly as he looked at her icily. "It doesn't matter. After all, I only need to kill _you_ once." Perfect Cell grinned as they locked eyes for a handful of heartbeats. Then, they attacked.


	97. Where is Gohan's Hidden Power?

Chapter Ninety-seven

Give it Your All! Where is Gohan's Hidden Power?

Gohan and Perfect Cell's collisions exploded in bursts of gold and green light as they zipped around over everyone's heads, intertwining in deadly spirals before colliding again. The gathered heroes gaped open-mouthed at the display, barely able to believe what they were seeing. The idea that what they were seeing was even possible was just staggering. The pair were moving even faster than Perfect Cell and Goku had been, their ki even greater. The idea that Gohan, little Gohan was capable of this…

The only one who didn't seem surprised was Goku. Even though she was struggling to keep up with the action as much as the others, she seemed disappointed, if anything.

"Come on, Gohan," she muttered as she tracked her son and Perfect Cell's conflict. "What's taking you so long? Beat her already!" Why the heck was Gohan holding back? She knew he had more power than this.

OoOoOoO

Amy Thistle, a junior reporter and more-or-less intern, was now covering the events on ZTV News with Caesar currently recovering from a fainting spell after Perfect Cell's regeneration bout. As the "fight" was little more than a series of exploding colors, she took up most of the screen for now.

"We have just received some new information about the young man who is currently battling Cell," the purple fox said as she tried to hide the tremors in her voice both from the terror of the global situation and her inexperience at the job. A second window appeared, showing Gohan's school picture from the previous school year. "The boy is Son Gohan, the nine-year-old son of Son Goku and Son Suno." Obviously, the school system and the young reporter would have no knowledge of the year Gohan had spent in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber so, as far as they knew, he was nine years old. "We'll keep you posted on this story as it develops, but… uh…" Amy swallowed nervously, the papers shaking in her hands. "I don't know what to tell you, folks. This is… bad."

OoOoOoO

Bulma was coughing and sputtering, still recovering from spitting out a mouthful of coffee when Goku had said she quit and told Gohan to step in. Not only had she said it but Gohan had done it! She'd always thought Gohan was a pretty smart kid but… what the hell was going on?!

OoOoOoO

The words had barely left Amy's mouth before the rumblings of fear and worry started passing through the Son Family's home village. All of Gohan's classmates were calling each other, asking if they had all seen the same thing. Gohan was fighting this monster?! He was so nice! They'd never even seen him get frustrated during a group project, they couldn't imagine him getting angry enough to fight someone.

OoOoOoO

Yuki sat fixed in front of the television, her mouth agape as her fingers dug into the arms of her large, comfy armchair. Despite the relative warmth Jingle Village experienced in the summer months, her whole body was trembling with terror. Her little grandson was fighting?! She knew that he had grown up strong and that his mothers were powerful fighters but she couldn't look at him without seeing that tiny little baby he used to be. She hoped he'd be safe.

OoOoOoO

Gohan and Perfect Cell suddenly exploded into view, locked in a knuckle lock and glaring at one another, Gohan not giving any ground despite the difference in height between them as Perfect Cell tried to bear down on him.

"I've got to admit," Perfect Cell grunted with effort as she tried to shove him down, "You're definitely stronger than Goku. But if this is all you've got, you're still not going to win!"

"Don't worry," Gohan shot back as he glared up at her, "I'm just getting started!" Which was only half-true. Gohan knew that he had more power he could use to fight Perfect Cell but for some reason, he couldn't bring it out to face her. What was holding him back?

"Oh really?" Perfect Cell asked with a malevolent grin. "Alright. Show me what you've got!" She fell backwards, letting Gohan's momentum carry him forward into a high kick that caught him under the jaw. The impact sent Gohan shooting up into the air and she followed with an uppercut that drove the wind out of him before shooting her other hand up to grab a fistful of Gohan's spiky golden hair and smash him face first into the ground. Perfect Cell went to crush an axe kick down onto the small of Gohan's back but, to her shock, Gohan had completely vanished by the time her foot impacted with the earth. She looked around in astonishment and swiveled into a faceful of fist as Gohan caught her with a left hook that sent her crashing into the Cellspawn.

"Mother!" they all cried in unison as they helped her to her feet.

"Do you want us to step in, mom?" Dan asked as Perfect Cell regained her bearings.

"Yeah," Kou added with a nod as he pounded his fist into his palm. "With the seven of us, we could crush this little creep together!"

"Hey!" Suno barked from across the battlefield. "Who are you calling a creep, ya little technicolor freakshows?!"

"Suno, don't insult her kids, that's rude," Goku scolded her as she popped a senzu into her mouth.

"Please tell me you're being sarcastic," Tenshinhan muttered. Meanwhile, Perfect Cell shook her head and gestured for the Cellspawn to step back.

"It's okay," Perfect Cell assured them as she rolled her neck with her eyes firmly on Gohan. "I'm fine. Didn't feel a thing."

"Funny," Gohan retorted as he hopped on the balls of his feet, "I was gonna say the same thing." Perfect Cell growled indignantly and flew back at Gohan, who flew forward to meet her and they collided again in a cross counter, each one hitting the other in the jaw with a straight punch. They hit each other again with the opposite fist before exploding into a rushing strike exchange, their fists colliding with a cacophonous force that made the earth crack and shake underfoot. Goku smiled at the display as she and the others floated off the ground to not be affected. Hercule and the others were not so lucky.

'Heh,' she thought proudly and nostalgically. 'Kinda like me and Piccolo.' Which had been yet another tournament to decide the fate of the world, although this one was a lot more explicit. Also, back then, she and Piccolo had been much closer in power. She had seen what Gohan was capable of in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. What was up? He wasn't toying with Perfect Cell, he was clearly trying to fight her and doing his best but this wasn't his best and she knew that. She knew Gohan was capable of so much more than he was doing right now. She wanted to jump in and coach him, to give him some words of encouragement, but that wouldn't be fair. This was Gohan's fight. She just had to trust that he'd be able to get himself out of whatever funk he was in and handle it himself.

Perfect Cell brought her foot out to kick Gohan in the knee, breaking his concentration before she rammed her knee into Gohan's stomach. He staggered back for a moment and then he returned fire with a spin kick that caught Perfect Cell in the side of the head. Perfect Cell stumbled away before spinning on her feet and firing a pink beam of death from her fingertips. Gohan spun to the side with the beam grazing his cheek. While it didn't do any visible damage, Gohan suffered a momentary flash of panic as he was instantly brought back to Freeza and how that same beam had taken the lives of Dende and Vegeta and had seemingly killed Piccolo. That moment when he froze allowed Perfect Cell to charge in and attack, hammering Gohan across the face with rights and lefts, the impact lifting Gohan's feet off the ground. Perfect Cell gave a cry of effort as she leaped up and dropkicked Gohan square in the chest, sending him flying.

"Gohan!" Suno cried as she watched Perfect Cell pummel her little boy. Her body lurched reflexively to go to him before Goku put an arm out to stop her.

"He's okay, Suno," Goku assured her. "Trust me." Before Suno could voice her protest, Piccolo interrupted.

"Goku's right," he admitted. "Despite the punishment Gohan's taken, his ki hasn't dropped at all." Vegeta brooded and seethed in silent disgust.

'This is preposterous,' he thought in unbridled contempt. 'Being surpassed by Kakarot was bad enough but now I have to catch up to the halfbreed as well?'

Gohan got to his feet and was suddenly in Perfect Cell's face. To her frustration, he still didn't look like he'd taken any damage at all. She balled her fists and glowered at Gohan, who got back into his guard and leaped up with a jumping knee to Perfect Cell's jaw. Perfect Cell pivoted to one side to avoid the attack and retaliated with a spinning backfist. Gohan ducked under the blow and came behind Perfect Cell, aiming a punch at the small of her back that Perfect Cell backflipped to avoid before shooting up into the sky. She raised her hands high overhead and cried out in anger as she swung her hands down over and over, raining down a meteor shower of ki blasts. Gohan punched and kicked the blasts away as the others scattered, Hercule, Jimmy, and the cameraman running for their lives.

"Come on, Perfection damn it!" Perfect Cell swore as she rained down hellfire on Gohan. "Let's see what you've got! Show me this power of yours!" As Gohan stayed on the defensive, he found himself wondering why he couldn't call on this power. What was holding him back? He wasn't afraid of fighting. He'd practically been fighting all his life! Everyone was counting on him anyway, so he couldn't even afford to be afraid.

'You're going to mess up,' a voice told him in the back of his head. 'You're just a little kid. You don't know what you're doing. Mom's wrong. She doesn't really expect you to be able to defeat Cell. She's been holding back. She just wants you to feel special.' Gohan pushed the thought away and raised his hands up overhead. "Masenko!" he cried as he fired back, trying to knock Perfect Cell out of the sky. Perfect Cell skirted out of the way to avoid the attack and dropped down, rocketing toward Gohan to come at him face-to-face with a barrage of punches. As Gohan blocked and parried Perfect Cell's attack, flying backwards and giving ground, the voice in his head gave another explanation. 'You're scared. Scared of how powerful you might actually be. You can't control this power. Think of how crazy you got whenever you tapped into your rage. That's what you'll have to do to get the power you need to beat Cell but you can't do it. You're afraid. You'll be an even bigger menace than Cell!' One of Perfect Cell's jabs slipped through and caught Gohan full in the face, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

"Come on," Perfect Cell taunted as Gohan got to his feet. "Where's all that big talk, huh? You were so confident when we started but now you're barely fighting back! What's the plan, have me break my hands off on your face? I'll just grow new ones!" She rushed toward Gohan and battered him with a series of body blows that made him crumple around her fists. "What happened to this power, huh?! What happened to you just getting started?!" Gohan's hands dropped down and grabbed Perfect Cell's fists, stopping her attack instantly. She gawked as Gohan forced her hands away, raising her hands over his head as he stood up straight and looked at Perfect Cell intensely, teal eyes burning into red. She struggled to get out of his grip but was surprised to find that she couldn't.

"Stop," he told her firmly even though his voice was trembling. "You don't want to do this. You don't know what you're doing. Just stop." Perfect Cell stared at him, mouth agape, as Gohan held her in his grp.

"What're you doing?!" Goku called out to Gohan, cupping her hands around her mouth so he could hear her. "Come on, Gohan! I know you can beat this jerk! Just do it already!" Perfect Cell glared and, without warning, twin beams of ki shot out of her eyes and hit Gohan directly in his, causing him to cry out in pain and clutch at his face. Perfect Cell slammed Gohan across the jaw with an axehandle blow to send him spiraling through the air and grabbed him by the ankles as he was sent flying away to smash him into the ground. She dove in to continue the attack and was caught off guard as Gohan hopped to his feet and, still blinded, kicked her right in the face. The impact sent out a shockwave that knocked all the fighters off of their feet and sent Perfect Cell rocketing out of sight. As the heroes struggled to get to their feet, they barely understood what they had just seen.

"I… you guys saw that, right?" Trunk stammered out in disbelief. The others nodded dumbly in agreement that, yes, that had actually happened. One second, Perfect Cell had been there. Then Gohan had kicked her. Now she was just… gone. The Cellspawn looked around frantically for their mother, wondering where she had gone to.

Several miles away, Perfect Cell held her face in shock. She pulled her hand away from her mouth and stared at a smear of purple blood on her palm. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to find more blood. She spat a mouthful out onto the ground and, like a switch, her shock and astonishment boiled over into rage. She was back on the battlefield in a heartbeat, the bruise on her face from where Gohan had kicked her still evident.

"Jeez," Launch muttered when she noticed the bruise, "Gohan really got her on that one." Perfect Cell spared Launch a murderous glare before turning her attention back to Gohan.

"You're holding back on me," Perfect Cell told him icily as she jabbed an accusing finger. "I don't like that. Not one bit. I organized this whole tournament, set all of this up, because I am going to end the universe as you know it–"

"What about us?" Boy called from the sidelines.

"Not now!" Perfect Cell snapped at her daughter offhandedly while keeping her eyes on Gohan. "Somehow, that seems to escape your understanding. I'm going to kill you, Gohan. I always have. I always do. But I don't want you to die with any regrets. I want you to die knowing that there was nothing you could have done to stop me. Which means I'm going to make you show me what you've got. Just to give you a little incentive…" she held one hand overhead and snapped her fingers. "Hurt them," she told her children. "But don't kill them. Not yet. If that's what it takes? Fine. But I want them to suffer first." She glared murderously at Gohan. "I want you to suffer." The Cellspawn gave a cheer and flew toward the other heroes.

"Ah crap," Yamcha grumbled as he got into a defensive stance, "I shoulda known I was gonna have to f–!" He was cut off as Mei appeared in front of him, slamming her foot into his chest. Even using only a fraction of her power, she sent him reeling. Tenshinhan, Launch, Krillin, and Suno attacked her, the pink blur easily evading their attacks and slapping them down, each impact sending out a cry of pain that shot through Gohan's whole body.

"No!" Gohan cried out as he flew towards them but Perfect Cell grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him back, ramming her fist into his gut and driving the wind out of him.

"Come on!" she taunted as she wrapped Gohan up in a bearhug and constricted him in her powerful arms. "Let's see what you're made of! I'm going to see that power if I have to squeeze it out of you!"

Trunks immediately jumped up into his Super Form to do battle with Goushi but the Black Cellspawn was stronger than he'd anticipated, beating him relentlessly and sending blood flying out of his mouth with every body blow. Vegeta struggled against Boy, the yellow daughter driving the points of her feet into his chest and face with a vicious assault of kicks, a smug look on her face as her arms remained crossed at her chest. Piccolo tried to battle the blue Cellspawn, Dan, but he was outmatched in speed and strength as Dan evaded his every attack, ramming his elbows and knees down onto Piccolo's joints and kicking him when he was down.

Goku was faring the best, able to handle Geki on her own more or less evenly before Kou smashed into her as a white blur and the pair began to overwhelm her with their dogged red-and-white double team attack.

"Goku seems to be able to handle two of my kids," Perfect Cell observed as she kept trying to crush Gohan and the boy wriggled in her grasp. "But once Mei kills your mother and the rest of your human friends, I wonder how Goku will be able to hold up against three? Or what about after Dan kills Piccolo, hmm? Do you think your mom can hold off against four? Or five? Or six?" Gohan finally shoved his feet up against Perfect Cell's chest and shoved her away, breaking out of her grip and flying back to try and get some breathing room for himself. "Are you ready to watch all the people you love get beaten to death?" she asked in a sickeningly playful tone. Then instantly she turned to spite and rage as she attacked again. "Then let me see your strength!" Gohan brought his arms up to guard himself as Perfect Cell rained down punches on his defenses. The sounds of everyone's cries of pain reverberated in his head as Perfect Cell continued to wail on him. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he fight back?! Perfect Cell was going to kill them all! Perfect Cell swept Gohan's feet out from under him and kicked him hard in the stomach to send him flying. He struggled to pick himself up as Goku was sent smashing into the ground by a double-punch from Geki and Kou.

'Gotta focus,' Gohan thought to himself as he shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. 'Can't let Cell win! Can't be afraid!' During the fighting, the bag of senzu had been knocked from Goku's belt and she crawled towards them to try and heal herself. Just as her fingertips touched the bag, however, Geki blasted the bag into oblivion with a finger beam. Goku's outstretched hand fumbled through the smoke and the ash that had been the senzu for a moment before Geki kicked her in the chin, sending her flying back into Kou, who trapped Goku in a full nelson while Geki repeatedly punched her in the stomach.

Hercule watched all of this with terror, looking back and forth between the Cellspawn assaulting the other heroes and Perfect Cell running at the blond kid to attack him again. No one was able to give the boy a hand. There was nobody left. It was all… on him. They were all so much more powerful than him and yet… and yet… Without another thought, Hercule immediately ran toward the battle as fast as he could. Jimmy Firecracker elbowed the cameraman, gesticulating wildly and making sure he got the shot as Hercule charged forward.

"Come on, Perfection damn it!" Perfect Cell roared as she flew at Gohan with one hand reaching back. "I want a fight!" She swung back and let loose a thunderous punch, sending out another shockwave that sent Jimmy and the cameraman flying so that they would miss the crucial shot. There was an awful, wet ripping sound as Gohan realized that he hadn't been hit. He'd gone flying back… with Hercule's body in his arms. He stared down in horror at the gaping hole in the man's chest, blood pouring freely out of it.

"Wh… why?" he stammered out weakly as the dying man looked up at him. "Why would you–?" Hercule weakly reached up and patted him on the cheek.

"H-hey," he gasped out hoarsely, "G-Gohan, right?" He had died for Gohan without even knowing who he was. "I-if you really do have any kinda power to stop her… now's the time t'do it. C'mon, kid. G-grit those t-teeth, and get… in… there…" His eyes slowly closed shut and his head rolled to the side while Perfect Cell looked at her bloody fist and forearm with callous curiosity.

"Huh," she remarked. "That's different." Gohan's body shook with anger as he slowly let Hercule's corpse fall to the ground. An innocent man was dead because of him. Painfully, his mind went back to what he had said to his mom in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber when he had been struggling to become a Super Saiyan.

'I can't just wait until I might have to fight Cell or watch someone die!' he had told her. But he'd done exactly that. Because he'd been holding back, because he couldn't figure out how to focus or call on that power inside him, someone had died. His gaze drifted toward the others as if he were in a daze and he realized that Perfect Cell would kill them, too. The image of their dead bodies flashed in Gohan's mind and it made his shaking grow even worse as a pair of tears rolled down his cheeks and his hands balled into fists. He felt Hercule's blood seep into his gi as he reminded himself that Perfect Cell was going to kill everyone. Everyone on this planet, everyone who had ever been born… The thought filled Gohan with something he'd never felt before. This was something beyond his childhood anger. It was a burning, all-consuming, white hot rage that ate him alive from the inside out. Gohan threw his head back and let out a scream of power and hatred that boiled out of him like an erupting volcano. The sound brought everyone to a screeching halt as Gohan's aura exploded around him with lightning coursing up and down his body. The last thing the camera saw before Gohan's power caused it to explode, the last thing that the entire world would see, was this screaming golden avatar of power and rage.

The ground sank around Gohan as his power grew and grew, generating its own gravity and buckling the earth under his feet, creating a crater with his very existence. He screamed louder and louder, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clenched his fists so fiercely that they bled. Gohan's screams reached a crescendo as his hair spiked even higher than before and his ki peaked at its zenith. It was like the quiet after a thunderclap, after a hurricane, and everyone was left speechless.

OoOoOoO

Cooler was awoken from his chemically-induced Space Pod sleep by an even greater power than the one he had sensed that caused him to decide he needed to return home to train. "You've got to be joking…" he muttered before closing his eyes again. It would still be a few days before he reached Freeza Planet One. Hopefully no one got any stronger before he woke up.

OoOoOoO

The Kaioushin felt another power, a far more noble and pleasant energy than the first one from a few days ago, and stopped playing mahjong to contemplate this new development. "Very interesting…"

OoOoOoO

'Gohan?' Suno thought in shock and disbelief as she struggled to get to her feet. This couldn't be him, she thought as he climbed out of the crater, silent, a murderous expression in his eyes. This was an even more drastic change than Goku had gone through on Namek. What was this?

"No way…" Krillin muttered, aghast, as he stared at Gohan as he stalked towards Perfect Cell with arcs of lightning shooting off of his body.

"What… what is that?" Vegeta murmured in astonishment. This was an even greater power than the grades of Super Saiyan he'd discovered in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Had Gohan truly ascended?

"I… I can't believe it," Piccolo stammered. This kind of power… he could never have imagined that the little boy who had cried when Piccolo had thrown him at a mountain had this kind of sheer, awe-inspiring power.

Goku was grinning from ear to ear as she watched Gohan, beaming with pride, as proud of her son as any mother could ever have been. 'That's my boy.'

Perfect Cell watched Gohan stalking towards her and realized belatedly that her hands were shaking. That had never happened before. None of this had ever happened before! As he got closer, she actually took a step back. And then another. There was something else that she had never experienced, a strange and awful feeling that was running through her body. It was an emotion that she'd never felt, not from decades of travelling across countless alternate timelines. Perfect Cell was Perfectly terrified as she gazed into the icy blue eyes of death.

"Cell…" Gohan growled as he looked up at her. "This is my power. Are you happy now? I hope so." He balled up his fists and got into a fighting stance. "Because in the next ten seconds, you're going to be dead."

* * *

A/N: For full effectiveness, start listening to Vogel im Käfig from about when the Cellspawn start beating everyone up.


	98. Gohan's True Power! Gohan the Cruel!

Chapter Ninety-eight

Gohan's True Power! Gohan the Cruel?!

"Really?" Perfect Cell asked with a chuckle that wasn't entirely convincing. "I'm supposed to be scared of you, little boy? Just 'cause you've done a little something with your hair, had a cry, and you're all angry now?" She laughed again before balling her fists and bringing them to her sides. "Let me show you some _real_ power!" She let out a war cry as her power skyrocketed and her aura blossomed around her like a candle flame exploding into a wildfire. The wind whipped around her as if she were the eye of a hurricane, ripping up chunks of the earth and sending them flying in all directions.

"Unreal…" Trunks gasped in a quavering voice, "Just… unreal!" Was _this_ how much power the Perfect Cell of his timeline had as well? Everyone stared in shock as Perfect Cell's power rose and rose and even Goku was, temporarily, unnerved. Perfect Cell could have killed Goku whenever she wanted, she realized. It was only Goku's reputation that had made Perfect Cell think that they were both holding back. Gohan glowered up at Perfect Cell as she finished powering up and sneered down at him smugly.

"What do you think of that, little man?" Perfect Cell asked haughtily.

"Is that all you've got?" Gohan retorted bluntly. Before Perfect Cell even had a chance to blink, Gohan hit her with a right hook that nearly took Perfect Cell off her feet. She stumbled and staggered away before she lurched back to an upright position, only for Gohan to punch her again, this time with a left, that sent a spray of blood out in a wide arc. The demisaiyan demigod battered Perfect Cell with a blistering assault of punches to the face and body, all without turning his hips or putting any of his power or body weight into the blows, his feet completely planted. That was until Gohan raised one of those feet to plant it in Perfect Cell's chest instead, sending her flying, skipping, and skidding across the ground. Everyone stared in dumbstruck astonishment as Perfect Cell struggled to drag herself onto her hands and knees, purple blood pouring from her mouth and pooling onto the ground.

"Get him!" Geki roared as he and the other Cellspawn turned their attention away from their victims. "Help mother!" The sextet gave a war cry and charged at Gohan, who looked at them with supreme disdain. Geki flew straight into Gohan's open palm, which quickly gripped around his skull. Geki let out a breathless gasp of terror as he kicked and squirmed, pulling at Gohan's wrist, before Gohan crushed his skull, the blue blood bursting onto his hand and down his arm like a fisftul of strawberries. Mei and Boy came charging toward Gohan next and Mei attacked with a flying kick. Gohan caught Mei's ankle and swung her like a baseball bat into Boy with such fury that both of them exploded in a burst of pink and yellow, his face still hauntingly impassive. Dan met his end next from an axe kick that sliced him completely in half. Goushi tried to attack Gohan from behind with a diving attack but Gohan merely raised his fist as Goushi dove down, punching through most of his sternum and the top of his head, with Goushi's jaw dangling limply from Gohan's forearm as black slime ran down Gohan's arm. Gohan let Goushi drop from his hand as Kou, the last of the Cellspawn, attacked Gohan with a battle cry, swinging both hands in an axehandle blow. Gohan effortlessly caught Kou's hands in his grip and glared at the White Cellspawn. With a single wordless kiai, the last of Cell's children exploded into ash.

All of this took less than a second. As far as the other heroes were concerned, one moment the Cellspawn had moved to attack Gohan, and in the next he was surrounded by a pile of mangled corpses and viscera, some of which was staining his clothes and hands. As Gohan dusted his hands off, the others couldn't help but feel unnerved by whatever it was that Gohan had just done. Even Goku, who had encouraged Gohan to use his power and had expected this transformation, wasn't sure that she liked the change it brought about in her son. Everyone except Vegeta, of course. He actually approved.

' _About time the boy showed some real Saiyan ruthlessness,'_ he thought. ' _I always thought that he was as soft as his mother.'_ Gohan turned his attention to Perfect Cell, who looked at the carnage Gohan carelessly walked through in horror.

"I guess my ten seconds are up," Gohan observed casually before breaking out into a sadistic smirk. "Tell you what, I'll give you one free hit. I won't move, I won't dodge, I won't deflect it or counterattack. I'll stand right here and take it on the chin." Perfect Cell glared at him before immediately rocketing up into the sky. Gohan watched her fly up with a smirk on his lips and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Let's see you take this one on the chin, you little shit!" Perfect Cell roared as she held her hands out wide. She began to move them in a very familiar configuration, with one hand glowing white-blue and the other hand glowing… purple. "Galiiiiiiick…" Vegeta narrowed his eyes contemptuously. "Haaameee…" Goku was mildly intrigued. "Haaaa!" Perfect Cell thrust her hands down toward Gohan, firing a blue-and-purple intertwined beam of death that struck Gohan directly. As promised, Gohan hadn't moved, and he quickly vanished in the blinding light of the merged attack. Perfect Cell smirked and dropped her hands, panting from the exertion of her blast as she glared down at the cloud of smoke, waiting to see Gohan's corpse.

The smoke was launched away with a thunderclap, which everyone saw, once the smoke was cleared, was caused by Gohan snapping his fingers. He was completely unharmed with his lightning aura flaring around him. Even the ground underneath his feet remained unharmed.

"Y'know," Goku told Vegeta with a grin, "That might actually make a pretty good team-up mo–"

"Never," Vegeta replied curtly, cutting her off bluntly. "Absolutely not, at any point, in the next thousand thousand years. The sun will burn out and turn into a black husk before I ever even _consider_ doing that." Goku laughed.

"Y'know something," Gohan called up to Perfect Cell, who gawked at him in dismay and disbelief. "I've thought of the Perfect present for you. Shall I give you despair?" he lifted one hand and raised his palm toward Perfect Cell. "Kamehameha!" he called out almost casually. The blue-white beam rocketed towards Perfect Cell before she could blink, dwarfing the size of the Galick Hameha and nailing her head-on, absorbing her in its blinding light and rocketing off into space. Gohan waited patiently for the light to dim and smirked at the horrifying sight that was revealed to him.

Perfect Cell hung in the air, her arms and legs blasted off in ragged stumps, her horns and wings torn asunder as she gaped down in horror and gasped in short, stuttering breaths with wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Hurry up and regenerate!" Gohan called up to her impatiently. "We're not done!"

"Gohan!" Goku called from the sidelines and he turned to look curiously at his mom. "What're you doing?! You have the power to finish her off. So just do it, already!"

"Why?" Gohan asked bluntly. "You said it yourself, mom. I have the power. She can't beat me. How is this any different than what you told me you did to Freeza?" He looked up at Perfect Cell with a malevolent smirk. "I'm going to make her _suffer_ first." That gave Goku pause as she reflected on how she'd told Gohan the story of her battle with Freeza after becoming a Super Saiyan. Was _that_ the lesson he had learned from her? To make your enemies suffer and to toy with them simply because you were more powerful? Perfect Cell tried and failed to wrap her head around the sudden shift in her reality as she regenerated her limbs. This wasn't possible. None of this made sense. She'd killed Gohan literally _hundreds_ of times. She never lost. She was Perfect, she was invincible, she was undefeatable. So why was she losing? What the hell was this transformation of his? Why was he stronger than her?! "Are you going to come down here," Gohan asked, "Or are you going to make me come up there and slap the shit out of you?" Suno gasped at her son's language. Perfect Cell glared at Gohan before flying back down toward him with both fists and Gohan caught her by the wrists, bringing her to a dead stop. "How many people do you think you've killed, Cell?" Gohan asked her icily. "Millions? Billions? Can you even count that high?" He drove his knee up into her chest once, twice, three times before kicking her in the stomach with the point of his foot, letting go of her hands to send her stumbling back. "Give me a rough estimate. Because I'm going to hit you once for every single person you've murdered. Right now, I'm at a hundred three."

"Shut up!" Cell demanded as she brought her hand down toward Gohan in a chop down toward the top of his head. He sidestepped the attack and caught her elbow in his underarm, pinning him in place. Perfect Cell tried to pull out of his grip, only to be struck with a backhand.

"A hundred four," he struck her with a forehand slap across the face. "A hundred five," another backhand. "A hundred six," another forehand. "A hundred seven!" he let go of Perfect Cell's arm and drove his palm into her chest, cracking the black carapace and sending her flying back. Perfect Cell looked back and forth from Gohan to the crack in her chest, her mouth ever-widening in shock. "We're not even a tenth of the way to one percent," he told her. "Don't get scared now." Perfect Cell _was_ scared. She was well on her way to having a full-blown panic attack as her entire understanding of reality collapsed in on itself.

' _No,'_ she told herself, ' _You can do this. You can figure this out. You're smarter. You have decades of experience. You have all of their techniques. You can't beat him in brute force but you can certainly beat him in skill. He's a_ baby _for Perfection's sake!'_ She raised her hands toward Gohan who waited with his arms outstretched, making himself a perfect target. "Let's see how you like this, you little bastard!" she snapped as she raised her hands into the sky. She created a hundred glowing balls of ki, then a thousand, then ten thousand, filling the bright midday sky like stars. "Sokidan Overload!" She swung her hands down toward Gohan and the thousands of ki balls flew straight toward him. Gohan, seemingly more out of curiosity than of any actual fear of harm, flew up into the sky to avoid the attack. Perfect Cell had the balls chase after him, in completely Perfect control of her movements. She was constantly attempting to swarm Gohan or capture him yet he always evaded the grasp of her Sokidan Overload, effortlessly slipping in and out. At one point, he closed his eyes. Despite Perfect Cell's Perfect planning, she seemed oblivious to the fact that she was sending Gohan directly toward her. Then, as Gohan was right on top of her, she grabbed him in a death grip before he could escape. "Gotcha!" she cried. In the instant before the Sokidan Overload enveloped them, Gohan looked over her shoulder and saw _another_ Perfect Cell burst out of the ground. While everyone had been distracted by the light show, Perfect Cell had used Tenshinhan's multiform technique to create a second one of herself and burrow underground without anyone's notice.

Perfect Cell and Gohan were completely enveloped in the explosion as every single Sokidan hit them dead on, yet the remaining Perfect Cell did not relent in her attack. She raised both her fists, each one glowing with pink malevolence like Freeza's Death Beam, and fired both into the cloud. Since they didn't come out the other side of the cloud, she had to assume that she'd hit Gohan dead on and laughed triumphantly, positive that she'd done some kind of damage.

"Makankousappou!" A yellow-purple spiral barreled out of the cloud of smoke and hit Perfect Cell in the left shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. Piccolo laughed proudly and clapped like a father who had just seen his son hit a homerun. As Perfect Cell winced and whimpered while regenerating from the injury, Gohan walked out of the cloud almost completely unharmed. His gi was torn and he had a few superficial scratches on his forearms, like he'd been petting an unfriendly cat or playing with an overly-friendly dog whose owner didn't trim its nails properly. "Just so you know," Gohan told her, "I could have hit you between the eyes. I'm not going to, though. Because we're still only up to a hundred eight."

"Goku," Suno whispered to her wife as they watched the startling change that had come over their son, "Did you know this would happen?" Goku shook her head. "Do… do you think it's because of this transformation or…?" She couldn't actually say what she was thinking, mostly because it was too unpleasant to truly think about. Was this new attitude just because of his new power, was it because of Perfect Cell, or had this malevolence always been buried deep below the surface? When the battle was over, would they get their son back?

"Taiyoken!" Perfect Cell roared, flashing Gohan with a blinding light. Then she held one hand high overhead and created an enormous, familiar buzzing disc of death. "Kienzan!" she shrieked furiously as she swung it with all her might. The Kienzan flew straight and true toward Gohan… right into his outstretched hand. There was a high-pitched whine that caused Piccolo and Perfect Cell no shortage of discomfort as the disc met with Gohan's crackling aura, therefore never actually making contact with Gohan. He took the disc in both hands and bent it, the attack snapping almost immediately in half and showering onto the ground like shattered glass. Gohan took one step and was right on top of Perfect Cell in a flash, battering her with a rapid-fire series of punches to the stomach before grabbing her by the horns and headbutting her right in the face, five times in a row. He let go of Perfect Cell's face and she sagged to the ground onto her knees, so he roundhouse kicked her in the head to knock her into the dirt.

"That brings us up to two hundred ten," Gohan observed as Perfect Cell struggled to her feet once again. "Have you got anything else to throw at me? My knuckles are starting to get sore and they could use a break. Can you do the Genki Dama?" Perfect Cell spat blood into Gohan's face and flew into the sky while he was distracted.

"Shin Kikouhou!" she roared as Gohan sneered up at her. The shock wave from the blast sent everyone flying as a mile-wide, mile-deep square was blasted into the dirt. She was about to fire another one when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around and felt Gohan's finger pressing against her cheek to see him standing behind her, smirking smugly and giving her a wave. Then he drove his fist into the small of her back and Perfect Cell heard something crack. Gohan drove the point of his elbow down into Cell's head and something _crunched._ She went shooting down toward the Earth, dropping straight into the hole she'd just made with the Shin Kikouhou while Gohan floated lazily back down to wait for her. Gohan waited for a few seconds and was about to make some snide remark when he felt the earth shaking under his feet. He wondered what stupid trick Perfect Cell was going to try next. Maybe blow up the Earth from down there? He'd see the glow of whatever attack she was planning and stop her with plenty of time. He was starting to think that he should skip the counting game and just hurry up and kill her. The thought was barely out of Gohan's head before something rose ominously out of the crater. It was Perfect Cell and not only had she healed herself but she had also increased her power dramatically.

As well as her size.

Perfect Cell was more than _three times_ the size she had been before, with Gohan now barely coming up to her kneecap. She was also four times as broad, her body covered in bulging muscles and her head large and blockish. She seethed down at Gohan and flashed a malevolent, mad-eyed grin with teeth like tombstones.

"What do you think of me now, huh?" she boomed in a distorted voice. "Think you can still talk a big game?" Gohan… laughed. "What the hell's so funny?!" she demanded.

"If you want me to kill you that badly," Gohan said as he kept laughing, "All you had to do was ask. You didn't need to literally make yourself an easier target." Perfect Cell roared and swung down a fist the size of a small car at Gohan. Gohan sidestepped the blow effortlessly, barely pivoting his body to the side. He could have dodged the attack in his sleep.

"She's so much slower now," Tenshinhan observed as they watched Perfect Cell attempt to attack Gohan in her monstrous new form. She had pumped up her ki so much that it was possible that any blow to Gohan might actually cause him serious damage. It was an irrelevant observation, of course, because she had absolutely no chance of hitting him.

"She sacrificed speed for strength and power," Trunks noted as Gohan ducked under a ki blast from Perfect Cell's mouth and shut her up with an uppercut. "Just like I would have been in my Ultra Trunks form."

"Ultra Trunks?" Vegeta asked incredulously and with no small hint of disapproval. Trunks rolled his eyes.

"Oh, forgive me," he quipped dryly. "I forgot I was talking to the King of Modesty, _Super Vegeta."_ Vegeta scoffed defensively.

Clearly having gotten bored of watching Perfect Cell break her own spirit as her mind-numbingly slow strikes grew more and more frantic, Gohan went back on the offensive. He rammed a spear strike into Perfect Cell's enormous shoulder, popping it out of the socket and making her bellow in pain. He smashed his foot down into her kneecap, snapping her knee and making her cry out in agony. Perfect Cell dropped to a knee and Gohan leaped up to drive his own knee into her jaw, dislocating it. Perfect Cell crumpled in the dirt and shriveled back to her normal size and lay there in agony as she regenerated from her wounds. While Gohan was deciding if it was time to end this or not, Perfect Cell was trapped in a logic loop.

' _I can't beat him,'_ she thought hopelessly. ' _He's too strong, too fast. I can't outfight him, I can't overpower him. I can't beat him. But I can't let him win. But I can't beat him. But I can't let him win. I can't. But I can't. I can't… I can't…'_ she was nearly catatonic as she spiraled further and further into madness when inspiration finally struck her. ' _Yeees. It's the only way.'_

"Kaaameee…" Gohan had started to say when Perfect Cell stood up. Despite all logical evidence to the contrary, Perfect Cell was… smiling. Even laughing. A deranged, maniacal giggle as she looked at Gohan with a psychotic strength of purpose in her eyes.

"I guess there's no point in denying it," she told him with purple blood foam flecking her lips, "I can't beat you, Gohan." Then she cocked her head to one side and her smile turned positively nightmarish. "So I guess we'll have to call it a draw!" Without warning, she ballooned to titanic proportions. Not figuratively as she had just been when she increased her power but literally, inflating herself rapidly into a nearly-perfect orb, with her limbs wiggling like little nubs. "In fifteen seconds, my self-destruct will go off and I'll blow up this entire planet!" Gohan glared up at her and brought his hands back to his side.

"Haaaameee…"

"Not so fast!" Perfect Cell interrupted in a sing-song voice with manic glee. "If you touch me, I'll blow up now!" She threw her head back and laughed as the realization hit Gohan and he slumped to his knees. This was his fault. He'd been a stupid, spoiled, selfish child and gotten everyone on Earth killed. It was all. His. Fault. "Looks like we _all_ lose!" Perfect Cell gloated as he threw back his head and laughed. The weight of their own demise hit everyone, causing their arms to go slack and their knees to buckle. Nearly all of them had been dead before but, if the Earth was destroyed, that meant the Dragon Balls would be lost as well and none of them would be coming back.

' _I'll never get home,'_ Trunks thought despondently. ' _I'll never see my mother! I'll never defeat Cell! Never save my world!'_

"The Empire dies with me after all," Vegeta muttered numbly in defeat. Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu held one another in solemnity as Yamcha realized that he'd never get to see Chi-Chi again. He would never see his children grow up. Krillin despaired that he would never get to take up the Turtle School like Master Roshi wanted him to and Piccolo felt guilt wash over him. Even though he was no longer Earth's guardian, he still felt Kami's love for this planet and the old man's despair at his failure. Suno held onto Goku tightly and looked up at her wife with fearful eyes. Was there anything they could do? To her surprise… Goku smiled at her.

For Goku, everything moved in slow motion. She looked down and kissed Suno on the lips before slipping out of her arms. She patted Vegeta supportively on the shoulder with a smile on her face, sad that she'd never get to see him come around to be one of the good guys like she knew he could be. She gave Krillin a hug, hoping that they'd get to spar again someday. She hugged Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu as well and gave Piccolo an appreciative nod for all that her old rival had done to help her in her battles and to make Gohan into the warrior he'd become today. None of them would be able to see what she'd done but she knew that they would feel it. She wished that there were time to visit Master Roshi one last time. To tell him how much he'd meant to her, how grateful she was for all the lessons he had taught her and for the first great battle of her life when he'd been disguised as Jackie Chun. To ask him _why_ he'd disguised himself as Jackie Chun. But most of all, she'd wanted to tell Roshi that she loved him. For a second Grandpa, he was pretty great. There was no time, though. She put her fingertips to her forehead and, in a blink, she was in front of Gohan, her palm on Perfect Cell's stomach.

' _All my fault,'_ Gohan thought to himself as he focused on Kaiou's ki. ' _I have to fix–'_ but before he could move, Goku was standing in front of him. Gohan looked up at his mom, with her fingers still at her forehead and her other hand touching Cell and realized that she'd had the same idea. "M-mom," he whimpered as tears ran down his cheeks. "Mom, no!" he shook his head furiously and looked at her pleadingly. She smiled down at him, glowing with pride in her son.

"Gohan," she said softly as Perfect Cell struggled to look down over her inflated stomach and see what the hell was going on, "I'm so proud of you. I've been so happy for these years I got to spend watching you grow up." Gohan started to say something and she shook her head. "Listen to me, Gohan, and don't ever forget this: believe in yourself. Not the Gohan that _I_ believe in and not in the _me_ that believes in you. Have faith in the Son Gohan that believes in you." Then she looked up again, looking right at Suno. "Suno!" she called out. "I love you! Take care of each other!" Then she was gone. It was… quiet.

OoOoOoO

Kaiou was mowing his lawn and having a nice, normal, perfectly relaxing day. Then Goku showed up in the middle of his driveway with a giant green woman who was literally the size and shape of his own planet.

"Goku!" Kaiou screamed in shock. "What the hell?!" Goku smiled and shrugged bashfully.

"Sorry, Kaiou," she told him. "This was the only place I could think to take her!"

"Well you could have called first, you inconsiderate baboon!" Perfect Cell's eyes bugged out in her head as she looked around frantically. Where was she?! Why was the sky pink?! Who was Goku talking to?! What the hell was g–

OoOoOoO

"M-m-m–" Gohan stammered out as he tried to process what had just happened. Goku had taken Perfect Cell… somewhere. And she hadn't come back. So she was… she was… ' _It's all my fault.'_ "MAMAAAAA!" Gohan howled with grief and despair, falling forward and burying his face in the dirt. He slammed his fists into the ground as he cried "Mama" over and over, his body wracked with sobs as tears streamed down his face. What was the point of all this power if he couldn't save anyone?! As the others came to the same realization, they gave way to their grief. Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Launch, and Chaozu wept openly. Piccolo lowered his head as a single tear rolled down his green cheek. Trunks bowed his head respectfully for Goku's sacrifice while Vegeta huffed and looked away in scorned rebuke.

' _Damn you, Kakarot,'_ Vegeta thought miserably. ' _Who am I supposed to fight now?'_ What was he supposed to _do_ now? What was the point to his life without Kakarot? Fighting the boy?

"G-Goku…" Suno whimpered as she brought her hands up to her mouth. Her wife, her love, her whole world… she was just gone. Suno never thought she'd have to go through this again. She curled her hands into fists as tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. She nearly gave into her despair before her eyes locked on Gohan and she put it away. She could grieve later. Her son needed her now. She started to walk toward Gohan and noticed Krillin out of the corner of her eye walking to her son as well. It was obvious by the moisture in his eyes and how tightly his fists were clenched that he'd just gone through the same emotional rigors. Even after all the years, he had still loved Goku.

"Hey," Krillin whispered as he knelt beside Gohan and rubbed his back gently in slow circles. "Hey, buddy. It's okay. I know you're gonna miss your mom. I will, too. Don't beat yourself up, okay? Your mom wouldn't want that. She did this because she loved you."

"That's right," Suno added, her voice choked with emotion as she put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, sweety. I promise. We'll get through this together. Let's go home." Gohan sniffled and nodded, letting Krillin and Suno help him to his feet.

Tears were still trailing down Gohan's cheek, however, when a yellow beam of light flew over his shoulder and passed by everyone to hit Trunks square in the heart and come bursting out of his back. He fell to the ground with wide, empty eyes. Everyone stared at Trunks in shock before looking up… to see Perfect Cell looking smugly back at them. Her aura flared around her and crackled with lightning, just like Gohan's.

She threw her head back and laughed. She laughed in their faces. Relieved, astonished, _hysterical_ laughter. She laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the history of creation. She laughed so hard that there were tears in her eyes.

"Ohhh… ohhh… oh man!" she wheezed out, still laughing as everyone gawked in horror. "That… oh, I did _not_ know that was gonna happen!" Perfect Cell wiped a tear from her eye and shook her head. "I guess I owe Goku a thanks for letting me experience something new." She turned to them all and grinned. "So! Turns out, I can't be killed! As long as even _one_ cell remains, I can fully regenerate. Oh, and I picked up Instant Transmission, too! Not… not quite sure how I pulled that one off but I'm not complaining. I'm _better_ than Perfect now. From now on, you can call me _Super_ Perfect Cell!" All the while, Vegeta looked down at Trunks' body in dismay as his son coughed up blood and went into his death throes.

"My son…" Vegeta muttered, "My son." His hands balled into fists and his body quivered with rage. ' _How could I let this happen?!'_ He demanded himself furiously. ' _He is my_ son! _My_ blood! _My heir! He has been taken from me! He sacrificed_ everything _to come to this time! He actually believed in me, even when I treated him with nothing but scorn!'_ Black waves of shame washed over Vegeta and mixed self-loathing into his rage. ' _Kakarot gave her life for her son while I did nothing for mine! I just stood here and watched him die!'_ Then he turned and looked at Super Perfect Cell murderously as the first few flickers of electricity crackled around him. ' _Cell has deceived me, she has mocked my Saiyan ancestry and my royal bloodline, and made a fool of me in battle. But this! This ultimate insult will not go unpunished! She will die a_ thousand _deaths for what she has done to my son!'_ Then Vegeta let out a wordless roar of rage, a blood curdling bellow of almighty fury and rocketed past everyone to attack Super Perfect Cell. He swung his hands forward and blasted her dead on with an enormous beam of yellow ki before he swung his hands furiously, lobbing Big Bang Attack after Big Bang Attack, destroying the landscape, all while screaming bloody murder. He screamed himself hoarse and attacked to exhaustion, firing blasts until he was a panting, lathering mess and his arms hung limply at his sides. When the smoke cleared, Super Perfect Cell was still standing there, smirking infuriatingly. She raised a finger and pointed it at Vegeta, her smirk broadening into a grin as her fingertip glowed.

"Vegeta, get back!" Gohan cried as he grabbed Vegeta by the back of his gi and tried to yank him away. Before he could get Vegeta completely clear of the blast, however, Perfect Cell's beam still caught Vegeta in the right arm, leaving it a bloody ruin that hung dead by his side. Gohan had been… too slow. Perfect Cell had actually gotten the drop on him. Was she as powerful as he was now? Gohan buried that fear and tossed Vegeta to Piccolo before stomping towards Super Perfect Cell in a cold rage. "You killed my mother," Gohan spat at her. Super Perfect Cell only chuckled, much more calm and confident than the first time they'd squared up like this.

"Hardly," she retorted as she strode towards him. "You could have killed me any time you wanted. Mommy's death is on _your_ spiky little head, not mine. Besides, with the power boost I got from mommy's noble sacrifice, I'm _more_ than a match for you now. I'm more powerful than I've ever been!"

"We'll see about that," Gohan shot back as he picked up the pace, running to Super Perfect Cell now. "If you can regenerate from anything then I'll utterly annihilate you! Down to the very last scrap of DNA!"

"Ha!" Super Perfect Cell let out a derisive bark of laughter as they barreled toward one another like runaway freight trains on a collision course. "Come on, Son Gohan! Show me what you've got!"


	99. Believe, Gohan! The Earth Depends on It!

Chapter Ninety-nine

Believe in Gohan! The Earth Depends On It!

All across the world, audiences and families watched tensely, waiting for any news about the battle now that the sole cameraman was incapacitated and presumed dead. There were satellite images but they were coming slowly and were hopeless at tracking the fighters' movements. However, as the sky rumbled like thunder, the need for such pictures quickly became irrelevant. People raced out of their homes to stare up in astonishment as green and gold flashes filled the sky, followed seconds afterward by deafening explosions that shattered glass and shook the foundations of buildings. The titanic struggle travelled all across the globe and if anyone were able to observe the battle from space, they would be able to watch as green and gold bands of light encircled the globe over and over. The beams twisted and tangled around each other before breaking apart and clashing together again in one of the most awe-inspiring, terrifying sights in living memory.

Yet with hell raging on in the skies overhead, Videl Satan of Orange Star City stared out the window and could only wonder one thing. "Is dad okay?" she muttered, blue eyes shining with worry.

Gohan and Super Perfect Cell collided again and again in a titanic explosion of two unstoppable forces, the sky ripping apart with their every impact as they covered thousands of miles in seconds. Occasionally they would intertwine in a death spiral, exchanging punches and kicks with each one leaving their mark on the other. As Super Perfect Cell hit Gohan with a soccer kick that sent him hurtling through a South City skyscraper that ripped the building in half, Gohan tried desperately to formulate a strategy as he tumbled through the air. He'd never been in this situation before. He'd always been holding the line, struggling to survive, buying time for his mom or for Piccolo or even Vegeta. He'd never been the one that everyone was counting on, never been up against a foe exactly as strong as him with no rage boost to make up the difference.

' _Stop it,'_ he told himself sternly as Super Perfect Cell came charging toward him. ' _You're smart. There's no time to panic. Everyone's counting on you!'_ He grabbed a girder as it flew past him and smashed it against the side of Super Perfect Cell's head like a baseball bat. It exploded on impact and the shower of steely shrapnel blinded Cell long enough for Gohan to grab Cell by the horns. He swung her around and around, faster and faster, the two of them transforming into a gold-and-green disc of lightning that filled up the sky like a star before he hurtled Super Perfect Cell down to the ground. Gohan followed her down as she barrelled through the ground, raining down punches to keep pushing her forward and keep her off-balance. ' _She's drunk on her power,'_ Gohan observed as they punched through on the other side of the world, ' _She's not using any of her stolen techniques.'_ They punched and kicked at each other before grabbing one another in a knuckle lock and shoving one another into mountains and headbutting each other. However, Gohan thought to himself, he was under no such restrictions. Gohan broke the knuckle lock of one hand and grabbed Super Perfect Cell's other arm with it, tossing her end over end to go hurtling across the sky. He held one hand over his head and a disc of crackling, buzzing ki formed over his palm. Krillin had showed him the technique in the meditation training that the two of them and Suno had done on the way to Namek. Gohan had just never seen the need for it before nor had the courage to try it for himself before now. "Kienzan!" he cried as he threw the attack at Super Perfect Cell just as she righted herself in the air. However, her reaction time now mirrored his own and even that split second was more than enough for her to counterattack.

"Really?" she taunted smugly. "Now you're stealing my bit?" She flung her hand out and launched a counterdisc, this one pink, no doubt from Freeza. "Kienzan!" The discs collided in a shower of sparks, each one the other's equal and opposite.

' _Perfect,'_ Gohan thought. While Super Perfect Cell was distracted trying to push her disc through Gohan's and the sparks had him obscured from view, he used Instant Transmission to appear behind Super Perfect Cell and kick her viciously in the back, sending her hurtling toward her own kienzan, which would have sliced her in half. The self-professed ultimate lifeform blasted both discs into oblivion with eye beams, once again blinding herself as Gohan used Instant Transmission to come up from underneath her and ram his fist into Super Perfect Cell's gut to stun her. He charged up ki into his other fist and punched her in the chest, sending her rocketing up into the sky with a tremendous sonic boom. He followed up after her with ki-enhanced punches that carried her higher and higher into the sky which grew darker and darker as the stars became visible. Gohan took a deep breath as he cracked Super Perfect Cell across the jaw with an axehandle blow that sent her hurtling out through the upper atmosphere and out into space. Still he followed after her, not giving up his attack. Super Perfect Cell caught herself at just the right moment, however, and stopped her helpless spiral to charge right at Gohan in a tremendous collision that made a "Thoomp!" in the noiseless vacuum.

They exchanged punches and kicks in the void among the stars before Gohan took advantage with a sweep kick that sent Cell tumbling through zero gravity and a dropkick to the chest that sent her careening into the Capsule Corp Megamoon, right between Bulma's eyes. Gohan flew at Cell, intending to follow up the attack with a mighty punch before Perfect Cell got to her feet faster than he'd anticipated. She grabbed Gohan's wrists and glared at him hatefully. She opened her mouth as freezing droplets of purple and red blood danced in the air between them and caught Gohan flush in the face with a ki beam from her mouth to send him reeling and out of the moon's weak gravity. She rammed her knee hard enough into Gohan's jaw to rattle his teeth and fracture his jaw and drove her palm hard into his sternum. Then, as they got closer to Earth, she grabbed a passing satellite and smashed it down on him with all her might, grabbing the hunk of metal and flying straight down with it as it burned and broke apart on reentry. Gohan's body glowed red and orange as he and Super Perfect Cell came screaming back to Earth. The glowing scraps of the satellite finally burst apart and Super Perfect Cell hit Gohan square in the chest with a powerful body blow that sent him burrowing into the windswept and barren wastes of the Yunzabit Heights before the titanic boom of the impact had even reached his own ears.

"Thanks for reminding me," Super Perfect Cell taunted from behind Gohan as he pulled himself out of the dirt. He had barely turned around before Super Perfect Cell nailed him in the head with a roundhouse kick and sent him flying to where she was already waiting with one hand outstretched and her other hand already holding the wrist. "In all the excitement, I'd nearly forgotten about my new toy. Nikushimi Kou!" Gohan raised his arms as he flew straight into the roaring beam of yellow energy that Piccolo had once fired at Goku, unable to stop his momentum. He absorbed the brunt of the blast defensively but Super Perfect Cell was already behind him and grabbed him by the ankles before swinging him and sending him hurtling through mountains and over the horizon. Gohan circled the globe before Perfect Cell appeared over him and slammed her foot down into his chest, sending him crashing into the snow and ice, barreling through the remains of Muscle Tower.

' _So much for forgetting her techniques,'_ Gohan thought as he forced himself quickly to his feet. He'd have less than a second before she attacked again. With the adrenaline rushing through him, though, that was just enough time for him to focus on her ki. She'd just learned about Instant Transmission fifteen minutes ago. _He_ practiced it for months inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with his mom. It was time he showed Cell the difference of hard work. He focused on her ki as he leaped into a flying kick, seemingly at nothing. At the exact moment as he flew into the air, Instant Transmission carried him into the dimension outside of proper reality and carried his foot into Super Perfect Cell's chest, knocking her out of it and into the dirt.

When Gohan had first been learning about Instant Transmission he had noticed something peculiar. There was always a half-second flash of a swirl of colors before everything returned to normal. At first he had simply assumed that it was his eyes adjusting as light caught up with his movements yet the more he had practiced, the more he began to change his theory. Since there was never any sensation of his entire body disassembling on a molecular level and moving somewhere else, he realized that he must be travelling _through_ something. He'd never had the chance to put theory to practice, however.

"You… I… what was that?" Super Perfect Cell stammered as she sat up and stared at Gohan. Gohan smirked back at her and beckoned for her to get up.

"Come on," he taunted her in a harsh tone, "I thought you were even better than Perfect now!" Super Perfect Cell growled between her clenched teeth and blinked out of existence. Gohan was gone as soon as she was and they both popped into reality again some distance away, Gohan dropping Super Perfect Cell with a left hook that sent her over a snowy field and hurtling for miles and sailing over the abyss that Trunks had created from the mountain range that had been Gero's lab. Gohan went to attack her again through Instant Transmission and teleported… directly into Super Perfect Cell's fist. Gohan went hurtling across the horizon from Super Perfect Cell's left hook before she dropped him out of the sky with an axe kick that sent Gohan crashing down into the desert where, although he had no idea, Raditz had first interacted with Piccolo after arriving on Earth. Super Perfect Cell chuckled while she floated down to the ground as Gohan picked himself up onto his feet, clearly stunned.

"What's wrong?" she asked playfully. "You didn't think I'd catch on? I've got that Saiyan adaptability, too. I certainly hope that wasn't your trump card." Gohan glared at her and held one hand out to the side.

"Watch me," he shot back. His palm glowed yellow for a moment and then whatever light had come flickered out of existence. Super Perfect Cell blinked, wondering what the point of that had been. She had been about to ask the question aloud when a beam caught her in the small of the back to send her flying into Gohan's fist as he lunged forward to catch her with a straight jab to the face. Super Perfect Cell wiped blood from her nose and glowered at Gohan with loathing in her eyes at being shown up despite her power.

"Alright you little fucker," she spat, "C'mere!" She rocketed at Gohan with her hands outstretched and he charged to meet her. They collided and blinked out of existence in the same moment.

The Transmission Dimension, as Gohan decided he would call it, was disorienting to fight in. Sounds were distorted and echoed, with an underlying hum to everything, and colors were a constantly flashing kaleidoscope. It was clearly not a place where anyone was expected to spend a prolonged period of time. Because of this, both combatants were letting more blows slip through than perhaps either of them normally would. Sprays of blood shot out from every blow to the body or face and skin was burned from ki blasts that weren't properly blocked against. For those back in the real world it was something entirely different and exceedingly bizarre.

OoOoOoO

The remaining heroes had stood huddled together with Hercule's body moved to be near Trunks' and had been trying to figure out where the battle was taking place so that they could follow, if only to watch and offer Gohan whatever assistance they could rather than genuinely thinking they could help in the battle. However, both warriors were so fast that they were all _hopelessly_ lost. Things suddenly became _very_ strange, however, as a spray of red blood flew over their heads and shot across for miles. As they all looked around frantically for the source of what was clearly Gohan's blood, they heard a cry of pain from Super Perfect Cell and a grunt of effort from Gohan, neither of which had any visible source. Piccolo gave a startled cry as a bolt of blue ki burst out of the ground in front of him and came so close to his face that he could feel the heat turning his green skin a slightly darker shade.

"What the hell is going on?!" Launch asked irritably. She'd barely finished asking the question when Gohan and Super Perfect Cell were fighting in the sky above them… in five different places. Five different pairs of half-Saiyan and Bioandroid were fighting tooth and nail before vanishing as swiftly as they'd arrived and leaving everyone desperately confused.

Suno was left in a state of paralyzed terror. She'd thought the worst moment in her life had been watching Goku fighting Freeza back on Namek. She didn't think that there could be anything worse than helplessly watching her wife battle an impossibly powerful foe on an alien world. As she had discovered to her horror, there actually _was_ something worse. Her son, who wasn't even old enough to drive, was fighting an abomination of the last vestige of the organization that had destroyed her childhood and she was helpless to even _watch_ what was going on.

' _Goku,'_ she thought desperately, ' _Oh God, Goku, I wish you were here!'_

OoOoOoO

"Kaiou!" Goku demanded as she, Kaiou, and Bubbles stood on Snake Way. "What's going on down there?!" She had sensed Cell's ki after the explosion and had been especially shocked when Enma had told them that Cell's soul hadn't arrived to be sent to Hell yet. She could sense Cell's ki still on Earth and it was way bigger than before, maybe even as high as Gohan's! She had to know what was happening with her son!

"I… I don't know!" Kaiou admitted. He was hopelessly flummoxed. He had been the Kaiou of the Northern Quadrant for eons beyond counting and had seen countless civilizations rise and fall. He had stood in the presence of the greatest and most terrible gods and had seen warriors come into the Otherworld of every imaginable shape and size. Despite his wealth of experience, he was struggling in vain to describe, or even _follow,_ what was going on. Goku let out a groan and pulled at her hair.

"Can't I just go back?" she asked impatiently. She could just use Instant Transmission since she had her body here. She had to be there. She had to see what was going on!

"No!" Kaiou told her firmly. "No dead soul may return to the mortal world without Enma's explicit leave! There's no telling what a dead soul among the living could do to the very fabric of reality, never mind a soul as powerful as yours, Goku!" Goku chewed on her lip and let out a long breath through her nose that sounded like a tea kettle. She had to calm down. She believed in Gohan. She _knew_ he could do this.

OoOoOoO

All across the world, people were witnessing the same phenomenon that the heroes had just seen, with the two combatants randomly appearing or with other signs of their existence before vanishing. Cries of pain, shockwaves of impact, ki blasts that came out of nowhere before disappearing almost immediately. It was like the entire world had gone completely insane.

Gohan and Super Perfect Cell collided into each other and sent one another careening off in opposite directions in the real world before dropping out of the sky and smashing into the ground like asteroids and causing a tremendous quake as they landed, providentially, back where they had began. The tremors from their impacts could be felt as far away as West and North City.

"Hey!" Krillin called out as he pointed off toward where they'd watched Gohan fly off. "There they are!" Everyone flew off toward the battle to see if the two fighters would hold still long enough for them to figure out what was going on. Everyone but Vegeta, who stayed knelt beside Trunks' body with his broken arm hanging limp and bloody by his side. Equal measures of shame, rage, and grief had left his limbs leaden and driven any fire out of his body. He had not even been able to avenge his son. His arm was useless. What could he possibly do?

Gohan and Super Perfect Cell groaned as they struggled up onto their hands and knees while glaring at one another. They were both bruised, burned, and bloodied. Cracks were spread across every black gem of Super Perfect Cell's armor and bloody foam flecked between her teeth. Gohan's gi was torn and shredded, leaving his chest bare with several tears in his pants as well, and at some point he'd lost his boots. The earth crunched under their feet as they struggled upright with their eyes still locked onto each other. They knew what had to come next. That's what it came down to, after all, didn't it?

"I'm going to kill you, Son Gohan!" Super Perfect Cell called out to Gohan as they gathered up their power. "You, this planet, everyone! This blast will wipe out your entire Solar System! Sure, it'll destroy the time machine," she admitted, "So I won't be able to get my Perfect universe. But it'll be a universe without _you_ and that's close enough!"

"Shut up and die," Gohan spat back coldly at her. Super Perfect Cell laughed as they brought their hands down to their sides.

"Kaaameee…" their voices echoed on the wind as their entire bodies were cast in a blue-white glow. "Haaameee…" The heroes were nearly there now and watched in amazement as the blue-white lights grew and grew ever brighter. "HAAAAAAA!"

It was the most unbelievable thing any of them had ever seen. The two kamehameha barreling towards one another were of almost unimaginable size. They were mountains of ki that crashed together in an unimaginable explosion of blinding light. Ripples of blue and white shimmered across them from both ends as the struggling beams formed together into a near-perfect orb that devastated the landscape in their wake. Only a black line showed where one beam ended and the other began. Gohan and Super Perfect Cell cried with effort as their feet dug into the earth, gritting their teeth and pushing forward with all their might.

For Super Perfect Cell, it was about proving her supremacy over Gohan once and for all. Her supremacy over the lowly creatures that she had been erroneously made to protect. She was better than all of them. She was Perfect.

Gohan fought in his mom's memory. He fought to protect this earth that he loved and everyone in it. His mom believed in him. Everyone was counting on him. He had to prove himself worthy of their hope. Even as he fought, however, it felt like his body was burning through the last reserves of his energy. He didn't know how much he had left.

The others watched as Super Perfect Cell's Kamehameha pushed forward and seemed to overtake Gohan's, threatening to envelop him. Suno balled her fists as a fire filled her eyes. No way. No goddamn way. This monster had taken her wife. She wasn't taking her baby as long as Suno was breathing!

"Come on!" Suno roared as she flew toward Super Perfect Cell. The others followed after her with steely determination in their hearts. For all that Goku had done for them, they weren't about to let her son face this alone.

"Kaiouken!" Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Launch cried, with Yamcha and Launch pushing themselves to times three while Tenshinhan went all the way to times ten. They came at Super Perfect Cell from all sides, firing with every ounce of strength they could muster.

"Chou Kamehameha!"

"Chou Dodonpa!"

"Dodonhameha!"

"Gekiretsu Koudan!"

Despite giving their all into their attacks, Super Perfect Cell didn't seem to be aware of their existence. In spite of the futility of their gesture, their hearts would not let them give up. They would see this through to the end, whatever it might be.

OoOoOoO

"Well," Kaiou muttered as his antennae bobbed and twitched, "Cell and Gohan are finally standing still."

"Well what's going on?" Goku demanded as she tried to hold back the edge in her voice. It was just torturing her to be in the dark this long, especially when she could feel Gohan's ki faltering.

"They're engaged in a Kamehameha struggle," Kaiou told her. "But I'm afraid… that Gohan is going to fail."

"The hell he is!" Goku protested fiercely as she grabbed Kaiou's head in a fierce grip.

OoOoOoO

Gohan's knees buckled and his arms burned. His whole body felt like it was on fire. It would have been so easy to give in and yet he couldn't. He had to keep fighting! Even if he was going to lose, he would fight until his very last breath. He just had to think of what his mom would say if she were here.

' _Come on, Gohan!'_ Goku's voice said rather vividly in his head. Was his life flashing before his eyes? ' _I'm here for you, Gohan! I know you can do it! Get it together, I_ know _you can beat Cell!'_

"M-mom?" Gohan stammered out as he realized that it wasn't a memory, it was really her! "Mom, I-I'm trying," he called out in a strained voice. "But I'm at my limit! I don't have anyth–"

' _Don't gimme that!'_ Goku told him like they were back in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. ' _There's no such thing as limits! Master Roshi pushed me to my limit and I pushed past him! Tenshinhan pushed me to my limit and I got stronger than him! Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza! They all pushed me to the brink of my strength, to my breaking point, and I pushed through and came out stronger! You can do this, Gohan! You have to! You've got to go beyond what you think you're capable of! You've got so much power, Gohan. You've just got to believe in yourself! You can do it! Go beyond!'_

"Go beyond…" Gohan muttered to himself thoughtfully before he grit his teeth. He pushed for all he was worth and grit his teeth as he closed his eyes. He turned all his ki sensing inward, searching for the power Goku said that he had. He could feel it somewhere deep, deep down inside of him. A tightly wound ball of power that felt ready to explode. He just needed to focus. He just needed a window!

OoOoOoO

Vegeta looked toward the horizon and to the blinding light of the beam struggle in the distance. It was the battle for the end of the world. They were fighting for their lives.

"Pointless," he muttered as he shook his head. Yet even as the words passed his lips, the realization of what was happening hit him. They were all fighting. These mongrel humans, the Namekian, and a low class half-breed. They were all fighting for this world. Yet he was going to simply sit here and die? He was going to give up?! Vegeta forced himself to his feet and snarled wordlessly as he transformed to Super Saiyan. "Not likely," he spat in anger at himself as he flew toward the conflict. "I am a King! I will show them what that means!"

OoOoOoO

Super Perfect Cell was so elated she thought she would burst out laughing again. She had nearly won. Gohan was as good as dead. She could feel him waning as he struggled hopelessly in vain and was even vaguely aware of the insects buzzing in her ears. It was all over. She was going to win! Finally, Perfectly, once and for all. She was going to–

"Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta bellowed out from directly behind her. The blast hit Super Perfect Cell square in the back and caused her to stumble forward despite herself. She whipped her head around instinctively and stared in bug-eyed shock up Vegeta who shot her a look of malevolent defiance.

OoOoOoO

' _Now!'_ Goku screamed in Gohan's head. ' _This is your only chance! Take it!'_ Gohan felt that ball crack open as a new reserve of strength started to flood his body.

"Ceeeeell!" Gohan roared over the whipping of the wind and the deafening roar of their titanic struggle. "If you're really a match for a hundred percent of my power then I'll just have to go even further beyond!" Gohan let out a scream of power and, bafflingly, his hair actually started to _grow._ Her Kamehameha threatened to completely overwhelm Gohan's in spite of this until a single pinprick of red light flashed from his point. "Take this!" Gohan cried out as he drew his hands back before thrusting them out again. "Ryuuuuuhaaaameeeehaaaaaa!" An enormous red blast shot out from Gohan's hands with the absolutely monolithic face of a dragon that overwhelmed and devoured Super Perfect Cell's Kamehameha.

"That's never happ…" Super Perfect Cell muttered, her words dying as the dragon came down on her. It lifted her up into the sky, snaking around her and completely encompassing her in its red light. Super Perfect Cell screamed in agony as she was torn apart and completely ripped asunder. "This can't be happening!" she screamed, insisting on her invincibility with her dying breath. "N-no! No! I-I-I'm supposed… to be… perf–" Then she was gone, her body completely destroyed. The blast went even further, incinerating her core nucleus, every scrap, down to every last cell and atom of her existence until nothing remained. The dragon burst apart like the world's greatest firework before fading away and leaving a blue sky as the spectre of death was lifted off the world.

Gohan collapsed forward immediately into the dirt as his hair, which had only grown a few inches, dropped back to its normal length, height, and its normal red color. "I… I did it, mom," he muttered as his eyelids fluttered shut.

' _I knew you could,'_ Goku told him proudly, although he was out before the words reached him. Gohan lay unconscious for a few minutes in the valley he and Cell had created before the others found him.

"Gohan," Suno whispered as she knelt beside him and rolled him over onto his side. She put her ear down to his chest and nearly wept with relief as she was greeted with the soft, steady thump of his heartbeat. "He's okay," she told the others happily and they were all visibly relieved. Even Vegeta, though you could only tell by a slight lessening of the tension in his neck.

"Come on," Krillin told Suno as he helped pick Gohan up into her arms, "We'll get him back to the Lookout for Dende to heal him."

"We should take the bodies, too," Yamcha suggested, "Since we're gonna wish everyone back and all." The others nodded and flew back to Trunks and Hercule's bodies. Launch lifted Hercule and, despite his own grievous injury, Vegeta insisted on carrying his son.

"I won't let any of you put your hands on a prince's body!" Vegeta told them sternly. That statement, which was the closest any of them had heard to Vegeta speaking of anyone with affection, gave everyone enough pause to step back and let Vegeta sling Trunks over his shoulder.

"W-wait a minute!" Jimmy Firecracker insisted persistently, broken microphone in one hand while he dragged the unconscious cameraman along the ground behind him by the shirt collar. "What's going on here?! Where are you taking Hercule's body? What am I supposed to tell everyone?!"

"Tell everyone," Chaozu told Jimmy firmly, "That the Earth is safe. Also, get your camera guy to a hospital, ya jerk." Then they flew off, leaving Jimmy quite literally in the dust.

OoOoOoO

Gohan sat up with a start, gasping for breath and looking around frantically. Was it really over? Had he really won?!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Krillin exclaimed as he knelt beside Gohan. "Take it easy, buddy! It's okay. You won. Everyone's safe. Just breathe." Gohan took several deep breaths and looked around to take stock of his surroundings. He was on the Lookout, he realized, and then he noticed a _very_ startled Dende, who he realized must have healed him. Everyone else was standing around him, even Bulma, who must have flown up from Capsule Corp.

"Sorry, Dende," Gohan offered as he got shakily up to his feet and held out a hand to help Dende up. Dende smiled and took his hand and let Gohan pull him up to his feet.

"It's okay," Dende assured him, "I'm just glad you're o–" Gohan yanked Dende into a hug and the Namekian boy was stunned for a moment before he hugged Gohan back. Vegeta, with his dead arm healed and both arms crossed, coughed and rolled his eyes.

"If it is not too much trouble," he said dryly, "Perhaps we could get on with it?" He gestured to the Dragon Balls which were already gathered and glowing.

"Oh, right," Gohan muttered bashfully as he let Dende go.

"Soooo," Yamcha suggested. "Since Puar's not here, does anybody mind if I take a crack at it?" Krillin smiled and gave him a shrug.

"Go nuts, dude."

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Yamcha cried to the heavens. "I summon you!" The sky went black as dark clouds gathered and thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed and the Dragon Balls glowed before a great pillar of light shot off into the sky and twisted and snaked out for miles in all directions with lightning crackling off of it in tendrils. There was a mighty thunderclap and the Eternal Dragon Shenron loomed over them, his massive green frame filling up the sky.

"Man," Launch muttered as they all stared up at the dragon, "That _never_ gets old."

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron spoke in a booming voice that shook the foundations of creation, "State your wishes and I shall grant them." It looked down at the assemblage with just the slightest hint of curiosity. As if it _knew_ Puar was missing.

"Eternal Dragon Shenron!" Yamcha called out again. "Please revive all of those who were killed or absorbed by Cell!" Shenron's red eyes flashed and it bobbed its head.

OoOoOoO

All across the world, in empty cities and villages, people suddenly popped into existence. They were all relieved and elated once they realized that they were alive. They laughed and cheered and wept with joy at what was an undeniable miracle. Then, somewhat awkwardly, they all rushed to find their clothes.

OoOoOoO

Hercule and Trunks sat up simultaneously and took in great gulps of air as they put their hands to their chests to confirm that, yes, there was no longer a gaping hole there. They turned and looked at each other and gave astonished cries of shock as they fell backwards, neither having expected anyone to be near them. To Trunks' _enormous_ surprise, Vegeta actually held out a hand to help him to his feet. Surprising himself even more, Trunks actually took it.

Lapis and Lazuli suddenly appeared with a loud "Pop!" and floated in the air for a few seconds before falling on their rear ends. They looked around in shock before staring at each other.

"But… but I was–" Lapis stammered out as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening.

"I know," Lazuli agreed shakily, "I-I saw it. A-and then I was…" they sat in silence for a moment before tackling each other in a fierce hug. "Bro!"

"Sis!" They held onto each other tightly as if they never wanted to let go. Everyone smiled at them before realizing that someone was still missing.

"Oh right," Suno said as she smacked herself in the forehead. "Goku can't be wished back with Shenron because we wished her back with them already when Vegeta and Nappa showed up."

"So I guess we're headed back to Namek?" Bulma suggested as Shenron waited patiently. While they were deliberating on what to do, an unlikely voice intervened.

"Hey guys!" Goku's voice came from Shenron's mouth. It was oddly reminiscent of the last time they had tried to bring her home with the Namekian Dragon Balls.

"Uh, hey, Goku," Krillin replied nervously. No doubt he, and everyone else, could see the similarities already. "What's… uh, what's up, buddy?"

"Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy but… don't wish me back." The request draped a leaden cloud over the Lookout that smothered the joy of their victory.

"What?" Suno asked in a small voice as she looked up at Shenron. "Goku, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't you want to come back?"

"Suno…" Goku began with regret clearly already in her voice. "The Earth is just… better off without me, I think. I'm a magnet for every bad thing that's happened to us. If I weren't around, Pilaf wouldn't have released Piccolo Daimaou and had his demons kill Krillin and all those other people. Raditz wouldn't have come to Earth which meant that Vegeta and his friend wouldn't have come, either. Freeza wouldn't have come to Earth and… I guess when I think about it, Cell, and all the destruction she caused, are my direct responsibility."

"Goku, that's crazy!" Suno insisted in a quavering voice. She had to talk Goku out of this. She had to make her see reason, she couldn't lose her again!

"Half of the people Cell was made out of wouldn't exist if I hadn't come to Earth," Goku pointed out. "And everything Cell did, her whole personality, was my own but all… twisted and wrong. My drive to get stronger, my ambition, my need to prove my own strength. The Earth is safer without me, especially with Gohan to take care of it!"

"M-mom…" Gohan stammered out with tears welling up in his eyes. This was really happening. His mom was going to stay dead because of him. He knew he had to say something, he had to tell her that he wanted her back, they _needed_ her to come home but he couldn't force the words to come out. Suno was similarly silent despite the words screaming in her head.

"I'll be okay, guys," Goku assured them. "Being dead isn't so bad. I get to keep my body, I don't age, and I get to train with all the other great martial artists who've ever died. Heck, I'll get to see Grandpa Gohan again. So really, guys, don't worry. It'll be fine and I'll see you all again someday. Take care of everyone, Gohan!" Then there was silence as they all absorbed the information.

' _Only Goku could see the upside to death,'_ Krillin thought with a sad smile as he shook his head. Gohan and Suno clung to each other and wept silently as they realized that Goku was truly gone.

"Speak your second wi–" Shenron began to say before Bulma rather harshly interrupted it.

"Will you shut up and give us a fuckin' minute, you overgrown handbag?!" Bulma snapped up at it furiously through her own tears. Shenron was not a terribly expressive creature but, if it were, it would no doubt have looked surprised. After several moments, it was Krillin who finally spoke.

"Can you turn Lapis and Lazuli back to normal?" he asked Shenron. The aforementioned twins immediately hopped to their feet.

"Whoa," Lapis protested. "Hang on, hold up there, buddy. Not happenin'."

"Don't get us wrong," Lazuli assured them, "It's really nice that you want to do that for us. It's just that, well… being normal kinda sucks. We've got awesome powers and we're basically immortal. Why would we wanna go back to being regular people?"

"Although I _do_ have an idea…" Lapis muttered as he tapped his chin. "Yo, big dude!" he called up to Shenron with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Can you make it so that our nanites can't be shut down and crap so we can't get blown up?"

"Shenron can only do things if you express it in the form of a wish," Chaozu informed him.

"Oh," Lapis said before shrugging, "Alright." Then he looked back at Shenron. "I wish for you to do that deal I just said!"

"Very well," Shenron boomed. Its eyes flashed and, although neither Lapis nor Lazuli were visibly changed, they both felt a slightly tingly sensation pass through their bodies. "Your wishes have been granted," Shenron continued. "Farewell." Then it vanished in a blinding flash and the seven Dragon Balls were scattered across the bright blue sky.

"I… I have no idea what's going on here," Hercule admitted as he scratched his head, having watched the whole proceedings from a distance. He had died. He _knew_ he had. He'd felt his last breath go out of his body and everything went dark. Now he _wasn't_ dead and there were dragons talking with women's voices and granting wishes. People were appearing out of nowhere and talking about nanites and superpowers. Also he was apparently a million miles in the air. It was enough to make his head spin.

"I'll tell you what's going on here," Bulma explained as she and Krillin approached him. "What's going on is that we're gonna take you back down to the Earth as soon as we wrap up here and you're going to tell the world how you defeated Cell."

"But I didn't," Hercule pointed out. "Heck, I didn't do anything. All I did was make Cell laugh and get killed!" Krillin shook his head and put a hand up on Hercule's shoulder.

"If it weren't for you jumping in to save Gohan while the rest of us were getting our asses kicked, he never would have gotten the power to transform and defeat Cell," he told Hercule reassuringly. "Trust me, you played as big a part in beating Cell as anyone."

"I don't know what any of that means," Hercule admitted, "Except for the part where the most I contributed today was dying. Gohan's the hero here. Or that Goku woman. Anyone but me." Krillin shook his head again.

"The person who defeated Cell is going to be the most important person who ever lived," he reminded Hercule. "They'll have saved the world with everyone watching them. They'll be the greatest hero the world's ever known. They'll be famous, everyone will want to know them and talk to them and shower them with adoration." He looked back at Gohan and Suno who were still holding each other and weeping. "Do they look like they want to be famous?"

Hercule bowed his head and shook it sadly. "I'll do it," he muttered. He wasn't proud of it but, as Master Ferris had once told him, sometimes we must do things that give us no pride and promise no honor, simply because they are the right thing to do. Somehow he doubted that his master would have considered taking credit for saving the world something that Hercule would have ever done and yet here he was.

"Thanks," Krillin told him appreciatively as he gave him another pat on the shoulder. "Stay light on the details for now and give us a few days to corroborate a story." He gave Hercule a friendly, joking smile. "I'll have my people call your people." That actually made Hercule chuckle.

"You know," Tenshinhan remarked as Krillin and Bulma walked toward the rest of the group. "Now that the danger is passed, this will probably be the last time we see each other for a while. Perhaps we'll all meet at the Budoukai again, whenever that's held."

"Nah," Yamcha declined with a shake of his head. "I told Chi-Chi I was gonna retire after this one and I'm sticking to it." Ten nodded in understanding as he held Launch's hand.

"Well hey," Launch suggested, "We don't have to compete. Maybe we'll all just go and watch. Laugh at everyone being incompetent." That drew a collective chuckle before Krillin cleared his throat.

"Actually," he put in, "Before we all go our separate ways to do our nomad things… I think there's something we should do first." He turned to Suno and Gohan and bowed his head respectfully toward them. "With your permission," he began gently, "I was hoping we could all hold a service in Goku's honor in a few days." Suno and Gohan looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Krillin and nodding with weak smiles.

"Thank you, Krillin," Suno said softly as she wiped her eyes. "That's very kind of you. Yes, that would be lovely." She and Gohan took Krillin's hands and pulled him into a hug, which clearly startled him before he hugged them back. The others moved swiftly in and joined, except for Vegeta. He stood on the outside of the group embrace under protest and only held Bulma's hand, looking away in disgust and embarrassment.

After several minutes, the group disbanded and split off in their own directions. As the only other person who couldn't fly, Bulma gave Hercule a lift back down to the ground with Lapis and Lazuli flying after them, Trunks, and Vegeta to stay at Capsule Corp for the time being. Eventually only Gohan, Suno, Piccolo, Mr. Popo, and Dende remained on the Lookout.

"I'm proud of you, Gohan," Piccolo told his protege as he ruffled the young warrior's red hair. "You've come so far and become so strong." Gohan smiled up at Piccolo and sniffed deeply to hold back a fresh spring of tears that threatened to burst out of him.

"Thank you, Mr. Piccolo," he replied softly before hugging the Warrior Namekian again. "I know it's been a long time since I said it," he added with a smile, "But you can still come stay at our house. We still have a fold-out couch." Suno laughed and Piccolo rolled his eyes before shoving Gohan good-naturedly away. Gohan and Suno made their way to the edge of the Lookout when Dende stopped them.

"Gohan!" he said hurriedly as he put a hand on Gohan's arm. His cheeks turned purple with embarrassment as if he suddenly regretted saying anything. Gohan looked at Dende and Dende screwed up his courage to keep speaking. "I've been thinking about what you said before we left New Namek. A-about what certain words mean, a-and I… I…" Dende swallowed nervously as Gohan's eyes widened with understanding. He pulled Dende into a hug and gently put a hand on the Namekian boy's back.

"It's okay," Gohan whispered comfortingly. "Me too." Dende beamed as Gohan pulled away before he and Suno flew off.

"What was that about?" Suno asked curiously. Gohan blushed slightly.

"I'll… uh… I'll tell you later." Suno grinned and laughed a little before they flew in silence. The further they got from the Lookout, the longer the flight took and the more painfully quiet it became. After what felt like hours, they returned to their village to find everyone in town waiting for them in a great crowd. They whooped and cheered and clapped for them and it made Suno think of when she and Goku had returned from Muscle Tower. That memory, which had always been so sweet before and had filled her with such warmth, was now cold and empty, cutting her like a knife. They muttered their hurried thanks and politely turned down invitations to celebrate or receive gifts as they pushed through the crowd as non-confrontationally as possible before entering their home. Their quiet, empty home. Mother and son exchanged sad looks before going into their separate rooms to be alone with their grief.

Gohan could never remember a blacker feeling in his heart than at that moment. He'd won. He'd saved the day! He was the most powerful being in the universe. But all he felt was failure.


	100. Farewell to a Friend Goodbye, Son Goku

Chapter One Hundred

Farewell to a Friend. Goodbye, Son Goku.

Krillin's suggestion to wait a few days before holding the service had proven to be rather prudent. It gave those who would attend time to gather their thoughts and write down whatever it was that they planned to say or, in certain cases, make travel arrangements. Suno's mother, Yuki, was insistent on coming down with Eighter from Jingle Village to attend. Suno had been hesitant to the idea. As much as she wanted to see her mother, she also worried what the sudden shift in climate might do to her mother's health. However, Yuki was adamant that she be there for her daughter and grandson in their time of need. For all her talk of Suno's stubbornness coming from her father, it was clear that Yuki had more than her own share of spirit. Sparing no expense, Bulma had one of her own personal aircraft sent out to deliver Yuki and Eighter to Suno and Gohan's village.

The delay was also helpful for a very particular reason. The very day after Cell's defeat, Launch went into labor. Whether she had simply misjudged how far along she was before deciding to join the fighting or if the physical activity that day had exacerbated the process wasn't entirely clear yet, in the end, it hardly mattered. Kani was born a serious-faced little babe with wisps of her mother's green hair and her father's eyes. All of them.

The day before the service was to be held, Suno and Gohan received a gift in the mail. It was a marble slab about as tall as Gohan had been when he was four or five years old. On the top of it was a marble replica of the Four Star Ball and, according to the note that had come with it, Baba and Piccolo had worked together to insure that the slab would never be tarnished or break. It also had an inscription written across it. "In Memory of Son Goku", it said. "A warrior without equal. A friend beyond compare. A fierce spirit and a gentle soul." Suno put it out beside Goku's garden as a centerpiece for the service to be focused around.

When the day arrived, Gohan and Suno set out chairs in a semi-circle around the headstone. They weren't sure who all would be arriving so they settled on a rough estimate of "enough". The townsfolk were respectful enough to stay at a distance from the proceedings as people arrived. Suno also poured several glasses of lemonade to hand out to everyone. Goku had never really been a fan of alcohol and there were going to be four small children so it only seemed appropriate.

Yuki had arrived with Eighter the day before and sat at the front of the group alongside Suno and Gohan. Krillin arrived with Bulma, both Trunks, Bulma's parents, and the twins. While part of Trunks wanted to leave for his timeline to face his Cell, he knew that it would be disrespectful not to stay. Piccolo came with Dende and Korin while Yamcha brought his family. Tenshinhan, Launch, Kani, and Chaozu arrived after them. In an unexpected development, Hercule arrived as well, bringing his wife Miguel and their young daughter Videl, who was around Gohan's age. Neither wife nor daughter were entirely sure why they were there but Hercule had insisted to them that he felt that he needed to attend.

The last to arrive, surprisingly, was Master Roshi, who brought Baba and, in an even greater surprise, he had brought Shen with him. Shen sat as far away from his former students and the newborn as possible. Noticeable by his absence was Vegeta but nobody was really surprised. He hardly seemed the grieving type. Everyone was dressed in black, even Piccolo and Dende. Each group laid flowers at the headstone, even though it wasn't a marker of Goku's actual resting place. There was a bit of confusion from those not in their "world" at some of those who had come to pay their respects, such as the cat, the witch, and the two aliens. There was a slightly awkward pause that followed as no one was sure who should speak first. Finally, Bulma handed the infant Trunks off to Panchy and stood up. She walked to the front of the group and stood by Goku's memorial, took a few swallows and a steadying breath, and spoke.

"Goku… was my first real friend," she began. "And I know that sounds weird because how many friends do you make hitting them with your car and then shooting them in the head?" That drew a chuckle from those who knew Goku, although Yuki, Chi-Chi, and Ox King gave surprised looks. "Before I met Goku, the friends I had in West City… they all knew me as the Capsule Corp heiress. That I was rich and could give them free stuff. Goku was the first person who was just nice to me because she was nice." Bulma smiled and padded at tears in her eyes with the handkerchief in her breast pocket of her suit. "Goku saved my life _dozens_ of times… and that was only when we were looking for the Dragon Balls the first time." This drew another laugh and Bulma grinned. "For all our adventures and all of our brushes with death, I'm a better person today than I was eighteen years ago. I'm pretty sure I owe a lot of that to meeting Goku." She held her glass up and turned her eyes toward the sky with a smile. "So here's to you, Goku. Keep kickin' ass in the afterlife. Show 'em what a real fighter looks like." This drew a cheer and everyone took a sip of lemonade as Bulma moved and sat back down. Krillin and Yamcha gave each other a look, each one just starting to stand up, before Krillin nodded and sat back down, letting Yamcha take the floor.

"The worst thing Goku ever did to me," Yamcha began surprisingly, "Was ruin my perfect smile." He put two fingers into his mouth and pulled out his false tooth, showing his gap-toothed smile to laughter from his friends and giggles from his children before putting it back in and continuing. "The second worst thing she ever did was beat me at the 22nd Budoukai. But the worst thing Goku did was also the best 'cause the day she knocked my tooth out was the day she took me out of the desert. Before I met Goku, I was just some bandit. It was just me and Puar. Now? I've helped save the world twice. I help people now and I'm married to the most wonderful woman in the world." Chi-Chi blushed as Yamcha grinned at her. "I may have never been a world champion but I owe every good thing in my life to Goku." Yamcha raised his glass to Goku and moved to sit down as Krillin stood and walked up to stand beside Goku's memorial.

"When Goku and I first met on Master Roshi's island, I asked her what she was doing there. I told her that a girl couldn't learn martial arts." He chuckled and shook his head. "Guess I was wrong, huh?" Launch and Suno gave a cheer and Krillin laughed aloud. "Yeah. I mean, most of us have been martial artists our entire lives and I've… I've never seen anyone like Goku. Everything she did was so effortless and yet the effort she clearly put into it was inspiring. There was something about it that inspired me to keep pushing forward and testing myself, even though I knew that there was no way for me to feasibly catch up to her. But Goku was more than an amazing martial artist. She was a great friend and she…" Krillin paused as he felt his throat tighten and he clenched his free hand. "She was…" Krillin's voice was hoarse and he coughed to clear it before looking down at his feet. "She was very important to me. And I'll miss her, every single day. And every single day, I'll keep training. 'Cause she's gonna owe me a rematch someday." He sniffed and wiped his eyes before sitting down.

After Krillin sat down, Roshi stood up. Holding his cane in one hand and leaning forward, Roshi made his way slowly to Goku's memorial with his head bowed low. Despite living for more than three hundred years, Roshi had barely been to any funerals. He had held a ceremony for Mutaito and the rest of those who had died in the battle against Piccolo Daimaou with the remainder of Mutaito's students and had mourned his fellow students when they passed but those had been centuries ago. He had never attended the funerals of his students who'd had them, though he had mourned their passings in private, and his sister and last remaining fellow student were practically immortal like him. So he had struggled to think of something appropriate to say. Something witty, something from his heart that would encapsulate all the things he felt for Goku. The fatherly love, the immeasurable pride, and the depth of his sorrow. So he spoke briefly, truthfully, and from the heart. He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his breast pocket before leaning on his staff with both hands.

"You came into this world a candle that grew ever brighter. Yet in your passing, the world is not darker. You passed your light on to every person you touched. You are not gone. You have risen even higher to become the sun." Roshi bowed his head solemnly when he was finished and the group sat in silence as he made the slow walk back to his seat. With everyone already somewhat emotional from Roshi's speech, Launch handed the baby Kani to Tenshinhan and stood up to take her turn.

"Goku saved my life," Launch said earnestly. "I was a mess when she and Krillin found me. A dangerous split-personality mess who committed crimes and was essentially two people living in one body. I don't know where or who I would be if she and Krillin had found someone else. Taking care of things at the Kame House while they trained with Master Roshi led to my own training, giving me the strength and the courage to fight my demons and try to get control of my life." She smiled softly as a faint blush crept on her cheeks. "It also led me to Tenshinhan. So I just… I'll never be able to thank Goku enough for all that she did for me." Launch bowed her head and wiped her eyes as the air was filled with the audible sniffling of those in attendance. Launch walked back to her seat and Tenshinhan hugged her close. It was becoming an emotional affair, as everyone knew that it no doubt would. So when solemn Tenshinhan rose to speak his piece, no one knew quite what to expect.

"I stand here today with the rare distinction," Tenshinhan began, "Of being one of only two people here to have beaten Son Goku in a fight." He added, with a slight smile, "Not even a certain King can say that." There was a slight pause and an air of disbelief hung over the assemblage. Those that knew Ten exchanged astonished glances as they realized that Tenshinhan, of _all people,_ had just told a joke. Launch chuckled first and her laughter spread to Chaozu, who was trying his best to hide it behind a fist. Then Yamcha and Bulma joined in, then Krillin, Roshi, Suno, Gohan, and even Piccolo added their voices to the mirth. Whether what Tenshinhan had said was genuinely that funny, the fact that it was Tenshinhan had said it, or that it was simply a release valve to the emotions that had been building in everyone for three days, everyone was reduced to peals of helpless laughter. Even those who were from outside the circle, such as Shen, the twins, or those from Jingle Village, were at least caught by infectious smiles. When the laughter finally subsided, Ten was able to continue. "I once thought Goku was my greatest enemy. I believed that she had robbed me of something and stood in my way of becoming the world's greatest assassin." He sighed and shook his head ruefully. "It's so strange to think about sometimes. When I think of all that I have done and seen with my life, it's hard to imagine that my life's ambition had once been just to be a killer. But, like many of you, my life became something very different from the first time Goku punched me in the face. I've learned things about myself and have discovered inner peace. I have a wife. I… I have a daughter. These things wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't met Goku. So for that, I will always be eternally grateful. And much like Krillin, I'm going to keep training. After all, she and I are tied right now. I aim to fix that." He smiled and raised his glass before heading back to his seat.

Then, everyone realized it was Suno's turn. She walked slowly to stand in front of everyone, her hands shaking slightly. It was only when she looked out at everyone, who was looking back at her, that the full gravity and weight of what today was finally sank in on her. She clenched her fists and turned her eyes to the sky for a moment to keep from crying. It was up to her to be strong now. For herself and for Gohan.

"I just…" she began in a wavering voice before clearing her throat and starting again. "I want to thank you all for being here today. It really means a lot. I know that if Goku could see this right now, she'd be happy that she'd brought all her friends together. I… I can still remember how excited she was to see all of her friends again, that day that she… the first time she…" Suno let her words trail off and shook her head. "I know we've all talked about how Goku changed our lives but she really did that for me. I was never one of you. I didn't know how to shoot ki from my hands, I didn't carry hundred-pound turtle shells or travel the world. I didn't know about magic or demons or any of these things. When Goku dropped out of the sky she really just… brought her whole world with her. She saved my village from the Red Ribbon Army and took me out into the world to see all it had to offer. I could stand here and list all of the places I've been and the battles I've fought since I met Goku but none of those really matter. Not compared to the way Goku made me _feel._ She made me feel like _I_ mattered. She made me feel alive. She was a beautiful woman and I loved her with all my heart. She just had such a wonderful, beautiful spirit that saw the adventure in everything. There'll never be anyone like my Goku. I…" Suno blinked tears from her eyes and breathed in hard to keep herself from completely falling apart. "I'll miss her every day." She dropped her head and sat down between her son and her mother as everyone was right back to the state of near-tears they had been before Ten's speech. Gohan and Yuki hugged Suno and there was a brief silence before Gohan finally stood up. He'd actually taken the time to write something down and the paper was audibly shaking in his trembling hand as he reached into his suit pocket and opened it up to read it.

"When people say," Gohan began slowly, "that someone…" he stopped and chewed on his lip and in that silence, a voice in his head whispered to him. ' _My fault,'_ it said. ' _It was my fault.'_ "That someone casts a big shadow over them, they usually say it in a way that disparages themselves or it's meant in anger against the person that the shadow represents. But my mom…" ' _Is gone because of me. Everyone is here today because of me.'_ The tears were already dripping down onto Gohan's paper but he did his best to soldier on. "That shadow made me feel safe. It was a comfort. I knew that no matter what happened, the shade of that great tree would always be there. Today, I woke up and that… and that shadow was gone." Tears were running down Gohan's face as he stood with the paper shaking in his hands and everyone looked at him in concern. "And I…" ' _I did that. It's all my fault. Everyone is suffering because of me. Mother is alone because of me. It's my fault. It's my fault!'_ Suno, Krillin, and Piccolo were already moving toward Gohan as he raised two fingertips to his forehead and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. "I can't do this." He was gone as Suno was putting her arms around him. Gohan had focused on Mr. Popo's ki and stood on the top of the world as he wailed in despair and guilt.

"I should go after him…" Suno muttered as she stared up at the sky, grateful that she was still able to sense Gohan's ki. Piccolo put a hand on Suno's shoulder and shook his head.

"I've got someone on it," he assured her as he gestured to Dende, who was already flying, and Trunks who was following after him. Suno nodded and everyone moved their chairs into a circle to make things more informal and talk comfortably. Hercule offered Suno his condolences and assured her that he would he willing to help her family in any way he could, and that she would just need to call, before he and his family left. Roshi, Shen, Baba, Ox King, and Korin swapped stories of the battles and the adventures of their youth while the Trunks of this timeline, Shouronpo, and Ocha sat in the grass and played. Lapis bounced Kani on his knee while Lazuli played with Trunks' tiny toes. The non-ancient grown-ups talked about their experiences with Goku and told stories of personal reflection.

"So I tricked Goku," Krillin admitted. "I made her run after a fake rock while I ran back to Master Roshi with the real one."

"Wait," Bulma interjected, "Wait, wait, wait. _You_ were a cheater? Mr. Hard Work, Bald Tiger the Role model? I don't believe it."

"I was a shitty little kid," Krillin said with a shrug. "But it bit me anyway. Launch made puffer fish for dinner, of all things! So Goku lucked out on that one."

"Hey, don't blame me!" Launch insisted defensively with a grin. "Why did Roshi have it in his fridge in the first place?"

"So we walk into a maze," Suno said as she explained the events of the assault on Muscle Tower, "And I'm trying to come up with all of these ideas of how we can navigate our way through and how not to get lost and this and that… and Goku just literally _barrels_ straight through!" She threw her head back and laughed, shaking her head.

"I just want to point out," Tenshinhan said later on, "That _I_ was the first one to know Goku was an alien."

"Bullshit!" Bulma insisted vehemently. "I pulled her friggin' spaceship out of the mountains. How did _you_ know?"

"When I hit her with the sixty-four strikes," Tenshinhan explained. "I hit her on every pressure point in the human body. There should have been no way for her to keep fighting. I could have kicked her out of the ring like a ball but she got up. Which, again, should have been impossible. That was when I knew she wasn't human." Bulma huffed and crossed her arms, which made Suno laugh. However, as they were chatting, Suno looked over Yamcha's shoulder and saw a very serious-looking man walking toward the house. He was wearing a white gi with a red belt, a red headband, and red gloves with a bag slung over one shoulder. Suno got up from the group and walked to meet him, looking at him curiously.

"Oh, hey!" Suno exclaimed with understanding as a smile spread on her lips. "I know you! You're that guy Goku mentioned sparring with a few times those years when she was training for the 22nd and 23rd Budoukai. What're you doing here?"

"I have come to pay my respects," the man explained in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar to her for some reason. Suno looked at him in surprise.

"Wait…" she asked, "How… how did you know?"

"A warrior always knows," the man explained simply as he walked past her. He walked to Goku's memorial and set his bag down, putting one fist into the other palm and bowing low towards it. Then he picked his bag up and prepared to leave before he stopped and took an envelope out of his bag to hand to Suno. "In respect to a warrior," he told her, "And to help those that she cared for." Then he walked right out of the village, leaving Suno _very_ confused as she looked at the envelope.

"Hey, Bulma," she asked as she walked back toward the others while opening the envelope. "You're rich. The heck is the Masters Foundation?"

"Dunno," Bulma said with a shrug as Suno took out the contents of the envelope and went white as a sheet. "Why?"

"Wh-whoever they are," Suno stammered out, "They c-can afford to g-give me a check for a h-h-h-hundred million zeni?!" Suno nearly fainted on the spot before Krillin and Launch caught her and settled her down into a chair.

"Oh!" Bulma exclaimed as she reached into her pocket and produced a capsule with the royal seal painted on it. "That reminds me. Most of the world thinks Hercule beat Cell, even a lot of the higher-ups in government. But, 'cause it's kinda my job, I had to tell Giran the truth. So this," she said as she handed Suno the capsule, "Has a full royal pardon. For whatever reason you might need one. It also has the platinum sun, which is the highest honor Giran can give a civilian citizen." Suno took the capsule gratefully, although she was still stunned by the check in her other hand. She'd barely recovered from that when a large rectangle of glowing light suddenly appeared in the middle of the circle of chairs.

"Guess word gets around fast," Krillin muttered as Flash Parsec walked out of the rectangle. Suno and Piccolo were moderately surprised but at least he was somewhat familiar to them. The others were _very_ confused by a green-skinned horned man covered in black tattoos and wearing a purple uniform standing in front of them.

"Oh, hey, Flash," Suno said amicably as she stood up out of her chair to give him a handshake. "What's up?"

"I'm here on official business," Parsec explained as he took Suno's hand and shook it. With his other hand, he reached into a pocket on his suit and held out something that looked like a flower made of golden shimmering crystal petals on a glowing green stem. "To honor the immeasurable good that Goku did in defeating Freeza and the Ginyu Force, crippling the artillery of the Arcosian Empire, the Galactic Federation presents you with the Heart of Barnisia. It's the rarest flower in the known universe with only fifteen in existence, given only to those whose acts of good go overwhelmingly beyond the call of duty." He handed the flower carefully to Suno, who stared at it reverently. Then, he turned his attention to Bulma. "You're Bulma, right? The one who built the time machine?"

"Well, uh, I mean…" a rare, flustered Bulma cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "Not _technically_ me? A me from a different future?" Flash held up a hand and shook his head.

"I really don't have the clearance to be hearing this. In fact, the more you tell me about your understanding of time travel, the more I'll have to inform my superiors and they're more likely to shoot you than I am. But that's not why I'm here. Right now," Flash explained. "The Galactic Federation is looking into having Earth join the confederacy. If that were to happen, would you be willing to accept the role of Earth's representative?" Bulma stared at him in shock and Flash smirked. "Basically, every 400 days, you're summoned to meet on the Federation's capital planet and meet with all the representatives. It kinda means you're the smartest, most important person on the planet. That work for you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Bulma assured him as she puffed out her chest. "That's definitely me!" Krillin, Launch, and Yamcha rolled their eyes as Flash nodded.

"Super," he said dryly. "Well, I'll keep in touch."

"Hey," Suno said as the rectangle of light reappeared. "You mentioned the Arcosian Empire. It's been three years since you told us the Patrolmen were going to war with Freeza's people. What happened with that Cooler guy?"

"Our intel says that Cooler's taken ill," Flash said with a grin. "So he's returning to Cooler Planet One. Without Cooler's tactical mind to lead them, the army's back to where it was when Kuriza was leading them, which was a mess. There's no guarantees but hopefully this war'll be over in a few years." Then he fell backwards into the teleporter with a genial wave.

OoOoOoO

Gohan was sitting on the edge of the Lookout when Dende and Trunks arrived. The pair sat on either side of Gohan and put their arms around him as he sobbed and wept until he was silent.

"Gohan," Trunks said once he and Dende took their arms off of Gohan. "I was hoping you could do something for me. Something I think might help you, too." Gohan looked at Trunks curiously as he rubbed the remaining rawness from his red eyes. "I still don't think I'm strong enough to defeat my Cell. I was hoping that, tomorrow, we could enter the Time Chamber and train together. Maybe you could help me unlock that power you used to defeat this Cell."

Gohan nodded and gave Trunks a weak smile. "Yeah," he told Trunks, "That would actually be nice. I think I just… I need some time to get a hold of all this, you know? Maybe a year will be enough." Trunks smiled and patted Gohan on the back gently.

OoOoOoO

As the afternoon rolled on, Shen suddenly stood up from his group and walked over to Tenshinhan and the others. Ten stiffened up and put himself between Shen and Kani. There might be nothing Shen could do to him anymore but the old master wasn't so weak that he couldn't kill a baby. Then, Shen did something truly remarkable. He took off his crane helmet, which Ten and Chaozu had never seen him do before, and handed it to Ten. As Ten took it slowly in his hands and looked down at it, Shen bowed respectfully to Tenshinhan and flew away without a word.

"I… wait… did he…?" Ten stammered out in confusement as he looked back and forth between the hat and the shrinking dot in the sky that was his former master.

"Hey!" Launch pointed out with a grin. "You've got a job now!" She laughed and slapped Ten on the back as he struggled to process everything.

As the day wore on, more and more of the group left in their assembled chunks, each offering their condolences to Suno as they left, until only Yuki and Eighter remained. After everyone was gone, Gohan returned and helped Suno put the chairs away.

"Are you okay?" Suno asked Gohan in a whisper as she pulled him into a hug when they were back inside.

"Yeah," Gohan promised as he hugged her back. "Trunks wanted to train together in the Time Chamber tomorrow." Suno smiled and ruffled her son's red hair.

"Just like your mom," she told him affectionately, "Always training." Gohan smiled up at her as his eyes watered and Suno hugged him. "It's okay, honey. It's not your fault. You know that, right?" Gohan didn't say anything.

OoOoOoO

Something woke Suno up in the middle of the night and she sat up out of bed. Putting on her nightgown and using a ball of ki so that she didn't fumble blindly in the dark, Suno wandered to the kitchen window and stared out as, of all people, Vegeta came floating out of the sky and sat down in front of Goku's memorial. He was carrying some kind of jug in his hand and was bobbing slightly through the air. Was he… drunk?

"Damn you, Kakarot!" Vegeta spat out furiously as he glared hatefully at the marble. "You think you can just hide from me?! You think death is an excuse?! I know why you are not here! You fear me! You _know_ I shall surpass you! Well I'm not going anywhere, do you hear me?! Not until you come back and fight me!" A fury was on Suno and she was about to storm out of her house and strangle Vegeta. Of _all_ things to say and of _all_ days! She didn't care _how_ much stronger he was than her, she was going to kill him! "What am I supposed to do _now?"_ Vegeta demanded from Goku's phantom. There was something in Vegeta's voice that Suno had never heard before that made her stop. Some desperate, raw _agony_ inside him. "Who am I supposed to fight?" he asked in a softer, pained voice. He took a long swallow of whatever was in that jug before he continued. "I was going to surpass you. I know I was. Then you would surpass me in turn. We had what every true Saiyan _dreams_ of having. An ultimate rival, pushing one another to our limits and beyond. Each of us inspiring the other to greater glory. We could have accomplished wonders together. We could have stood on the shoulders of the gods." Vegeta's voice was trembling as he spoke and Suno heard him sniff and let out shaky breaths. Vegeta… was crying. "What do I do now? The last of my people. The last true warrior in the universe. ...What am I supposed to do?" Vegeta gave a soft, sad chuckle. "You never had to question yourself, did you? You just knew you wanted to be stronger. You didn't even know what a Saiyan _was_ until your worthless brother dropped out of the sky. How did you do it? How did you grow stronger simply because you wanted to?" He took another long pull and sighed. "I wish I had asked you that when you could have told me. I wish…" he sighed and shook his head. "This damn planet's making me soft," he muttered before flying away. Suno was left stunned as she watched him go.

"Who would've guessed?" she muttered before wandering back to her empty bed. When Suno awoke late the next morning, Gohan had already left to meet up with Trunks on the Lookout and train. The truly remarkable thing, however, was what awaited Suno outside. All around Goku's headstone were flowers. Not the ones people had brought the day before, she had put all of those in vases throughout the house. These had been planted by the other people in town during the night and surrounded the memorial in bright and beautiful colors. A note attached to the memorial told Suno that they were all perennials and would bloom every year. It was such a beautiful gesture from her neighbors that it drove Suno to tears.

OoOoOoO

Gohan met Trunks at the Lookout and the pair nodded before entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber together. Trunks produced a capsule with two suits of blue Saiyan armor and tossed one of the suits to Gohan. The pair changed and did some stretches to get comfortable and then, without another word, began sparring. They fought for nearly twenty four hours straight, channeling all of their emotions into the battle, each one refusing when the other asked if they needed a break and fighting even more fiercely than before. They fought to exhaustion, to the point where both fighters simply passed out mid-blow. When Gohan awoke several hours later, he started to call out to his mom and ask if she was ready to start training again. Then he remembered that he was in here with Trunks, not Goku, and nearly collapsed again.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked Gohan as he sat beside his fellow half-saiyan. "Do you need a minute?" Gohan shook his head and got to his feet.

"I'm fine," he assured Trunks as the other hybrid stood up. They walked into the chamber and grabbed some things to eat for breakfast. "So, you want to know how to become a Super Saiyan 2, right?"

"Is that what we're calling it?" Trunks asked as he made some toast with his ki. "Sounds a little… anticlimactic." Gohan gave a shrug.

"It sounds good enough to me," Gohan said offhandedly. "Besides, I feel like there's something above even that. I could feel it at the tail end of my fight with Cell. Who knows how many levels there are to Super Saiyan? I feel like we'd run out of adjectives before we ran out of numbers."

"I guess that's true," Trunks admitted with a chuckle while Gohan peeled an orange. "So, Super Saiyan 2. How'd you do it?"

"Honestly?" Gohan admitted with a bit of a smile as he popped an orange wedge into his mouth. "I just got really angry." Trunks stared at him flatly and Gohan shrugged. "I thought about everyone Cell had killed and everyone she was going to kill, all the death and destruction she'd caused and how she was going to kill all of you. Then something just snapped inside me. I've always kind of had… issues, I guess, with that. Rage has been easy for me."

"Well my father's Vegeta," Trunks pointed out, "So how hard could it possibly be for me to get angry?" They finished breakfast and walked back out into the endless void. Trunks powered up to Super Saiyan and closed his eyes, focusing on everything Cell had taken from him. His father. His world. His Gohan. The millions of dead, all of the destruction and devastation that he'd seen. He thought about what Cell would do if he couldn't stop her. His mother dead. Ocha and Shouronpo as well. He thought of it all and it filled him with such a bright fury that it burned him from the inside and his breath came out in short, stuttering gasps.

"Let it out," Gohan told him, "You've got to go all out!" Trunks threw his head back and screamed out his rage, his eyes opening wide as lightning coursed across his body. He could feel his ki rising. He was getting stronger! He was ascending! Then as soon as the feeling came it was gone.

"Damn it!" Trunks swore as he kicked the infinite white abyss under his feet. "I could feel it! I had the power right there in my hands!"

"Don't get mad at yourself," Gohan told him. "That's not the rage we're looking for. You've gotta keep pushing. We'll keep training and sparring to get you stronger. In the meantime, stay in Super Saiyan for as long as you can so your body can adjust to the state. That'll make it easier for you." Trunks nodded and they went back to sparring.

OoOoOoO

"So wait," Trunks said as he and Gohan were sitting down to eat lunch on the steps of the Chamber. "After I died…" which was something he still had trouble saying out loud.

"Yeah," Gohan replied, continuing from the story he'd been telling Trunks. "Vegeta just went ballistic. He went right past me and everyone else to take the first shot at Cell. I'd never seen anything like it."

"And he did that… because of me?" Trunks asked in disbelief. Gohan nodded and Trunks blinked in surprise. "Huh," he muttered. "My father. That's… pretty cool."

As the months went on, training with Gohan made Trunks strangely nostalgic for his childhood, when he'd been training with an older Gohan to reach the first level of Super Saiyan. Yet the taste of that nostalgia was a bitter draft as spending so much time with no one but Gohan to talk to reminded Trunks of just _why_ he was the only one left who could save his world. Gohan, being the perceptive young man that he was, could tell that something was eating away at Trunks and holding him back.

"Trunks," Gohan said one day when they were getting ready to spar, "I know you're hiding something from me." Trunks flinched instinctively and his eyes widened slightly. "Something that happened in your past, my future, whatever. You won't be able to progress and all of this training will be for nothing if you won't tell me what it is."

"I-it's nothing," Trunks assured him with his eyes downcast, lying horribly. "You really don't need to worry about it."

"If you hold it inside, it'll hold you back," Gohan told Trunks firmly. Then he powered up to Super Saiyan 2 and folded his arms. "If you can stop me from hitting you, you don't have to tell me." Trunks powered up and got into his guard, preparing for any a– he was flat on his back and staring up at the sky, feeling a pain in his cheek. Gohan stood over him with a bit of a smirk on his face and his hands on his hips.

"Jeez," Trunks muttered as he rubbed the area where Gohan had struck him. "Guess I still have a lot of catching up to do, huh?"

"Don't worry about it," Gohan assured him as he sat down beside Trunks. "This training's making me stronger, too. Now are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Trunks sighed and dropped his head in defeat.

"I know you must have guessed it by now," Trunks began, "But in my timeline, you're… dead. What you don't know is that it's my fault. I was… I don't want to say I was a kid, because I was older than you. But I was. I was a stupid kid. I thought that because I was a Super Saiyan and because I had a sword, because I had vengeance in my heart and all this righteous… junk that I could kill Cell. I thought it was a story, you know? Half of the heroes in your manga were kids so how was I supposed to know any different? So I rushed off in the middle of the night while you were asleep to take her on by myself. As you can imagine, I was hopelessly out of my league. I should be dead right now but you… you sensed Cell powering up and you saved me. I made you fight Cell before you were ready. If I'd just been a little more patient and let you carry out our training, you could have probably killed Cell in my timeline as well. But you didn't. And it's because of me." His shoulders sagged and he started to sob. "It's… it's all because of me!"

"Trunks," Gohan whispered softly as he started putting a hand on Trunks' shoulder. "Trunks, it's oka–"

"No!" Trunks snapped hotly as he shoved Gohan away and got to his feet. "It's not okay, Gohan! Don't you get it?! _Everything_ is my fault! If I hadn't gotten you killed, my mother wouldn't have needed to build a time machine! Without a time machine, Cell couldn't have caused all of this destruction!" Trunks' rage was so hot that it was boiling his tears as they ran down his cheeks and welled in his eyes and causing them to turn into steam. "Billions are dead because of me, Gohan! Everything is my fault!" He let out a wordless scream of self-loathing and despondent rage. Through that pain, he finally broke through the barrier and transformed, his hair spiking even higher and lighting shooting out across his body. Gohan transformed to Super Saiyan 2 and threw his arms around Trunks, holding him tightly as he let Trunks scream out his hatred and his grief. When his fury finally ebbed, Trunks looked down at Gohan glumly. "You must hate me…" Trunks muttered as he looked away.

"No," Gohan replied earnestly as he looked up at Trunks. "Trunks, how could you even say that? If you hadn't come back to my timeline, everything that had happened to your world would have happened to mine. Without you, mom would have died of the heart virus. All of my friends would probably be dead by now. I would never have had this power. Trunks, you saved the world!" Trunks looked at Gohan in surprise as the younger man let go of him.

"Huh," Trunks muttered softly. "Guess I never thought of it like that." Then he looked at the lightning arcing up and down his body and smiled. "Guess you were right about it holding me back, huh?"

"Yeah," Gohan told him as he got into his guard. "But we can't stop yet. We need to make sure you have control over this form. Now come on! Show me what you can do!" Trunks grinned as he charged at Gohan, his spirit feeling even lighter than he had when Cell had been destroyed. It was like an enormous, crushing weight had been lifted off of his soul.

After ten months in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan and Trunks knew that Trunks would be more than powerful enough to defeat the Cell in Trunks' timeline. They bathed and changed back into their regular clothes before exiting, breathing in the early morning air and staring at the purple pre-dawn sky, with stars still twinkling inside it.

"So…" Trunks said slowly as they walked to the edge of the Lookout, "I guess this is goodbye? I'll probably be leaving tomorrow." Gohan nodded and Trunks stood on the edge of the Lookout, looking on in amazement. "It's going to be tough, going back to the 'real' world after three years of… all of this. It's so beautiful."

"Hey," Gohan told him with a smile, "Now you know what the world's _supposed_ to look like. It'll give you something to work towards." Trunks nodded and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I still can't believe it," he muttered. "After all this time, basically my whole life… it's finally going to be over." He chuckled softly and shrugged. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now."

"Whatever you want," Gohan reminded him. Trunks laughed and shook his head.

"Even when you're a decade younger than me, you're still the one with all the answers," Trunks sighed as looked down at Gohan proudly. He held his arms out and Gohan hugged him eagerly. "Take care of yourself," he told the younger man. "And… take care of everyone. It's your responsibility now."

"Same to you," Gohan told him with a grin as he patted Trunks' back. "You finally get to be the hero now." Trunks reflected on that and grinned as they parted. They both hopped off the edge of the Lookout and Trunks flew off as Gohan closed his eyes and focused on ki. He didn't want to appear in his mother's bedroom, so he focused on his grandmother's much smaller ki and appeared in the living room, where she was sleeping on the foldout couch. Gohan tiptoed softly into his room since he didn't want to wake anyone and shut the door behind him. Despite the early morning hours, sleep was the last thing on Gohan's mind and he started to clean up his room. He'd really left it a mess in his despondency. The sun was creeping over the horizon as Gohan finished putting everything away… until he came across his mom's power pole. _His_ power pole now. He stared at it and held it in his hands as the words his mom had said came flooding back to him.

' _As long as you have this, I'll be here, too.'_ He'd thought a year had been enough time but as soon as he was back…

Suno was shocked awake as she heard Gohan's cry of anguish and the sudden spike of his ki practically jolted her out of bed. She sprang to her feet and rushed out of her bedroom, practically kicking in Gohan's door in her haste to get to him. She found Gohan curled up in a ball on the floor, clutching the power pole to his chest as the uproar from his power tore through the room like a hurricane.

"She said she'd always be there for me!" Gohan cried out as Suno looked down at him. "But she's not! And it's because of me!" Late at night over the last two days, when her bed was empty and alone, some black part of Suno's soul had hated Gohan. Yet in that moment, seeing Gohan's guilt and grief so raw in front of her, seeing his pain manifested in power, that ugliness was driven out of her forever and Suno dropped to her knees beside her son, flinging her arms around him. "It's my fault…" Gohan whimpered softly as he dropped out of Super Saiyan and his hair turned red again. "It's my fault…"

"No," Suno whispered softly as she held Gohan closed and her tears dripped onto his back. "No, sweety. It's not your fault. Okay? I love you. You know I love you. I'll never blame you for anything. We'll get through this together. I promise. We're going to get through this together." Gohan whimpered again and went unconscious in his mother's arms. Suno lifted Gohan carefully up in her arms and laid him down in bed, brushing his hair out of his eyes and tucking him in like she had when he was a baby. "My boy," Suno whispered proudly before kissed Gohan's forehead with a smile and went back to bed.

Yuki and Eighter left in the early afternoon of that day. After waving them off, Suno went to water the flowers around Goku's memorial. To her surprise, she heard the back door sliding open and turned to see Gohan stumbling half-awake outside with his red hair messed up from bedhead. Which, honestly, wasn't that different from his regular head.

"Hey," Suno greeted him softly with a smile. Gohan smiled back and gave her a small wave. "You're going to be okay, right?" Gohan nodded and rubbed at his eyes.

"Yeah," he told her as he hugged her close. "I'm going to be okay. _We're_ going to be okay." Mother and son looked out at the bright blue midday sky and toward the future.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Just a quick heads up: You'll want to check my profile at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. UTC) for a special side story, The Light's Willpower. It's our version of what went down in Future Trunks' timeline and I hope you look forward to it! See you then!


	101. Trunks Returns Home! BONUS

A/N: Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you that "The Light's Willpower", our version of "The History of Trunks", is now up! You can find it on my profile so why not give it a read and leave a comment? Until the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter Hundred-one

Trunks Returns Home! Justice Comes for You, Cell!

After Trunks watched Gohan disappear using Instant Transmission, Trunks flew back to the Capsule Corp building in West City. He didn't have any real plans for goodbyes or things like that. He'd say bye to his mother and hop into the time machine. Then, finally, this would all be over. He knew he was strong enough to kill Cell. He could finally end this nightmare. Then… then…

Trunks had to admit that he had no idea what was going to happen with his life next. Tomorrow he'd wake up in a world without Cell for almost the first time in his entire life. It was almost a completely alien concept to him. He just knew that, whatever happened, he would be free.

When Trunks arrived on the lawn of the Capsule Corp building, Bulma was standing beside the time machine, which Trunks could see had the scratches buffed out of it and had even been given a fresh coat of paint.

"Well look at you!" Bulma exclaimed playfully as she pulled Trunks into a hug. "Your hair's a mess again, jeez. And…" Bulma paused and looked at Trunks curiously, running a thumb over his cheek. "Are you growing a beard?" Trunks blushed slightly, which caused his blue stubble to stand out.

"I, uh, I stopped shaving the last week Gohan and I were in the chamber," he explained. "I've never actually tried growing one before and… I guess I just wondered how I'd look."

"It's not bad," Bulma admitted as she looked Trunks' face over. "But I think Barbara can fix you up and… and maybe we could get ice cream or something while we're downtown?" Bulma chewed her lip as she looked up at Trunks but he shook his head sadly and hugged her again.

"I'm sorry, mother. But I've got to go back."

"I know," Bulma admitted painfully, "But it's just… I'll never see you again, you know? I mean, there's my Trunks but he's going to grow up and be completely different from you."

"Nothing would make me happier," Trunks told her with surprising firmness in his voice. "I'm serious, mother. I want him to have everything I didn't. I want him to be happy. I want him to have friends who won't die in front of him and if he fights, it should be because he wants to, not because the world makes him. I want him to have a real life." He gave a weary smile and shrugged. "I guess I've just got to be happy with saving the world."

Bulma chuckled a little and fished a capsule out of her pocket. "Well, if you're going to save the world, you're going to need this." She put the capsule in Trunks' hand and he pressed the capsule down and was surprised when, once the puff of smoke cleared, he was holding his sword in his hand.

"I… it's…" Trunks stared at the sword, turning it over in his hand. He hadn't expected to see the sword ever again. "What did you do?" It didn't look exactly the same. The scabbard now had a trident emblazoned onto it with a two-pronged hook underneath it. Trunks wondered why Bulma had put it there.

"Oh, don't give me all the credit," Bulma assured him with a grin. "Your sword circled the Earth a few times before hitting a certain someone in the head." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder as her grin widened. Trunks looked over her shoulder and, to his surprise, he saw his father standing under the shade of a tree. He was wearing regular clothes, a long sleeved turquoise shirt with gray slacks and brown wingtips, and doing his best to look aloof. Trunks could barely believe it. It was one thing for Gohan to tell him something had happened but now he had here, in his hands, physical proof that Vegeta had actually done something for him. "After he brought it to me, I did a lot of work to reconstitute the rest of the metal and sharpen it and stuff. Especially after it floated around in orbit for a week and a half."

"It's incredible," Trunks muttered as he drew the sword. "It's just like be– wait a second." There was something off as he held inspected the blade that his eye caught. It was something in the way that light glinted off of the blade. As Trunks held the blade closer to his face he could see that there were strange symbols etched into the metal that he'd never seen before. There were five on one side of the sword and five different symbols on the other. "What are these?" he asked his mother. Bulma just gave a shrug.

"I dunno," she admitted. "I mean, I left the sword alone in my workshop for a little while yesterday so who knows where it got those from." There was a certain tone in her voice that made it clear that she knew exactly where the etchings came from. Just in case Trunks needed the extra hint, she rolled her eyes back toward Vegeta, who continued to do his best to look aloof. Trunks nodded and walked over toward Vegeta despite himself.

"So…" Trunks asked as he held the sword out to Vegeta. "What are these?" Then he tapped on the strange symbol on his scabbard as well. "Guessing that's your handiwork, too?"

"The symbol on the scabbard is the Royal Saiyan Crest," Vegeta explained. "I wore it as a child and my father and my mother wore it on their armor and the king and queen before them. The etchings on your sword are of the ten principal gods of the Saiyan religion."

"What're their names?" Trunks asked curiously as he sheathed the sword. It felt different in his hands now that he knew the extra significance it carried. As if it had some kind of extra power.

"Do you plan on worshipping them anytime soon?" Vegeta asked somewhat brusquely. Trunks shook his head. "Then it doesn't matter. The true point of it was so that you could carry the symbol of our legacy in your time. You will be the last true Saiyan of the only Saiyan bloodline. You're not just a Prince in your time. You're a King. So go. Fight, win, save your world. Make me proud and carry yourself with a King's pride. And by the gods," he added, "Have some children so my bloodline doesn't die with you." Trunks' face turned bright red and Vegeta chuckled at his son's embarrassment.

"Hey! I just remembered something!" Bulma called over to Trunks, allowing him to get out of that particular line of conversation. Trunks rushed over to her as she grinned and flashed a piece of paper at him. "I finally found the coordinates to New Namek! So you can go take care of that after you finish up with Cell and everything." Trunks hugged Bulma eagerly with a warm smile across his face.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed excitedly as he spun Bulma around. "Oh, this is incredible!" Then he regained his composure and returned to his naturally reserved state. "I, uh…" Trunks cleared his throat and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks, mom." Bulma smiled and gave Trunks a kiss on the cheek.

"Go save the world," she told him with an encouraging squeeze on the arm. "I believe in you." Trunks nodded and hopped up into the cockpit of his time machine. Trunks gave one more look back at Vegeta, who gave him a wave with two fingers. Trunks smirked and gave Vegeta a wave back. Then he looked down at the controls of the machine and went through the ignition sequence as the machine hummed to life. Then, finally, he pushed the button that he'd been thinking about for five years now: the Return Home key. Trunks took a long breath and closed his eyes before hitting the button.

OoOoOoO

Bulma was waiting fretfully in her lab where she'd just seen the Time Machine with her son in it disappear. It had barely been two seconds but she couldn't help but start panicking as soon as the Machine had vanished. She had no idea if it had worked. She had no idea if her son was dead or alive. All she could possibly do was wait and see. She gave a whoop of surprise when a blinding flash of light filled the lab and, once her eyes had adjusted, the Time Machine was standing in her lab again. Bulma cried with delight as the cockpit popped open and Trunks hopped out of the Time Machine and to the floor.

"TRUNKS!" Bulma exclaimed jubilantly as she rushed to him and flung herself into his arms. Trunks hugged his mother back and looked down at her as if he'd seen her for the first time in years. "You're back! Oh my god, you're back and you're okay!" Bulma buried her face in Trunks' chest and Trunks could feel the wetness of her relieved tears as he stroked her hair.

"I'm back," Trunks assured her. "I'm home." She looked so different now. It wasn't just that her hair was longer and her skin was paler. It wasn't just the weariness in her eyes or the faint smell of tobacco that clung to her. After three years of living in the past with the younger version of his mother, when Trunks looked at his mother now he could see how the years of tragedy, heartbreak, loss, and desperate struggle had worn on her. It broke Trunks' heart. "Everything's going to be better now. I promise."

"Wait," Bulma said as she looked up at him. "You're really strong enough to beat Cell? You're sure?" Then after a pause and after looking at Trunks for another few seconds, she made another observation. "Waaait a second. You got taller, you grew out your hair… you have a beard! How long were you in the past?" Before Trunks could answer, however, there was a pounding at the door of the lab before it suddenly caved in and came flying off the hinges. Trunks caught the door effortlessly out of the air with one hand as Ocha and Shouronpo came thundering down the stairs. Yamcha and Chi-Chi's children had inherited their mother's towering height, although many of their facial features and the thickness of their black hair had come from their father.

"Is everything okay?" Shou asked as she and Ocha came closer. "We heard Bulma scream and–"

"Trunks!" Ocha exclaimed as he noticed the other young man. "You look… different." He spied Trunks' stubble and grinned as he rubbed at his own beard with a chuckle. "Trying to copy my style, huh? I can't blame ya."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Shou pointed out as she got closer and peered down at him. "I just saw you yesterday and you didn't have any beard. Also how are you…" she paused, putting a hand on the top of Trunks' head and drawing a line from there to her chest. "Less short? What's going on?"

"Does this have something to do with all those equations on Bulma's computer upstairs?" Ocha asked. "Not that I've… tried hacking it or anything," Ocha was a shockingly bright young man for someone with very little formal education who grew up during the end of the world. Bulma shot him a look before glancing at Trunks. She gave him a nod and he sighed.

"Okay," Trunks muttered, "Okay. I guess we'll let you in on everything." The whole story took nearly an hour and a lot of that was Trunks describing his time in the past. He could've easily said that there was too much to explain and summed it up instead but he figured that his only living friends, and his mom, deserved the whole story.

"So wait," Bulma interrupted, "You spent an entire year with Vegeta and no one else?" They'd gone back upstairs for the telling and were now all sitted around the kitchen table.

"Yep," Trunks replied. "Trust me. It's as thrilling as it sounds." That got a chuckle out of Bulma before Trunks continued.

"Jeez," Ocha muttered as he folded his one hand under his chin. "I didn't think there could be something worse than Cell but a Cell who won and went on that kind of a rampage sounds about right."

"Yeah," Trunks sighed wearily as he shook his head. "It was pretty awful. It wasn't all bad, though." Then he got to the Cell Games and how Goku and Gohan fought. He skipped over his own death and told them that Vegeta had only thought he was dead.

"So Vegeta really went ballistic like that over you?" Shou asked in surprise. Trunks nodded and her eyebrows lifted. "Jeez," she echoed, "I always thought he was kind of a jerk."

"Not me," Bulma put in. "I always knew he was better than he let on. There was a good man under all that posturing and anger." Then she took a sip from her whiskey before turning back to Trunks. "So what now?" Before Trunks could respond, however, he sat up with a start.

"Is it…?" Ocha asked nervously. The twins had only received rudimentary training from Trunks and hadn't learned ki sensing before he'd made his trip back in time yet they could tell by Trunks' body language that he'd sensed something.

"Yes," Trunks growled as he stood up from his chair. "It's her." He took off his Capsule Corp jacket and picked his sword up off the back of the chair before putting it around his waist and making for the door.

"Wait," Bulma told him as she grabbed him firmly by the wrist in both hands. "Trunks… promise me you can beat her," she looked up at her son with pleading eyes as she held onto him desperately. "Promise me. I can't lose anyone else to that monster. I… I just can't." Trunks smiled at his mother and nodded at her as he carefully pulled his hand free of her grasp.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm going to end this nightmare once and for all." Then he walked out the door and outside. It was his first time looking at the outside world since returning to his own timeline. It was exactly how Trunks remembered it: grey, broken, burning. But it didn't dampen his spirit. He'd seen the beauty that the world had to offer and how it was meant to be. He knew that it was just under the surface of this battered world. He'd just have to dig it out again. Then his eyes turned skyward and he saw her. Perfect Cell. He turned into a Super Saiyan and flew up to meet her as lighting flashed and thunder rumbled.

"Well, well, well," Cell observed smugly as Trunks flew up to meet her. "I see someone's been trying a new look. I guess you'd have to, right? Not like you've got anything else to do with your time but wallow in your misery and grow out that stupid human hair." She spied Trunks' sword with a chuckle as Cell Jrs started to pour out of the flashing clouds by the hundreds. They really were such sad little things compared to the Cellspawn. They were obviously a rushed job that Cell had only created to try and prove that Earth didn't need humanity. "Still carrying that silly little toy around, huh? Still want to play a stupid little hero? Face it, Trunks. All the heroes are dead. You're just a rat that I've been toying with for years, holed up underground and cringing in fear. Now I've dragged you out into the light to finish off once and for all. Then I'll finish up this stupid planet and after that… who knows? There's a whole universe out there for me to Perfect. So let's wrap this up, huh?" The sky opened up and rain poured down on them all as Trunks eyed Cell coolly.

Trunks' hand went to the hilt of his sword and gripped it tightly as he glared at her. He'd spent the year with Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber wondering what he'd say to Cell or if he'd say anything at all. She'd mocked him for having a speech before. Called him a stupid child playing hero. She'd been right. Then again, Trunks reflected as thunder boomed again, what could she really do to him now? All his struggles, all his work. He knew it was going to pay off. He knew Cell could be defeated. He'd seen it with his own eyes. Now it was time for him to bring freedom to his own world, too. Besides, who the hell was she to tell him not to make speeches? All she ever did was run her mouth. Well now it was finally going to bite her.

"You're right," Trunks admitted as he held his sword. "I was stupid. I was stupid when I gave up. When I stopped having hope. Because hope is the one thing we always had no matter how desperate things got or how bleak it seemed. Hope was always our most powerful weapon against you. It's with that weapon that I've grown strong enough to defeat you!" Cell chuckled to herself and opened her mouth to make a retort. "No!" Trunks said vehemently, cutting Cell off and startling her. "This ends, Cell! Now and forever! The suffering! The death! It all ends here!" He drew his sword in a flash like quicksilver and levelled it at Cell and her hundreds of children. "Let me show you the strength of hope, Cell! This is more than just a sword! This is the human spirit! This is the Saiyan spirit! This is my spirit!" There was a wild fire in Trunks' eyes as he powered up to Super Saiyan 2. "Do you seriously think it's going to be broken by the likes of YOU?!"

"KILL HIM!" Cell screamed as she pointed dramatically at Trunks. Despite herself, there was a quavering in her voice that she couldn't explain. That power she had seen from him… it couldn't be. There was no way! The hundreds of Cell Jrs. charged at Trunks and he met their charge at lightning speed, tearing through them by the scores like a wildfire. Cell watched with her mouth agape as, before she even had time to blink, hundreds of her children suddenly became none as Trunks leveled his sword at her again. "...What are you?" she asked before trying to fly away from him.

"I told you seven years ago what I am, Cell!" Trunks roared as he was suddenly in front of her. Cell lashed out and threw out a punch but Trunks blocked it effortlessly with one hand while his other held onto the sword. "I am the one who's going to defeat you!" Cell fired death beams from all ten of her fingers but Trunks batted them all away with his sword. "I'm the one who's going to make you pay for the countless innocents you've killed!" Trunks flew forward and kicked Cell in the stomach, sending her flying up above the stormclouds and into the clear night sky, the full moon shining down on them. "For my father!" He was above her when she got there and met Cell with a hook to the jaw. "For my mother!"

"Get the hell away from me!" Cell shrieked in a mixture of fear and rage as she blasted a Kamehameha at Trunks. He took the blast full on and barreled through it, using the point of his sword like a drill to drive right to her. He raised his sword high overhead and, with all his strength, brought it crashing down and sliced Cell clean in half.

"For Gohan!" he roared. "Take this! My love, my anger, and all of my hope! Shining Sword Attack!" Trunk roared out with passion and power as he kept striking with his sword, hacking Cell to ribbons, his arms a blur and his sword a blazing inferno of silver light. Then he tossed the sword high into the air and crossed one arm under the other, pointing his palm at Cell's floating remains. "Light's Justice!" He poured all of his power into the blast, ensuring that Cell was destroyed down to the very last fibers of her being and nothing would be left to regenerate from. Trunks held out his hand for the sword to fall into and sheathed it in a single, smooth motion. It was finally over. Trunks clapped his hands and sent away the clouds before powering down and descending back to the ground. Slowly, the door opened and Bulma, Ocha, and Shouronpo walked out of the Capsule Corp building onto the Capsule Corp lawn. As they looked at Trunks it slowly dawned on them what his being alive meant. It was over.

They had won.

The trio ran to Trunks in a fit of glee and tackled him to the ground in their excitement. They all laughed with joy, long and boisterous and full of life, as if they had been holding every ounce of happiness inside their bodies to let it free at this moment. They lay there for several minutes, laughing like maniacs up at the full moon, laughing until they cried. Once they were finally laughed out, Trunks told his mother that her past self had given him the coordinates to New Namek. Bulma warned him that the Dragon Balls of New Namek could only revive one person at a time. Trunks just hoped he could get someone to come with him to Earth and be the new Guardian to restore the Dragon Balls. If that worked, Bulma gave Trunks some advice to be able to work around Shenron's limitations so they could revive everyone that Cell had absorbed.

It wasn't going to be perfect but that was fine with Trunks. He was sick and tired of perfect. Life wasn't perfect. It could be hard and you had to fight for everything you wanted out of life to keep your dreams. But it was worth it. Life wasn't perfect but it was beautiful. The future was beautiful and Trunks would give his every breath to protect it.

* * *

Cell Saga Battle Powers:

Mecha Freeza – 4,000,000

King Cold – 2,000,000

Trunks – 110,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan) – 5,500,000

Trunks (Post Training) – 200,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan) – 10,000,000

Trunks (Post HTC 1st Visit) – 600,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan) – 30,000,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan Grade 2) – 45,000,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan Grade 3) – 60,000,000

Trunks (Post HTC 2nd Visit) – 1,100,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan) – 55,000,000

Trunks (Super Saiyan 2) – 110,000,000

Vegeta – 120,000

Vegeta (Post Training) – 190,000

Vegeta (Super Saiyan) – 9,500,000

Vegeta (Post HTC 1st Visit) – 600,000

Vegeta (Super Saiyan) – 30,000,000

Vegeta (Super Saiyan Grade 2) – 45,000,000

Vegeta (Post HTC 2nd Visit) – 900,000

Vegeta (Super Saiyan) – 45,000,000

Goku – 110,000

Goku (Super Saiyan) – 5,500,000

Goku (Post Training) – 200,000

Goku (Super Saiyan) – 10,000,000

Goku (Post HTC) – 1,200,000

Goku (Super Saiyan) – 60,000,000

Gohan – 70,500

Gohan (Post Training) – 120,000

Gohan (Post HTC 1st Visit) – 1,700,000

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 85,000,000

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 130,000,000

Gohan (Post HTC 2nd Visit) – 2,000,000

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 100,000,000

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 200,000,000

Piccolo – 81,000

Piccolo (Post Training) – 200,000

Piccolo (Post Fused w/ Kami) – 5,000,000

Piccolo (Kaiouken x5) – 25,000,000

Piccolo (Post HTC) – 15,000,000

Piccolo (Kaiouken x5) – 75,000,000

Krillin – 20,500

Krillin (Post Training) – 50,000

Krillin (Post HTC) – 100,000

Yamcha – 3,000

Yamcha (Post Training) – 8,000

Yamcha (Kaiouken x2) – 16,000

Yamcha (Kaiouken x3) – 24,000

Tenshinhan – 4,000

Tenshinhan (Post Training) – 10,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x2) – 20,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x3) – 30,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x4) – 40,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x5) – 50,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x10) – 100,000

Tenshinhan (Post HTC) – 20,000

Tenshinhan (Kaiouken x10) – 200,000

Launch – 3,000

Launch (Post Training) – 9,000

Launch (Kaiouken x2) – 18,000

Launch (Post HTC) – 18,000

Suno – 21,500

Suno (Post Training) – 51,000

Suno (Post HTC) – 110,000

Android #13 – 16,000

Android #14 – 18,000

Android #15 – 30,000

Adrian/Android #16 – 500,000

Lapis/Android #17 – 200,000

Lazuli/Android #18 – 200,000

Android #19 – 50,000

Dr. Gero/Android #20 – 50,000

Imperfect Cell – 10,000

Future Imperfect Cell – 10,000,000

Future Imperfect Cell (Post Absorption) – 25,000,000

Future Semi-Perfect Cell – 40,000,000

Future Perfect Cell – 80,000,000

Future Super Perfect Cell – 200,000,000

Future Perfect Cell (Trunks' Timeline) – 60,000,000

Future Cellspawn – 70,000,000

Future Cell Jrs. – 40,000,000


	102. Here Comes the Monkey Princess!

Chapter Hundred-two

Life Goes On! Here Comes the Monkey Princess!

Since his "victory" over Perfect Cell, the last week of Hercule's life had been a whirlwind of interviews and talk show appearances, more than Hercule had ever received before. Even more than when he had become the World's Champion! It was a good thing that Krillin and Bulma had given him the story to tell about what had happened after the camera was destroyed or else he would have been hopelessly lost in the lies. The way Hercule had described it, after Gohan had battled valiantly against Cell, Hercule summoned up all his courage and his martial arts skill, distilling his entire life into one glorious moment, and destroyed Cell with a single mighty blow. To cover his ass, Hercule insisted that the technique had taken a lot out of him and that he'd probably never be able to replicate the feat.

Once, however, someone asked him about the powers and abilities shown by Cell, Goku, and Gohan. They asked him if they were real or just a lot of pageantry and shenanigans, not _true_ martial arts. They wanted to know what Hercule thought.

"What do I think?" he repeated as he stroked his beard. It would be easy to lie. Easy to tell the world that the others were all fakers and liars with a lot of special effects to cover up a lack of skill and that he was the only true martial artist. The thought had barely entered his head before he had to push down an urge to vomit. "I think I need to keep trainin'!" he finally exclaimed with a boisterous laugh. "It's like I always say, there's no such thing as limits, even when you're the champ! Ya gotta keep pushin' and keep lookin' for new ways to get stronger!"

OoOoOoO

Suno should have known that she ought to be suspicious when she missed her period two weeks in a row. The first week she could have chalked up to any number of reasons from stress, to the change in her normal routine now that they were back in peacetime, to her slowly-creeping depression. Or she could have just miscalculated when it would start. She'd had a lot on her mind, after all. After the second week, however, she knew something was up.

Now as she was sitting in the bathroom and staring at two pink lines on a stick, she knew exactly what that something was. Suno groaned and set the test down on the sink, pressing her hands into her face. She couldn't help but overthink what this meant despite herself. Was this a blessing? A last gift from Goku to help Suno get through her loneliness? Or was it a burden to have to bring a child into this world alone? Well, not totally alone. Obviously Gohan would be there and he would help however he could but it just wasn't the same. Thinking of Gohan, Suno had always thought that he'd taken a little bit more after her than after Goku. Would this child be more like Goku? If so, would that heal Suno's heartache or just make it worse?

Suno dropped her hands and took a long, cleansing breath. This wasn't about her. This child wouldn't have its existence defined by Suno's happiness. Son or daughter, Suno would make sure that this child was loved.

OoOoOoO

"You have been weighed. You _have_ been measured. And you have been found wanting. Welcome to the new world."

Vegeta let out a groan and rolled his eyes as his head fell back over the arm of the couch he was laying on. Yet another work of fiction where the nobility were an evil obstacle for the dirty common rabble to overcome. He supposed it was good that the prince essentially saved the day but it was still the rabble's story. It was tiresome. He reached for the remote to change the channel when the plodding footfalls of what could only be his infant son's ungainly gait tickled his ears. Apparently, Vegeta had missed Trunks' first steps in the last week or so but he hardly seemed to consider that much of an achievement. By this point in his own infancy, Vegeta had already fired his first energy blast, never mind _steps._ Bulma had been cross with him all the same.

Still, as Trunks came stumbling into the room, Vegeta couldn't help but feel _almost_ proud. According to what Bulma had told him that the so-called "doctor" had said (what physician worth their salt had operated on less than a dozen species?), Trunks was already far ahead in his development compared to purely human infants. Clearly the greatest Saiyan bloodline was helping him along. At the very least, his tail helped Trunks' stability and coordination.

"What do you want?" Vegeta asked as Trunks waddled up to the couch. The boy stared at him with those bright blue eyes and a serious look on his little face. "Where is your mother, boy? Go bother her." Trunks reached up with his tiny hands and grasped at the air while babbling infantile gibberish. "What?" Vegeta asked with growing irritation. "What? I don't… learn to speak words!"

"Uh!" Trunks insisted as he reached for Vegeta. "Uh! Uh!" Vegeta blinked and stared at him incredulously for a moment before he realized what Trunks was trying to say.

"No I will not pull you up!" Vegeta said in an offended tone. "Pull yourself up! You're a prince!" Trunks actually _glared_ at Vegeta before grabbing his father's shirt in his mitts and pulling himself up onto Vegeta's stomach. The king let out an indignant grunt as Trunks sat his tiny weight on him and looked up as Trunks stared at him. "Well, you're up. Now what?" Trunks put his hands on Vegeta's cheeks and grabbed them. Vegeta was tempted to just grab the boy and toss him across the room. He was a Saiyan, he'd be able to handle it. Almost immediately, however, the sight of the Trunks from the other timeline lying on the ground and vomiting blood flashed into Vegeta's mind. He grimaced and let out a sigh, deciding to let the boy stay. "If I find you something to watch, will you let go of my face?" Trunks nodded and Vegeta rolled his eyes before grabbing the remote and changing the channel. Vegeta went through several programs, each one receiving a disapproving noise from his son, until the infant let out a burst of excited laughter on one channel and Vegeta assumed that meant it was his favorite.

It was some kind of animation with singing animals. Why did everything sing in programs designed for children? Trunks let go of Vegeta's face but didn't get off of his stomach so Vegeta guessed he was stuck here for the time being. As the film rolled on Vegeta supposed that it wasn't _that_ bad. The hero was some sort of royalty. Then one particular song began that startled Vegeta.

"I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!" Vegeta stared at the screen with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

"I… I have so many questions…" he muttered. Trunks giggled and clapped his hands excitedly while Vegeta pondered his existential crisis.

OoOoOoO

Bulma smiled to herself as she ducked back around the corner of the hallway into the living room where Vegeta and Trunks were. It was nice to see the boys spending time together. She went back to her lab and had just started looking over Gero's notes when she got a call from, of all people, her big sister.

"Hey, Tights!" she greeted excitedly when she answered. "What's goin' on? Haven't heard from you in forever!"

"Just wanted to check in on my favorite sister," Tights replied and Bulma could practically hear her sister grinning on the other end. "I've been watching the news here on my island and things were looking pretty crazy for a while there. Everything all right?" When Tights turned eighteen, she'd forgone her sizable inheritance, determined to make her own way, and had sold her stock back into the company, using that money to buy her own private island off of the Southern continent to focus on her writing where, apparently, she was waited on by only the most _gorgeous_ staff. While Bulma had lucked out on Tights' deal, gaining a hundred percent of the company's future control in her own inheritance, there were times where she wondered if her sister had been the smart one.

The sisters talked for hours, catching up and telling stories. It was mostly a lot of Bulma telling Tights what she'd been up to for the last three years. Namely having a baby and _kiiind_ of a husband? It didn't look like Vegeta was going anywhere anytime soon.

"What about you, though?" Bulma asked when she was finally tired of talking about herself. "What've you been up to? Got any big projects going on? A new book you're cranking out?"

"Actually," Tights replied in a somewhat playful tone, "I was thinking of branching out into a slightly more visual medium. Something kind of inspired by the stories you tell me about your friends."

"You know I told you not to write about that stuff," Bulma told her sister in an almost-stern tone. "The public can't know about Freeza and Vegeta doing all that crap or that the Dragon Balls are real!" Then again, Shenron _had_ shown up on her front lawn… That had been a hassle to explain. She'd had to bullshit a movie about the _legend_ of the Dragon Balls into existence and tell everyone that Shenron was just them testing some new special effects.

"I know, I know," Tights assured her. "That's why I said _inspired."_

"So what," Bulma asked curiously, "Are you going to become a mangaka?"

"Something like that. I've got these girls, Jeri and Jolyne, to do the art for me and help me punch up my scripts."

"Do you need a distributor?" Bulma asked with a glint in her eye. "Because I could set you guys up!"

"Ohhh no. Nice try. I heard what happened with Wilma Finger. You had your name put on as a co-creator and then muscled her out of all the credit!"

"Well, I mean, the book wouldn't exist without me so I was _technically_ a co-creator?"

"Nice try. I think I'll pass. I'll send you an advanced copy, though!" They made small talk for a little while longer before Bulma had to go. Once she'd hung up the phone, Tights turned back to her computer and cracked her knuckles before continuing her work on the scripts.

" _Kara-El, last daughter of the doomed planet Krypton, went into work in her guise as Laurel Kent, the mild-mannered reporter of the Daily Planet…"_

OoOoOoO

"Ten?" Launch said to her husband while nursing Kani. He was sitting across the table from her but for all the response he gave her he might as well have been on Mars. "Ten?" She asked again a little more insistently. Still nothing. "Ten!" That finally got his attention and he sat up with a start.

"What?!" he asked in a panic as he hopped to his feet in a fighting stance and hurriedly looked around. "What is it?!" Launch sighed and shook her head. Ten had been on edge since practically the moment Kani was born. When Launch had asked him why, he'd told her that now that he had a daughter of his own, it was hard not to think about what Tao Pai Pai had told him at the 23rd Budoukai and how someone might kill them and take their baby away. While Launch thought that it was sweet that Ten, who was normally so stoic, was so concerned over their child's safety, she _had_ reminded him that the only people on the planet who could possibly kill either of them at this point were their close friends.

And Vegeta.

But this wasn't about that.

"You've been staring at that Crane Helmet for two weeks," Launch explained. Practically since Shen had given it to Ten at Goku's funeral, Ten had been looking at the helmet suspiciously and treating it like some malevolent thing, like a viper or a scorpion that might strike at any moment and infect him with its wickedness. "Are you going to take the job or not?" The students were probably getting restless without having any guidance, which could be dangerous. "Tell me what's on your mind. Talk to me."

"The Crane School…" Ten chewed his lip and shook his head in disdain. "I don't want to go back there. I don't like to reflect on who and what I was. I was so full of hate and rage and it blinded me to Shen's true intentions. It let him use me as a weapon. That whole place is a breeding ground for murderers. Maybe it would be better if there was no one there to teach them and it just dissolved. Maybe… maybe the Crane School should die."

"We can fix it," Chaozu said suddenly as he floated in from his room. He took a sip from the coffee cup in his hands as he floated down into his usual chair at the table. "You and I escaped Shen's grip. You can teach the others how to be free and find peace within themselves."

"Even if they won't listen," Launch added, "There are people out there who will. You can help so many people in the way that you helped me. You can raise up the Crane School up into something good so that it won't be associated with assassins forever." Tenshinhan looked down at the helmet again before reaching out and picking it up. Its weight felt tremendous in his hands as he lifted it and slowly placed it on his head.

"I'll do it," he said resolutely. A few days later, Tenshinhan arrived at the Crane School with Launch and Chaozu in tow. They were all dressed in black waistcoats with the symbol for "Crane" on the chest in red with cream colored long sleeve shirts underneath, white cloth belts, wine red hakamas, and black boots. Tenshinhan was also wearing the Crane helmet.

Naturally the Crane students were very confused and had several questions. Why had Tenshinhan and Chaozu returned? Where was their master? Who was this woman they had brought with them? Why was Ten wearing the Crane helmet? Ten silenced them all with a steely gaze and a raised hand.

"I am the master of the Crane School now," Tenshinhan declared in a tone that would brook no challenge. "Master Shen has passed that right onto me. As of this moment, if there is evil in your heart, if you seek to become a killer and learn knowledge that will allow you to take lives and do wicked things, this school has no place for you." He gestured perhaps overdramatically and made a wide, sweeping motion with his arm. "Let it be known throughout the land from this day forward that those who wish to fly with the Crane's wings must be willing to look within themselves. It is more than mere physical strength that we will build upon here. We will strengthen our souls and our minds, to reach inner peace and our true selves. This shall no longer be a place of darkness. We shall work towards the light."

It was not a perfect transition. Many students did leave but those that did stay spread the word of the Crane School's change. In time, Ten nearly had more students than he knew what to do with. Including one surprising student in particular.

OoOoOoO

Amy had quite a number of job offers that she was still struggling to sift through in the month after the Cell Games. A lot of people were impressed by the degree of composure and control she had shown when she'd been thrust into the anchor's desk when Caesar had fainted. Amy wasn't really that impressed with herself– after all, she'd nearly fainted herself– but some people clearly were. She had newscasting offers from rival networks, a full-time contract on the table from ZTV, not to mention all the online news sites that wanted to use her as their lead anchor/face/whatever. So the last thing she really wanted was for one of her roommates to knock on the door.

"If it's about dinner you can just get my regular. I'm kinda busy!" she shouted over a shoulder before turning back to her computer. On the one hand, she had stability on ZTV and they _did_ have a wider coverage but GT2 was offering her more money and STV was offering Amy her own talk show.

"It's, uh, it's not about takeout," her roommate, Perry, said in a somewhat-nervous voice. "There's somebody here to see you." Amy got up and opened the door to her room. Perry the green-furred catman stepped to one side and there, standing in the doorway of her apartment… was Lapis. He was wearing Khaki shorts and a black shirt with an awkward smile on his face as he waved at her.

"Uh… hey?" Amy stared at him in shock for a few moments before hurtling towards Lapis and tackling him right out of the apartment, her tail wagging furiously as she brought him to the ground.

"We'll… uh… we'll give you guys some time," Perry muttered awkwardly as he shut the door. Lapis picked Amy up in his arms and flew her up onto the roof. They sat and talked for hours. They hadn't seen each other in years. There was a lot to catch up on. When they were finally out of things to talk about, they found themselves staring up at the stars.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Amy asked. "I mean… Cell's gone, right? And so's Gero. So what're you going to, y'know, do?"

"To be honest…" Lapis said slowly, as if he were pondering it even as the words came out of his mouth. "I was kinda thinking of becoming a park ranger." Amy laughed and Lapis balked. "What?"

"Nothing," Amy assured him as she tried to stifle her giggles. "It's just… with all this crazy stuff you can do, you still want to do something with nature like we talked about back in school." Without warning, Amy suddenly began to cry.

"What is it?" Lapis asked in concern as he leaned closer to her. "What's wrong?" Amy threw her arms around Lapis and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm just glad you're still you," she whispered. Lapis hugged her back tightly, holding her to his chest.

"That's… that's kinda why I wanted to see you," he whispered as he stroked her fur. "I know it's been years a-and we were just dumb kids in school but, I mean… I was hoping… could we still be us?" Amy looked up at Lapis and he looked away, his face turning red. "I-It was stupid," he muttered deflatedly. "You moved on. You probably met a guy or a girl or I dunno. I should move on, t–" Amy grabbed the back of Lapis' head and shut him up with a kiss.

"So," Amy said after several minutes of similar silence. "When are you gonna start that whole park ranger thing? Is there like a class or something you have to take?"

"Actually," Lapis admitted almost bashfully, "There's something I wanna do before that. Something Lazuli and I said that we were gonna do after the whole, y'know… the Cell thing."

OoOoOoO

Krillin looked out at the sea with a feeling of nostalgia crashing over him as the waves crashed on the shore. He'd gotten Bulma to give him a Capsule Beach House for cheap and had set down his new house permanently on the spot where he and Goku used to train. It made a perfect place to train his New Turtle School students, after all.

When he got any. Which he would. Probably. Hercule becoming the hero of the world had taken a lot of the bloom off the "Bald Tiger" rose. In retrospect, he probably should have tried to talk Bulma into letting him take the credit himself. Eh, he couldn't do that. Still, it was frustrating to not have any takers. Especially when he'd shelled out the money for that ad and gotten the spiffy new orange longcoat with the turtle symbol on the breast made.

"I'm not looking for people who want to learn how to pick fights or impress a girl or a guy or whatever," he'd said in the commercial where he'd echoed Master Roshi's words so many years ago. "That's not what martial arts is about. Martial arts is about the art of peace as much as it is the art of war. It's about mastering yourself and rising above who you were and who you are to become who you _could_ be. I can get you there!" He'd even given the coordinates of where he'd planned to put the house.

Nobody in a month. It was pretty disheartening. Maybe he should have left out the part about not using Martial Arts to beat people up. Krillin scratched at his stubbly head and sighed. Maybe he'd cut today short and go fishing. That was when a whistle from above caught his attention.

"Yo!" Lazuli called down as she descended toward him. Krillin brought up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked, although that just made the light framing Lazuli make her look even more angelic. Even if she was wearing a blue tracksuit with yellow piping.

"Oh, hey, Lazuli!" Krillin said cheerfully as he gave her a small wave. "What're you doing out here?" Lazuli looked around for a little bit before turning back to Krillin.

"So you're teaching the Turtle stuff now, huh?" she asked while fishing something out of her back pocket. She held it between her thumb and forefinger and tossed it to Krillin like a quarter. He caught it out of the air with one hand and looked at the small piece of plastic curiously.

"What is it?"

"It's a USB full of porn," Lazuli explained bluntly. Krillin nearly dropped it like it had electrocuted him. "I remember that when we were all at Goku's… uh, her thing, you were telling the story of how you started training and you said you gave Master Roshi a big stack of dirty magazines. Welcome to the seventh age." There was an awkward pause as Krillin looked back and forth between the USB and Lazuli. "I don't know what you're into," she admitted, "So I kinda just loaded all the shit I like onto there to cover a broad spectrum. Be careful, though. Some of it can get a little freaky." Krillin cleared his throat awkwardly and stored the USB in his back pocket.

"So… you're here to train?" Krillin asked curiously. Not that he was gonna turn down a student, of course. Especially not her. He was just curious why she'd want lessons when she was obviously stronger and faster already.

"Lapis and I agreed that if we lived through the Cell stuff, we'd definitely start training," Lazuli explained. "Y'know, to earn something and not just be given all of our power and ability by Gero. Technically we _did_ live through it. So he went to go train with Tenshinhan and I came here. But we can skip all the turtle shells and delivering milk and stuff, right? I can just go right to punching?"

Krillin laughed and shook his head. "If I had to do it, _you_ have to do it. Unless," he added with a grin, "You think you're better than me? Better than _Goku?"_ Lazuli rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay," she sighed, "But I don't think you've got a turtle shell heavy enough for me." Krillin smirked before walking into what he was calling Kame House II. He came back out with a capsule and opened it on the ground, revealing what looked to be an ordinary purple turtle shell. Probably not more than two hundred pounds. Lazuli hefted it up effortlessly but as soon as she put it on her shoulders, her eyes went wide with shock and she nearly fell onto her back.

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed. "How is this so heavy?"

"Magic," Krillin explained with a grin. A little present from Uranai Baba. Despite her protests and wanting to skip the "boring" part of the training altogether, Lazuli quickly found that she enjoyed digging with her hands and delivering milk. Even outrunning the shark was fun since it couldn't actually damage her skin. As the months ticked by, Krillin and Lazuli's relationship grew beyond that of master and student. For one thing, Lazuli stopped sleeping on the air mattress in the spare room.

"Hey," Lazuli said as she and Krillin were lying in bed one evening, "What're all those books?" She leaned over Krillin to point, gesturing to the stack of books beside Krillin's nightstand.

"Eh," he said with a shrug, "Just a lot of stuff about being a cop. It was what I was thinking about doing before Roshi told me he wanted me to take over the school."

"...Can I read 'em?"

"Sure, go nuts."

OoOoOoO

Suno was sitting by the fireplace and sipping some hot cider while looking out the window. It was a beautiful night with fresh-fallen snow on the ground as more came gently down from the gray, cloudy sky. It was a nice and peaceful night that was suddenly interrupted by a sudden pain in her lower back and stomach and a certain pressure that was very familiar to Suno. But that didn't make any sense. The baby wasn't supposed to be due for another few weeks! That didn't seem to stop the second contraction that shot through her a few minutes later. Suno clutched at her stomach as a sudden panic swept through her. Not for herself, of course. She was early. This was early. What was going to happen to the baby? Would she be okay? Would she need to stay in the hospital for weeks? ...Would she make it?

"Gohan!" Suno called out. "Call Bulma! It's happening!" Gohan burst out of his room, still in his pajamas, practically knocking the door off of its hinges.

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked worriedly. Suno nodded and Gohan grabbed his phone to call Bulma. "Bulma!" he shouted excitedly when she answered. "I know, I know, it's late but this is important! It's happening! What do you mean 'what's it?', _IT!_ Mother's going into labor! Look, you need to get to the hospital in West City _right now,_ I'm bringing mother there!" Gohan hung up and gave his hand out for Suno to grab and she squeezed it tightly. "It's going to be fine, mother," he assured her despite his own worries. "It's going to be okay." He gave her a smile and she smiled back at him before they headed out to the car. Suno climbed inside before Gohan hoisted the car effortlessly over his head and flew to West City. He'd thought about using Instant Transmission but he didn't want to risk anything happening to the baby.

While this labor wasn't as painful as when Suno had delivered Gohan, it was exponentially more taxing and a greater exercise in Suno's focus and control. Since she was so much stronger than she had been then, she had to be in control of her muscles and her reactions. She couldn't risk the baby getting hurt. Several hours later, as the first rays of sunshine were cresting over the West City skyline, a weary Suno was holding the swaddled baby in her arms and on the verge of tears.

"Oh Gohan," she whispered reverently as she stroked the baby's head of very familiar spiky hair. "Oh Gohan, look at her!" The sleeping infant nestled against Suno's chest as mother and son smiled down at her.

"She looks just like mom," Gohan pointed out with tears in his eyes as he stroked his little sister's cheek.

"She does," Suno agreed wistfully as the baby opened her eyes slowly and smiled up at her family. "My girl. My little Goten."

OoOoOoO

"I don't quite understand why you brought me in here," Dr. Brief admitted as he sucked on a lollipop while Bulma led him into her secret lab. "Not that I don't mind, you've just always seemed very secretive about all this." His doctor had made him give up smoking in the last few years, mostly because there was no way to grow a new set of lungs from some flesh scraps… _yet._

"I brought you here because I want your help, dad," Bulma said as she turned on some computers and lit up some screens. "It's taken me over a year but I've finally gotten a full understanding of all of Gero's notes. For all his megalomania and misplaced hatred, there were a lot of actually great ideas here." The largest screen in the lab showed a to-scale 3D model of an infinite energy reactor and Bulma turned to her father with a grin. "So whaddaya say, dad? Wanna help me save the world?"

OoOoOoO

It had been a little more than a year since Lapis and Lazuli had split up to undergo their training. They had agreed to meet on the campgrounds where they'd spent summers with their parents as children. When Lazuli arrived in her spiffy new turtle gi with her hair tied up in braids to keep it out of her eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at Lapis' own attire.

"What?!" he asked indignantly with a huff as he crossed his arms. He'd put his hair up in a bun for presumably the same reason.

"You're wearing a skirt!" Lazuli pointed out in an explosion of laughter.

"It's not a skirt!" Lapis said hotly. "It's a hakama! It lets my legs have greater range of movement!"

"Oh, my bad, I'm so sorry!" Lazuli teased. "It's a _combat_ skirt." Lapis rolled his eyes before taking off his waistcoat and shirt, revealing the black undershirt underneath. "You sure you wanna do this?" Lazuli asked with a grin. "My idol kinda kicked your idol's butt."

"But my teacher broke _your_ teacher's leg," Lapis pointed out as they stretched. "Between all the Turtle and Crane fights, I think the score's tied right now at two-to-two."

Lazuli grinned at her brother as she got into her guard. "Then I'll be the one to break that tie," she boasted.

"No," he shot back, "I will!" They charged at each other and leaped into flying kicks.

OoOoOoO

"Hey, Bulma," Gohan greeted pleasantly when she answered the phone. "Could you… uh…" he paused and looked down at his little sister, who was currently trying to climb his leg. "Could you put Vegeta on the phone?"

"Really?" Bulma asked in genuine confusion. "Vegeta? You're… you're sure about that?"

"Yeah," Gohan assured her as Goten hung off of his arm like he was a jungle gym. "It's kind of important."

"Okay…" Bulma said hesitantly, stretching out the word. There was a slight pause and Gohan could hear her shoes clicking as the walked down the hall. "It's Gohan," her distant voice said, "He says he needs to talk to you."

"What is it, boy?" Vegeta asked gruffly. "Have you decided to put down those ridiculous books of yours long enough to actually train?"

"Actually," Gohan said with a slight hint of irritation that he tried to suppress, "I was calling about Goten. I was wonderi–"

"No, you can't betroth her to Trunks," Vegeta interrupted curtly.

"Wh-what?! No! That's not what this is about at all! For crying out loud, Vegeta, she's three!"

"And I was betrothed at four before my planet was destroyed," Vegeta retorted. "What's your question, boy?"

"I was hoping you could give my some advice on how to toughen up Goten's tail," Gohan told him. "You know, if there's any… exercises or training techniques, anything like that."

"Why on Earth would I help you with that?" Vegeta asked haughtily. "She's not _my_ child. Let her figure out how to toughen up her own tail."

"It's just that, well, if we don't know how to help Goten protect herself, my mom was thinking of cutting it off. It's dangerous, y'know? It could get caught on something or someone could step on it. God forbid she's ever in a fight and it gets grabbed or something." There was an uncomfortably long pause. "...Uh… Vegeta?" Then there was a loud clatter as Vegeta apparently dropped the phone on the ground and Gohan heard the thunder of his footsteps.

"WOMAN!" Vegeta bellowed distantly. "WOMAN! HOW DO I SEND AN EMAIL?!"

OoOoOoO

With Vegeta being Vegeta and Gohan being occupied with his exams, Suno and Bulma decided to get together and bring their children for a play date at the beach, just a few miles from the Son Family's village. Trunks was wearing a green pair of swim trunks with blue turtles printed on it and Goten was wearing an orange one-piece suit with blue frills.

"Now play nice, okay?" Suno told Goten affectionately as she rubbed sunscreen on her daughter's face, legs, and arms. "If you want to go in the water that's fine but don't go out past where the water reaches your waist. I don't want you going in the deep water without mommy, alright?"

"Yes, mommy," the five year-old Goten assured her mother while standing perfectly still.

"Trunks!" Bulma cried in exasperation as her six year-old struggled and squirmed to escape the unscreen. "Hold still! You're just gonna make this worse for yourself!"

"No!" Trunks protested vehemently. "I hate that stuff! It's gross and it makes me feel all oily! Dad says I can't even get burned, anyway!"

"What would he know?" Bulma asked. "When has your dad ever come to the beach?"

"...Never," Trunks admitted sulkily. Bulma ruffled his hair and gave him a smile.

"Hey," she told him encouragingly, "I'll get him to come next time. I promise. Now go play!" She gave Trunks a little push on the rump toward Goten and he glared back at her before smiling almost immediately.

"Hi," Goten said cheerfully, a huge grin on her face as she waved at her new best friend. "I'm Goten!"

"I'm Trunks," he muttered out in reply as he kicked at the sand. He sure hoped that cootie patch his mom had given him last night worked.

"I like your hair!" Goten added as her grin seemed to grow even wider. "It's a pretty color." She giggled as Trunks' face reddened slightly. "You wanna build a sand castle?"

"Nah," Trunks said with a shrug. "That's lame. Let's catch fish!" He sprinted toward the water with Goten chasing behind him. As they played and splashed in the water, Trunks noticed something important. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You have a tail, too!"

"Yeah!" Goten said with a giggle as she raised her tail, shaking water off of it at Trunks, making him sputter and cover his face.

"Watch it!" he protested as he wiped his face. "So if you have a tail, that means you're a Saiyan, too!"

"What's a Saiyan?" Goten asked as she tilted her head to one side.

"I dunno," Trunks admitted. "But my dad's one. He says he's the king and I'm a prince." He grinned at Goten and pointed at her. "Which means you gotta do whatever I tell you!"

"Nuh uh!" Goten objected. "No way!" She shoved Trunks so Trunks shoved her back but Goten's foot slipped in the wet sand and she fell backwards into the water.

"Oh man!" Trunks exclaimed, "I'm sorr–" but Goten was already bursting back out of the water as he said it and punched Trunks in the face.

"Goten!" Suno cried as she shot up from her beach chair. "I said play nice!" She started to march toward the children as Trunks punched Goten back but Bulma grabbed her arm with a grin.

"They're little warrior babies," Bulma reminded her friend. "This is probably good for them." The children traded tiny-fisted punches and small-footed kicks, their anger growing as, all the while, they felt a strange tingling in the backs of their necks, just above their shoulder blades. They focused on that energy and, with a cry of effort…

"Whoa!" Goten exclaimed, her teal eyes wide and starry as she jumped up and down. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Your hair! It turned all yellow and pointy!"

"It did?" Trunks asked as he reached his hands up and patted his golden, spiked hair. "Oh man, it did! That's so cool! Yours did, too!" Goten let out a wordless squeal of excitement as she shook her fists. "I feel a lot stronger now!"

"Me too!"

Suno and Bulma stared at their tiny Super Saiyans with wide eyes and slacked jaws. This was certainly something new.


	103. Adventures in Otherworld!

Chapter Hundred-three

Adventures in Otherworld! Warriors of the Afterlife!

"Hey Kaiou," Goku said as she, Kaiou, and Bubbles walked along Snake Way with halos over their heads, "How come you didn't get wished back with everyone else?"

"I chose not to," Kaiou explained. "It's not like I was going to just leave you wandering in eternity by yourself. It'd be about a century before anyone else you knew showed up."

"Aww, thanks!" Goku replied cheerfully.

"Besides," Kaiou added, "Where else am I going to go? Since, y'know, someone _blew up my planet!"_

"I said I was sorry!"

"It's been three hours! I'm still allowed to be mad!"

"Where are we going, anyway?" Goku asked. "We're not going back to the Check-in station, are we?"

"Ohh no," Kaiou assured her with a bit of a grin. "Well, yes. But that's not our final destination. Once we get there, I'll get us a ferry to Daikaiou's planet. He's kinda like my boss. That's where the best students of the four Kaious gather, the greatest fighters to have ever lived from all four quadrants of existeeeee!" Kaiou's explanation was turned into a squeal as Goku grabbed her and Bubbles under her arms and teleported to the check-in station using Instant Transmission. A few minutes of filling out paperwork and a few seconds of waiting followed after that before the trio were on a ferry to the Daikaiou's planet.

"So what other warriors will be there?" Goku asked eagerly, her eyes starry as she practically bounced in her seat. The ferrymaster, a skeleton in a long black cloak, silently turned to give her a menacing stare and made a threatening motion with his oar before returning to his duty.

"Oh, there'll be all sorts of warriors there," Kaiou assured her. "Though I haven't exactly kept up with who South, East, or West have trained in a few millennia, I'm sure you'll run into my best student."

"I thought _I_ was your best student," Goku pointed out with no small amount of confusion.

"You may very well be," Kaiou admitted, "But I won't know until I see how you match up against… Olibu." For some reason, just the way Kaiou said the warrior's name made Goku's skin prickle with excitement. "Many of Earth's legends are based off of his great deeds. In fact, you already know one of them."

"I do?" Goku asked curiously.

"Oh sure, sure," Kaiou said with a grin. "Snake Way? Who do you think put the snake there?"

OoOoOoO

 _Ten Thousand Years Ago_

Humanity shivered in their stone homes as thunder clapped and the great serpent coiled and writhed in the skies above. Lightning flashed, illuminating the beast's body in shadows. It seemed to stretch for miles unending and every time its head burst through the clouds it let out an ungodly cry that stabbed fear into the hearts of men. Their arrows and catapults had done nothing to stop its advance and it seemed all that was left to do was wait for the end. They prayed to the gods for someone to save them in this, their darkest hour.

Atop the highest mountain in the world, breaking over the clouds to look the beast in the eye, came Olibu. He glared from the mountain's peak at the beast with his amethyst eyes that burned with fire and his great starmetal warhammer slung across his shoulders.

"My father told me," he said to himself, "That when this final labor was done, I would see my honor restored and find my place among the gods." He brought his warhammer forward and prepared to throw himself at the beast. "Thou shalt die this day, demon!" he bellowed in challenge as he leaped off the mountain and flew at the serpent. He swung his mighty hammer as the snake opened its jaws and its poisoned fangs gleamed in the moonlight. The titanic battle shook the very foundations of heaven and earth.

To his great surprise, Olibu found himself standing atop the coiled carcass of the snake on the edge of a platform overlooking a sea of yellow clouds. He remembered the final blow he struck on his enemy and had felt his last breath slip from his body as he succumbed to the poison that coursed through his blood from the wounds he had taken in battle. Now, though, he was unharmed. Yet this was not the great mountain he was promised. These were not the hallowed halls of Elysium. Where was his godly father? With his great eyes, Olibu saw a speck in the far distance. He hopped down from the snake's corpse and grabbed it by the fangs, hurling it to the horizon with all his might. To his astonishment, the snake froze in midair and hung over the yellow clouds. With nothing else to do and questions beyond counting, Olibu set off toward the speck, hoping to find his answers.

OoOoOoO

"So his dad wasn't a god?" Goku asked as the ferry continued on its way.

"No," Kaiou stated matter of factly. "He was just an exceptionally powerful and long-lived mortal like the rest of his clan. Olibu never met him in Otherworld, of course. His father was a bit too wicked to get to hold onto his body." They came upon a massive wall of clouds and Kaiou grinned. "Ah," he said, "Here we are!" Goku grinned broadly and bounced excitedly again as the ferry broke through the cloud wall and hung in the air above a world easily a hundred times the size of Kaiou's home planet. Maybe even bigger than the Earth! Far down below, Goku could see a world absolutely crawling with fighters. The ferry began to descend but Goku couldn't wait.

"Look out, dead guys!" Goku crowed as she climbed onto the ferry's edge. "Here I come!" She hopped off the boat and rolled into an expert swimmer's dive as she plummeted toward the planet below. Kaiou shook his head with a rueful smile before looking to the ferrymaster.

"You're… uh… you're still gonna charge me for three people, aren't you?" he asked. The ferrymaster nodded and Kaiou groaned. "Rats," he muttered as he fished for his wallet.

"Come now, Mijorin!" Olibu called in a booming voice as he laughed and tossed the purple fox-man away. "You'll have to do better than that!" A grey-skinned man with dark, two-tailed hair and a red gem in the center of his forehead came at Olibu from behind with a flying kick but the mightiest Earth-man ever born turned and dropped his friend with a right hook to the face. Tapkar and Maraikoh, the diminutive helmeted man and great purple dragon-man from the Western Quadrant attacked him in a pincer movement but he dropped the pair of them with a pair of lariats. The four warriors, along with the bearded Chapuchai, the fishman Arqua, the masked and muscular blue Papoi, the red insectoid man Torbie, and the frogman Froug, were left groaning in barely conscious heaps. "Perhaps another time, my fellows," he told them encouragingly. "For now, though, I'm afraid that I, Olibu, am still the greatest warrior alive or dead, save of course for–"

Whoever Olibu might have mentioned next was cut off when Goku impacted with the ground and sent him sprawling end over end. She climbed eagerly out of the hole as Olibu got quickly to his feet and the pair stared at one another curiously. She was a muscular woman in golden yellow and blue with spiky black hair and dark, inquisitive eyes that had a warrior's glint to them. He was an absolute mountain of a man, two feet taller than her with shoulders twice the size of her own head. He had long, flowing golden hair, purple eyes that burned with endless intensity, and wore a white chiton with brown leather straps to secure it over his shoulders, brown boots, and an orange band across his forehead. They both had halos over their heads.

"Hi there!" Goku greeted excitedly as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Goku! I'm from Earth, too!" Olibu looked at her hand for a moment before he let out a booming laugh and taking her hand in his own giant mitt to shake it eagerly.

"Well met, fair Goku!" he replied enthusiastically. "Are you also a student of the Kaiou?"

"Yup!" Goku told him as she met the strength and enthusiasm of his handshake, to Olibu's slight surprise. "He says I might be his best student!"

"Then there is but one way to settle this," Olibu declared. "We shall grapple to see who is the greatest pupil of the Lord of Worlds!"

"That sounds awesome!" Goku agreed eagerly. Wrestling was fun! She hadn't done it in what felt like forever!

"Fetch the oil!" Olibu bellowed before casting off his chiton. Goku looked momentarily surprised before she shrugged and went along with it, stripping down as well.

OoOoOoO

Pikkon sat up with an annoyed groan at the sound of a rumble on the planet below reaching his superhearing as he sat on one of the satellite spheres orbiting the Daikaiou's planet. This was supposed to be his peaceful spot, where he could be left alone. It was far enough away that you actually couldn't hear Olibu laughing. Most of the time. Why was everyone from the North Quadrant so loud? People in the West knew how to keep their mouths shut. Not that he really came up here to meditate or reflect on the universe or the meaning of life or any of that crap. He just wanted to be left alone. Take a nap. Count clouds. Everyone down there was so much weaker. So beneath him. He could defeat each and every one of them with a single blow. Pikkon'd been the strongest being to ever live or die for fifty thousand years. It was mind-numbingly boring. There were times that he contemplated letting go of his physical form and passing on to Heaven to be reincarnated but he always backed out when he decided that the only thing more boring than being the strongest was to not exist at all.

The last time he'd been challenged was thirty thousand years ago, when he'd battled that corrupted ogre who'd been mutated from all the sin that had ever existed. That seemed like it was going to be fun. Then the Kaioushin had shown up and put a stop to it.

"Better go see what the hell Olibu's up to now," Pikkon muttered as he stood up and put on his weighted robes. He dusted off his weighted cap and put it on his head before leaping down off the rock to plummet toward the planet below. Maybe the new dead guy, whoever he was, might last a second punch. "Yeah, right…"

OoOoOoO

 _Fifty Thousand Years Ago_

"How bad is it, Chancellor?" Pikkon asked as he stood in the High Chancellor Baowan, leader of the planet of Teywon. The azure-skinned, heavy set older man sat behind his desk with his hands folded and a grim expression on his face.

"Very bad," Baowan told him gravely. "Your old nemesis Yeemin played one last trick on us. It seems he detonated a bomb inside the sun minutes before his execution and now the sun is dying. In twelve minutes, the last of the sun's rays will reach our planet. Then, we've got a few minutes before total darkness and about a week before the plants die and we all start to freeze to death."

"If only he'd used his vast intellect for good," Pikkon muttered sadly as he shook his head, mourning his most hated enemy even now. "Is there anything I can do?"

"There is," Baowan assured him. "My scientists believe that your Thunder Flash Attack might be able to restart the sun. The only thing is that, well, you'd have to be in the heart of it for it to take full effect."

"I understand, sir," Pikkon replied as he nodded slowly. Even as powerful and durable as he was, Pikkon would never survive the heat of the sun's core. It would have to be his life for the lives of all the world. He made his way toward the large glass doors of the balcony overlooking the capital city.

"God bless you, Pikkon," the High Chancellor said breathlessly as he stood up to salute Pikkon. The green man, the only one of his race, looked back with a smile and shook his head.

"I'm not anyone special," Pikkon said as he had countless times, "I'm just lucky." Then he flew out the window. He didn't head straight out into space, however. He headed back to his apartment first. There was someone he had to see. His wife Gwabaou was waiting for him on the couch in their living room, already shivering. Her turquoise skin light up at the sight of him and she leaped over the couch to throw herself into his arms. Then she looked up at his face and saw that he wasn't smiling.

"What is it?" she asked softly, tears already in her eyes. "What do they need you to do?" A tear rolled down her cheek and Pikkon wiped it away with a thumb. He loved her so much. Loved her with all his heart. This was the only thing that gave him fear. Not the countless battles or the brushes with death. This moment. Knowing that he would lose her forever.

"I'm the only one who can fix the sun, Gwa," he told her. "I only have this one chance to save the world." She smiled through her tears and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"That's all you've ever needed."

"I love you," Pikkon said reverently as he held her face in his hands, "Until the end of time." He kissed her again before he was agonizingly forced to pull away. He put his cloak over her shoulders before he flew out the window and barreled out into the sky at top speed with both fists forward.

In seconds, he was out of Teywon's atmosphere. As he hurtled past planets and stars and barreled toward the grey, collapsing husk of their sun; his thoughts were on her. How he wished they'd had more time. Wished that they could have had more. How he wished that the genetic mutation thad had caused him to be born with green skin and that had given his awesome, insurmountable powers had not made it so they could never have children. Then, almost before he knew it, he was inside the sun and there was nothing left to do.

"THUNDER FLASH ATTACK!"

OoOoOoO

"Well met, Goku," Olibu congratulated after his defeat and the pair shook hands. "You are indeed a mighty warrior and the finest in our quadrant."

"Nah," Goku told him with a shrug. "You should see my son, Gohan! He's even stronger than me!" Olibu seemed almost startled by that information before he laughed again. He seemed to find humor in everything.

"Then the lad must be a mighty warrior indeed!" he declared. "Perhaps, when he dies, he can even challenge–"

"Olibu," Pikkon remarked dryly as he landed in front of them. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Ah, Pikkon!" the behemoth declared jovially. "I was just talking about you! I was testing the mettle of our new arrival here, Goku of the Northern Quadrant."

"Okaaaay," Pikkon said with a roll of his eyes. "But _why are you naked?"_ Olibu looked at him curiously.

"How else are we supposed to wrestle?" he asked.

"Yeah," Goku agreed. "Works for me!"

"Put your clothes on!" Pikkon snapped and they quickly did so.

"So hey," Goku said as she tugged on her golden yellow overshirt. "You're the guy Olibu was talking about, right? The strongest guy here?" Pikkon shrugged. "Awesome! Let's fight!"

"You sure you wanna do that?" Pikkon asked in a bored tone. Goku nodded eagerly and Pikkon shrugged. "If you say so," he muttered. He threw out a jab faster than Goku could see and she instantly vanished from sight, hurtling over the horizon. "Yeah," he muttered as he started to turn away. "That's about what I fi–" Then Goku was in front of him with a bright smile despite the bruise on her cheek. "What the–?!"

"Not bad!" Goku said encouragingly before she got into her stance. "Now I know what I'm working with!" Then she powered up into a Super Saiyan, her hair spiking up on end and her eyes flashing teal.

"Oh," Pikkon remarked once he was over his initial shock. "So you're one of those Super Saiyans."

"There's other Saiyans here besides me?" Goku asked. Pikkon shrugged lackadaisically.

"I think there's like… five or six. Maybe ten. Definitely not more than twenty. I beat them too," Pikkon told her, "Centuries ago. Still wanna try your luck?"

"For the strongest guy here," Goku retorted, "You really don't seem all that interested in fighting."

"Just haven't met anyone worth my while," Pikkon explained as he got into his guard.

"Lemme fix that!" Goku exclaimed with a grin as she flew at him. The two met in a cataclysmic exchange that had not been seen by any among the dead warriors in eons beyond counting. They struck, dodged, and countered with blistering speeds. Even Olibu, the now-third mightiest being to ever have lived, struggled to keep up with their tremendous power. They finally came to a stop, each one scuffed and scratched, sweating slightly with their breath only slightly ragged.

"I'll admit," Pikkon said as he caught his breath, "I'm almost impressed with you, Goku. Almost." He could feel something stirring in his heart when he fought her. It wasn't much, though. He hadn't gotten serious, after all. Goku chuckled and nodded.

"Thanks," she told him before smirking. "Now are you gonna stop holding back?" Pikkon looked at her in surprise.

"You can tell?" he asked. Goku nodded again and Pikkon chuckled. "Okay. I mean, if you wanna lose that badly–"

"Were you planning on talking me to death?" Goku interrupted while flicking her halo. "'Cause there _might_ be a problem with that." Pikkon rolled his eyes and took off his cloak and hat, stuffing the cloak into the hat before dropping it on the ground. The tall black hat crashed into the earth and burrowed down into a crater, shaking the ground under their feet with its impact. ' _Huh,'_ Goku thought. ' _Weighted clothing. Funny how that works out.'_ Then Pikkon was on her in a flash, his fist cracking across her jaw and sending her flying.

To Pikkon's surprise, however, she rebounded from the blow and met him strength for strength. No matter how hard he pushed, she pushed him back. She had an answer for every attack and her speed and power actually matched his own!

' _What is this?'_ Pikkon thought as the battle raged on. ' _What is this wild pulsing in my heart? This fire burning through my veins?!'_ As Goku's elbow drove into his stomach and his knee cracked into her temple, he realized what it was. ' _It's been so long that I'd forgotten it… forgotten the exhilaration of a real fight!'_ Their fists met in a constant explosion, a furious rush exchange that shook the very foundations of the Daikaiou's planet. ' _This is the feeling I've been searching for for fifty thousand years!'_ Their rush was a complete stalemate and the shockwave sent both of them flying back, stopping themselves to dig their feet into the dirt and tear apart the landscape.

"Come on!" Goku called out in a challenge, practically bursting with excitement. "Is that all you've got?!" Pikkon actually _smiled._ Something Olibu had not ever seen him do.

"You're definitely a worthy opponent, Goku!" Pikkon called in response. "You're the strongest warrior I've ever faced. I'm afraid, though, that only one of us can be the strongest in the Otherworld!" He started going through the precise and articulate motions as the ground beneath his feet began to burn. "So here's my best shot!"

"Awesome!" Goku declared as she brought her hands to her side. "Then here's mine! Kaaaameeee…"

"Thundeeeer…"

"Haaameeee…"

"Flaaaaash…"

"HAAAAAA!"

"ATTACK!"

The pillar of red flame collided with the beam of blue-white light and neutralized each other in a dazzling eruption of light that could be seen from the check-in station. Goku dropped out of her Super Saiyan state as she and Pikkon both collapsed, exhausted and drained of their energy. Then, in the stillness, Pikkon… laughed. First it was a snicker. Then a chuckle. A guffaw, here and there. Then Pikkon threw back his head and let out a hearty, full-throated laugh that shook his entire body. A rival. An equal. A challenge. At last! Though he was as dead as he had ever been, he finally felt _alive._

"Hey!" cried a rail-thin old man in sunglasses with a bushy white beard as long as his thick white hair. He looked comically out of place with his denim jeans, white shirt, denim jacket and loafers with a boombox over his shoulder that blasted only the gnarliest, sickest jams in creation. "What the heck is all this racket, man? You two are harshin' my vibes!" This was the Daikaiou. The second-highest being in all of creation.

OoOoOoO

"Goku!" Kaiou called as Goku was sparring with Pikkon. She'd been dead now for nearly two years and she was starting to get used to how the way her undead body felt. How she never needed to sleep, how she never got tired or needed to eat.

She still ate. She _was_ Goku, after all.

"Time out!" Goku exclaimed and Pikkon immediately stopped, his punch an inch away from her face. "What is it, Kaiou?" she called down to him. There was a man standing next to him that looked strangely familiar to her.

"There's someone here who'd like to see you!" Kaiou explained. The man looked up at her and grinned.

"Is that my little Goku?" he asked playfully. "It can't be! You're much too big!" Goku gasped with recognition and squealed with excitement as she shook her fists.

"Grandpa!" she cried before turning to Pikkon. "GottacutthisoneshortPikkonseeyoulaterbyyyeee!" Then she flew down to her grandfather and lifted him bodily off the ground, laughing exuberantly as she hugged him tightly and leaving Pikkon very confused.

"I'm happy to see you too, Goku!" Grandpa Gohan assured his granddaughter as she squeezed him. "Although," he admitted, "I was hoping I wouldn't be seeing you for a long time. What happened?"

"Well," Goku began as she set him down. "It's kind of a long story."

"I don't know if you've noticed," he remarked, "But I don't think either of us are going anywhere." Goku grinned and started to tell her story before something stopped her.

"Uh, Grandpa?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Could you…" she waved her hand in the air, not knowing the words to use. "Look old? I've never seen you like this and it's kinda throwing me off." As he was now, Grandpa Gohan looked about thirty. His bushy whiskers were no more than a black pencil mustache and he had a full head of shaggy black hair.

"Ah," he said. "I see. Very well, if it will make you more comfortable." Grandpa Gohan concentrated and, before her very eyes, aged to the point where he looked familiar to her, with his large white mustache and a cap atop his bald head. "Is that better?"

"Mmhmm," Goku said with an enthusiastic nod. Then they walked and she began to tell her tale. "Oh! I have a son! I named him after you!" She began excitedly.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Grandpa Gohan said proudly. "I'm glad you found someone special in your time on Earth, Goku. What's his name?"

"Suno," Goku said wistfully.

"...Isn't that a girl's name?"

"Yup!"

"Ah, I see. That's nice." Grandpa Gohan came to a stop. "I'm afraid I just have more questions now." Goku laughed.

OoOoOoO

"So it turned out that Jackie Chun was Master Roshi the whole time!" Goku exclaimed as if she were revealing a shocking secret. Grandpa Gohan chuckled.

"I recall that trick," he told her. "When I was under his tutelage, I entered the Budoukai as well. I was defeated in the finals by a mysterious Bruce Lao."

OoOoOoO

"So it turns out I have a brother!"

"Oh, really? Is he friendly?"

"Nah. He kidnapped Gohan so I teamed up with Piccolo to kick his butt."

"Ah. That's a shame."

OoOoOoO

"Really?" Grandpa Gohan asked. "Your hair turns blonde?" he looked at her curiously, as if studying her face and trying to picture it. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I just can't see it."

"That's okay!" Goku assured him cheerfully. "I'll show you!" Then she powered up to Super Saiyan and Grandpa Gohan had to lift his jaw off the ground.

OoOoOoO

"So," Grandpa Gohan asked as they finished their walk around the world and Goku concluded her tale. "What will you do now, Goku?"

"I still have to reach the second stage of Super Saiyan," Goku told him. "I know there's even more after that. I sensed Gohan starting to break through to it during his battle with Cell. I just have to push myself."

"Really?" Grandpa Gohan asked in disbelief. "How much stronger do you need to be?"

"It's not about need," Goku told him. "It's what I _want_ to do. I have to keep pushing myself. Even now that I'm dead, I know that there's more for me to do! I have to keep climbing!" Grandpa Gohan laughed as Goku dropped down to a knee for him to hug her.

"I'm so proud of you, Goku," he whispered tenderly as he held her close.

"Thanks, Grandpa," she whispered back as she held him. "I've missed you a lot."

OoOoOoO

As Goku gave a final cry of power and rage and broke through into the third Super Saiyan form, the Kaioushin watched from the Sacred World of the Kaiou with growing interest.

"Interesting. _Very_ interesting…" For seven years, the Kaioushin had watched the mortal Son Goku's power grow. She could be very useful in what was to come next. "Kibito! Send for the mortal Uranai Baba. I think Goku has more than earned her one day on Earth, don't you?"


	104. Twilight of the Gods!

Chapter Hundred-four

Twilight of the Gods! Tales of the Kaioushin!

It began so long ago that there is not a single mortal being whose dimmest ancestors could recall its happening. So long ago that there are planets that were born and grew life after it had long since passed. It was the end of balance and prosperity. The end of the gentle age of peace. It was the beginning of chaos and darkness. It was the death of the gods.

It began inauspiciously enough, on a planet long-since destroyed. It was a dead world of dust and ruin where the only things that lived were bitter memories and the wails of the damned on the wind. Sitting alone in his derelict and despondent fortress was the vengeful wizard Bibidi. A sickly green little bug-eyed warlock clad in blue with an orange cloak about his diminutive shoulders, he was the planet's sole inhabitant, having sacrificed the life-energy of all those who had lived on it to power the spell he was crafting. He muttered tongues long-forgotten even by the Attendant of the Hakaishin over a pit of blackness where a malevolent pink ooze bubbled and writhed dimly at the bottom.

There was a burst of light as though a star came into existence that shone through the darkness of Bibidi's miserable and decrepit dwelling as four luminous beings suddenly appeared before him. They all had small, spherical earrings dangling from their pointed ears and skin that was colored a deep amethyst.

There was mighty Nan, tall and proud, with his strong iron jaw and spikes of orange hair, clad in green and black with an orange sash about his waist and orange boots. In one of his mighty fists, he held a chu of pure katchin, the spiked end of which was larger than Bibidi's entire body. Beside him stood wise and venerable Bei, with blue hair and a thick mustache, clad in turquoise and blue. He was shorter and stouter than Nan but he had great knowledge and experience that was second only to mighty Shengda in their ranks. He was armed with two hooked shuang gou that shone like slivers of starlight in his hands. Beside him stood the beautiful and headstrong Xī, dressed in pink and red and armed with her twin tonfas, one that glowed like a new star and one that was as dark blue as a frozen planetoid. Her spiked lavender hair spilled down her shoulders and back, nearly touching her legs. Lastly, there was Dong, the smallest and youngest of the four. His ivory white hair stood in stiff peaks and his outfit of periwinkle and blue was clearly meant to mimic that of Bei, whom he most admired. As he had not come into his weapon yet, he simply held up his fists, which glowed brightly with Qi energy, while trying his best to look fierce and godlike. They all stood together, strong and proud, assured in their victory before the conflict had even begun. For they were the righteous. They were the just. They were goodness personified. How could they not triumph?

Bibidi recoiled at the sight of them, their light the antithesis and antipode of his darkness. He hissed aloud as his face coiled in disgust and bile while he shrunk back closer to the pit where he had been working his enchantments.

"Surrender, Bibidi," Bei began civilly as he pointed his swords at the sorcerer's head. "Your atrocities upon this universe are beyond the counting of even we immortals. End this now and we will end your life painlessly."

"Demons!" Bibidi spat, his vile spray flecking between his teeth. "I shall not be stopped until the universe has been freed of your arrogant, insidious, slovenly kind! I will not rest until all the gods are dead!"

"Silence, blasphemer!" Dong snapped hotly. Bei held one of his blades out in front of the young god to steady him and the godling collected himself. "Whatever crimes you believe the gods have wrought, you have killed countless innocents in your endeavors to destroy us. It ends today!"

"Never!" Bibidi shrieked vehemently, shaking his diminutive fists, his eyes wide and

bloodshot.

"However you plan to oppose us," Nan interjected, "I hope it's at least a worthy battle. I haven't had a proper fight since that Hirudegarn beast. So what is it this time, Bibidi?" Nan asked. "Did you strike a deal with the King of the Demon Realm? Mechikabura, was it?"

"The time for talking is over," Xī insisted as she twirled her tonfas. "This creature obviously feels no remorse for the senseless slaughter he has caused and he has long since used up my share of mercy. I say we finish this _now!"_ She threw herself at Bibidi in a flying leap and brought her weapons crashing down, only to be knocked back by the energies coming from the pit. Bibidi threw back his head in mad laughter as she crashed painfully into the wall and the malevolent pink light from the pit grew brighter and brighter.

"There is no point in trying to stop it! The ritual has begun and it cannot be _un_ done. I have sacrificed the energy of all on this planet, ten _thousand_ kilis, to draw him here!" Bibidi cackled while the four gods watched in astonishment and confusion as a roiling, seething column of pink sludge oozed forth from the pit. It quivered and seized and made a horrible sound, as though it were screaming with the suffering voices of countless billions. Tendrils rose up from its formless, abominable mass and it began to take shape. Bei's eyes flickered with faint realization as he recalled events he had witnessed as a boy when he, Shengda, and Dong's predecessor had been but godlings themselves. The other three young gods steeled themselves for whatever battle was to come as the tumorous pink mass finally solidified and concentrated itself down into a humanoid shape.

The god-killer was… a small thing. It was diminutive, even shorter than Dong, with red eyes inside of black sockets, under a protruding pink brow. Tiny holes ran up its arms, across its chest, and along either side of the strange, swept-back horn atop its head. It only had one finger and thumb on each of its strange little hands, each of which had a black nail. It had black, gold-trimmed bands on its forearms, black boots, and baggy white pants with a black belt and Bibidi's Majin seal across the large golden buckle of its belt.

"I know this creature…" Bei murmured as the little monster looked at them as if studying its prey. Bibidi laughed again as the creature balled its fists.

"That's right," Bibidi declared with malevolent glee. "The mighty Boo is now under _my_ control! My _Majin_ Boo!" He laughed again as Bei's eyes widened with horror.

"We have to leave," he told the other three. "Now!" But Nan was already moving to attack, his pride having been challenged. The slightest shift in his body language was enough for Majin Boo to go on the attack and he let out a hellish scream before throwing himself at Nan with terrifying speed. The pair crashed through the roof of the castle, which began to crumble around the other four. Bei, Dong, and Xī escaped the castle's collapse with their Instantaneous Movement and appeared outside the ruins, watching Nan and Boo battle in the black sky above.

"I don't understand," Dong asked in confusion. "What is Majin Boo?"

"The great destroyer," Bei explained breathlessly as the clash of god and demon overhead shook the heavens like thunder. "He is an engine of destruction, without will or thought. He lives only to destroy and to consume all that lives. His hunger is unending. He will not stop until everything is dead!"

"What do we do?" Dong asked as Xī kept her eyes turned skyward impatiently.

"I-I am not sure," Bei admitted reluctantly. "It took five Kaioushin to conduct the sealing spell. Now only Shengda and I remain who can recall the ritual. Damn that Beerus," he added under his breath.

"Forget sealing anything," Xī told her elder hotly as she readied herself to fly up and join Nan. "Bibidi will just try and summon it again! I say we destroy this beast and then we slay its master like the cur that he is!"

"Boo cannot be destroyed!" Bei bellowed as Nan and Boo dropped out of the sky with a tremendous crash that nearly knocked the three divinities off of their feet. Nan emerged from the crater with one hand holding the back of Boo's head and the other fist clenching his mace.

"Ha!" Nan boomed despite his injuries. "So this is the great beast that had you so worried, Bei?" he asked while holding the dazed Boo high overhead. "He was no great challenge." Nan was scraped and scratched, with his clothes somewhat torn, but he otherwise looked unharmed. He swung his chu with enough force to crack a planet in half… straight into Boo's outstretched hand. Steam burst from the holes across Boo's body in a blood-chilling whistle and Boo's lips curled in rage as it showed its fangs. The unbreakable, indestructible katchin buckled and crumpled in its grip as it ripped the chu from Nan's hand and slid out of Nan's hand like running water. It held the chu in both hands and swung for all it was worth, cracking Nan across the jaw and sending him hurtling over the horizon before sending the weapon flying off into the vacuum of space in disdain. Boo flew off after him and Xī went to follow.

"No!" Bei told her as he grabbed her ankle, stopping her in mid-flight. "We cannot engage Boo!"

"Well, we can't just leave Nan here!" Xī shot back. "That thing could kill him!"

"If we stay here, it will kill us all!"

"If we go to Nan and retrieve him," Dong offered, "Then we will be able to take him back home, where Boo will not be able to sense us and Shengda can treat Nan's injuries. Then Shengda, in his infinite wisdom, will be able to come up with a plan so that we can stop this monster."

Bei nodded his approval. "That is an acceptable plan," he told his pupil. "Now come! Nan needs us!" They teleported toward him in an instant, to see Nan and Boo still locked in their deadly battle. Although Boo's power and ferocity seemed to have grown tremendously since he had been awoken, Nan still appeared to hold the advantage. "Nan!" Bei called over the roar of battle. "Come with us! We must escape from this place!"

"Flee?!" Nan asked incredulously as he took his eye off of the battle. "Who do you think you're talking to?!"

"Nan, look out!" Xī cried out in horror as she pointed over Nan's shoulder. Nan looked back toward Boo, who had expanded his size into a tidal wave of pink sludge and crashed over Nan. As the mighty god kicked and screamed and tried to swim above the mire, the trio thought that Boo was trying to suffocate him. To their horror, they discovered that the truth was far more terrible. After a handful of heartbeats, Nan stopped struggling and the pink mass returned to a solid form. Only now, Buu was far larger, a mountainous, monstrous mass of muscle and hatred. Veins spread all over his body and his teeth were clenched hard, his face screwed up in an expression of constant, mind-shattering fury.

"Run!" Bei whispered as Boo opened his mouth impossibly wide. Instead of a shriek, he let out a titanic roar as the planet shook and split in half under his feet. The trio teleported out of existence and reappeared on the Sacred World of the Kais.

"Wh-what happened?!" Xī gasped as she panted and struggled to catch her breath, her entire body trembling like a leaf. "What did that… that _thing_ do to Nan?!"

"It doesn't matter!" Bei told her as he drew his weapons again. "You two must go to Shengda! He will know how to contact the Hakaishin. If he's awake, he'll be able to put an end to this madness!"

"If he's awake?!" Dong exclaimed in exasperated horror. Before Bei had a chance to reprimand his charge, Majin Boo appeared before them. Somehow he had not only absorbed Nan's physical power but his Kaioushin powers as well.

"Go!" Bei roared at them before turning his attention back to Boo. The pair flew off, neither having the energy yet to use Instantaneous Movement again as Bei charged toward his death.

"He's dead…" Xī muttered forlornly as they flew as fast as they could toward the mountaintop Shengda spent most of his time on. "There's no way he can fight that thing! Nan was the mightiest of us below Shengda, how can he possibly stand against Majin Boo? We should have stood together!"

"We must respect Bei's orders," Dong told her, the steadiness in his voice belying his own all-encompassing terror. "Our strength would not have been enough to overwhelm Boo. We _all_ would have fallen. This is the only course of action."

"But what if Boo absorbs Shen-gaaah!" Xī retorted before her words were contorted into a scream of pain as something bit into her shoulder. She came to a sudden stop and clutched at her arm as milky white, iridescent blood seeped through her fingers. Dong was forced to stop beside her and they saw one of Bei's shuang gao buried in the dirt before looking back to see Majin Boo barreling towards them, the other sword clenched in his massive fist until it shattered into stardust. Xī barely had a chance to realize that Boo was coming directly at her before Dong shoved her aside.

"Go!" he cried at her in the half-second before Boo crashed into him. She turned and flew as fast as she could, clutching her hands over her ears to try and drown out the sounds of Dong's desperate struggle and final, dying screams. She could see the mountaintop over the horizon and doubled her speed, flying so fast that her hair began to burn. She was nearly there. This awful nightmare could end and then–

Boo came crashing down on top of her, driving one massive fist into her back. She hit the ground hard and for several seconds she couldn't feel her legs. She crawled through the dirt, spiking her tonfas into the ground to pull herself further along, each stab burning or freezing the ground that they touched. Buu stalked toward her slowly now, apparently having consumed enough sentient life to have developed the capacity for cruelty. Xī managed to drag herself to her feet and brought her tonfas up to try and make a last, desperate stand, hoping that if nothing else, the feeling of their deaths would bring Shengda to strike this monster down. Majin Boo let out a snarl and reached his tendrils out to consume her as Xī grit her teeth and looked at him defiantly.

Then a deafening boom filled the air and a blinding light even greater than that which had been created by the four gods appearing in Bibid's lair split open the sky. Shengda the Highest floated down out of the light, his purple cape billowing behind him. He was pink, unlike the other gods, and was very large and round. Yet, despite his almost comical appearance and his great love of food, there was an incredible nobility and powered that seemed to radiate from him the way heat and light came from a life-giving star. Majin Boo turned his attention toward Shengda and reached out for him with his tendrils, rushing toward him like a mighty wave. To her horror, Xī realized that Shengda was not raising his hands to defend himself at all. What was he doing?!

"No!" Xī screamed as she flew at Boo. She tried to bat the tendrils away with her tonfas, bringing them down on the main mass with all her strength. Her tonfas exploded on the impact and sent her flying, leaving one arm badly burned and the other so frostbitten that it might as well have been burnt. She tumbled through the grass and looked up in time to see the pink wave come crashing down over Shengda. She let out a wordless scream of heartbreak and agony because this was the end of everything. If this monster had grown so powerful from absorbing Nan, how much more nightmarishly invincible would he become from consuming the greatest god of all?

Yet to Xī's surprise and amazement, she could actually feel Boo growing _weaker_ as his mass roiled and shook, taking form once more.

"Boooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" The god-killing abomination squealed in laughter in a far higher, almost childlike voice. Xī's mouth hung open in sheer disbelief at the sight of him. He was much shorter now, and rounder, with a wide, closed-eyed smile as his neutral expression. He had the same purple cape and the same black vest, his white pants now puffed out in the same way and his black boots had turned yellow and even had the same style. Except for the lack of ears, hair, or a nose; the similarities between Majin Boo and Shengda were haunting.

"Majin Boo!" Bibidi declared as he suddenly appeared in a swirl of darkness and shadow. "What is the meaning of this?!" Majin Boo looked at him and Xī prayed for a moment that he would retain enough of Shengda's purity to strike the wicked sorcerer down.

"Boo want cake!" Majin Boo declared while thrusting his fists into the air. "Boo want ice cream! Boo want candy!" If it were under any other circumstances it would have been comical but Xī still wanted to scream in agony.

"V-very well, Majin Boo," Bibidi stammered as he tried to get a handle on the situation. "If you destroy planets for me, I'll get you some sweets." A silence followed and Xi could not recall if it lasted seconds or centuries before Boo finally responded.

"Okay!" he declared cheerfully. Then he and Bibidi were gone.

Even as diminished as Boo's powers were with Shengda's calming influence restraining him, Xī could not face the monster in single combat. She could only follow after him and his master, tracking them by the trail of destruction they wrought and trying to bring whatever aid she could to those who survived. Finally, though, she had her moment to strike. After bringing Boo into a lull with cakes and other treats, Bibidi cast the spell to seal Majin Boo inside his egg, a brown, veined spherical shell that would make him easier to transport to the next planet since he was easily distracted. That was when Xī struck. She fired a blast of Qi to send Bibidi flying away before she turned her focus to the egg.

"Yunshu!" she cried, waving her arms through the air in an intricate glowing pattern. The egg glowed with a bright white light before Xī thrust out her arms and it vanished from sight.

"Noooo!" Bibidi cried in horror as he watched the egg disappear. "What have you done?!" He demanded. "Where have you sent my Majin Boo?!"

"I don't know," Xī admitted. She hadn't had enough time to fine-tune the spell enough to send Boo to a specific location. "I only know this: you will never, _ever_ find him."

"Foolish god," Bibidi scoffed as he narrowed his eyes with loathing. "I will never stop searching! If it takes me until the end of time, I will find him!" Xī's lips twisted up into a cruel smirk as she raised one hand into the air.

"Not what I meant," Xī told him as Bei's remaining shuang gao materialized in her hand. With a cry of hatred, she brought the sword down as hard as she could on Bibidi's head. Left in the stillness and the quiet, it finally came crashing down on Xī how lonely she now was. She was alone in the universe. The last of the Kaioushin.

OoOoOoO

The next several millennia were filled with near-endless work for Xī as she struggled to grow into her new roles and responsibilities. She now had to do the work of _five_ Kaioushin despite still only having the power of one. She was now master of the mechanism of reality and keeper of the balance between chaos and order. However, because of how much extra responsibility she had to undertake now that she was the sole creator god, she could not use the gentle hand she was meant to. She no longer had the time to focus on a select handful of races, crafting them, nurturing them, and guiding them. She could only plant the seed of life on the planets she chose for them and hope for the best.

Still, as the eons wore on and once her attendant Kibito came into existence, she managed to figure out how to make the universe more or less run by itself with a few well-placed spells that only needed to be maintained and recast once every few hundred thousand years. This finally gave Xī some amount of breathing room and allowed her to properly assume the Kaioushin's second function: to be protector as well as creator.

OoOoOoO

The green-skinned, red-headed space pirate bellowed with rage as he charged toward Xī. She had already defeated his crew rather easily and now he was the only one left. Xī looked at his red hair with a frown and rolled her eyes.

"Dead three million years, Nan," she muttered to herself, "And I'm still cleaning up your messes." Bojack was nearly on top of her before Xī thrust out her arm, driving her fist through his chest.

OoOoOoO

"So today," Xī said into her floating crystal ball in a soft voice as she fluttered her fingers, "We're just going to take it easy and relax. I know some of you out there could probably use this. I'm looking at you, Zamasu. I've seen what kind of videos you make." She'd made a GodTube account in the last few centuries and specialized in videos for calming, relaxation, and sleep. It was nice to know that she was helping out the other Kaious of the multiverse in some small way. "Now let's start with some deep brea–" she began before Kibito rather _loudly_ interrupted her.

"My Kaioushin!" he cried out as he ran to her. "Something in the Otherworld requires your immediate attention!"

"It had better be pretty damn important," Xī muttered, "If you're going to interrupt my stream!"

"Does the dead beginning to walk again count as damn important?" Kibito asked. Xī blinked and thought for a moment, deciding it did.

"Kibito," she ordered him, "Entertain the people! I'll be right back." Then she was gone in a blink of Instantaneous Movement. Kibito looked at the ball with a bemused expression before producing a book from his back pocket. Perhaps they would like to hear a bit from his manuscript…

OoOoOoO

Pikkon smirked to himself as a blow from the monster's red blade sent him hurtling back. Judging by the form it had taken earlier, the monster called itself Janemba. It had been much bigger then and much sillier. Now as it snarled at him in its lithe and malicious purple and red form, it pointed its red sword at Pikkon and snarled hatefully.

"All right!" Pikkon said to himself as he tossed his cape and hat aside. "Now we're getting somewhere!" He got down into a crouch and prepared to throw himself into the fray… only for a purple woman in pink and red to stand between himself and his enemy. "Hey!" he snapped at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"You don't know who I am," she told him coolly as she looked over her shoulder at him. "So I'll let that one slide." Then she turned back to Janemba and caught his sword between two fingertips, her other hand facing toward him with her thumb tucked into her palm. "Jouka," she whispered in a voice that was simultaneously gentle yet carried a booming echo that seemed to fill all of creation. Janemba's body went rigid and he screamed with agony as a bright white light tore him apart from the inside out, dissolving him into stardust and leaving a very confused ogre in his place. "So you're the one who caused all this trouble, huh?" she asked him with a smile. The young ogre began to stammer out an apology and she chuckled while ruffling his hair. "You're gonna work for me now, okay?"

"D-doing what?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I'll think of something." Then they were gone and Pikkon was left _very_ confused.

"What the hell was that?!" he demanded.

OoOoOoO

"O ye who believe," Kibito was reading when Xī returned with an extra party member. "Take your precautions, then advance–"

"Kibito!" Xī called. "I'm taking my stream back! I need you to find the new kid a job!" Kibito rolled his eyes and sat up with a groan, putting his book away again. Why is it that she was millions of years his senior and yet _he_ was the adult?

OoOoOoO

The Kaioushin sat in calm meditation, as she had for nearly two hundred years. She had heard the whisperings and seen the signs. Somehow, Bibidi had returned. Well, not Bibidi exactly but a form of him. A clone called Babidi. He had been born almost the minute Bibidi had died, no doubt through some final act of black sorcery, and had spent these last eons regaining his power and forging alliances in search of his father's beast. Now it was up to Xī to find him before he did. So she had meditated in total silence and solemnity, expanding her consciousness to comb through all of the planets in existence. In this expansion, she saw chaos, pain, and strife that broke her heart. If there were more Kaioushin, she would have had the time to right these wrongs herself but she was all alone now and the location of Majin Boo was paramount. If Babidi found him before she did, all would be lost. Finally, in a starburst of clarity, she found the trace remnants of her teleportation spell and the irremovable filth of Bibidi's own dark energies.

"I've found it," she whispered to herself. She had sent Boo's egg to a primitive young planet called Earth. Now that the hunt was on, she had to forge her own alliances to stand against whatever forces Babidi was assembling. She stretched out the ethereal fingers of her mind to touch the planet's mightiest warrior. "Son Gohan…" she whispered.


	105. Normality's End!

Chapter Hundred-five

Normality's End! Superheroics and Meetings with God!

A lot had changed over the course of seven years. Despite not keeping to his training as diligently as he could, Gohan was still the most physically powerful being on the planet. Thanks to expert marketing and presentation, Hercule Satan had made himself the most famous man on the planet. The real winner over the last seven years, of course, was Bulma, who was now the wealthiest and, practically speaking, _actual_ most powerful person on the planet. She had finally been able to mass produce scouters and body armor for huge emergency response and military contracts respectively and her work to crack Gero's work with the androids and the nanites used in Lapis and Lazuli had led to an explosion in beneficial medical technologies including prosthetic limbs and medical nanites that fought and eradicated nearly all maladies and injuries. Best of all, Bulma had been able to scale up the infinite energy reactor that powered Lapis and Lazuli and machines that had been once designed for death and destruction now provided free, clean energy to nearly everyone on Earth. It was a golden time of prosperity.

OoOoOoO

"Damn it," Yamcha groaned under his breath as he flipped through the newspaper while sitting at the kitchen table. "Just… damn it!" Chi-Chi caught the tail end of his mutterings as she came in from dropping the twins off at school that morning.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she put her arms around his shoulders. Then she noticed something in the sports section that caught her eye. "Is that… Puar?" she asked, pointing to a picture of the floating cat standing on a race track and holding up a large trophy while his pit crew poured champagne on his head.

"Yeah," Yamcha said with a shrug. "He's been a pretty successful formula one racer for a while now. Of course now the problem is that the governing body in charge of the races is cracking down to see whether or not being able to turn into a car is an unfair advantage. If it is, he'll lose his license until he learns how to drive normally."

"Is that what you're upset about?"

"Nah," Yamcha assured her. "Puar'll be fine; the guy's got like twelve different jobs. It's this," Yamcha said as he folded the paper back up and gestured to the front page.

"A Four Color Future?" The headline asked in bold with a subtitle that said "Extraordinary People in the Wake of Extraordinary Times." Under the headline were a series of full-color photographs of caped and costumed superheroes that populated the various major cities.

"Ever since Hercule gave that whole 'no such thing as limits' interview seven years ago, other heroes have started popping up all over the place. Thankfully none of them have shown up in North City yet— I guess that's our turf— but it's still frustrating since all of them work for free." Yamcha sighed and gave his wife a rueful smile. "Guess we'll have to get real jobs now," he said playfully.

"Well," Chi-Chi suggested, "You could always try sports."

"I could have," Yamcha agreed. "Back before I fought Piccolo or the Saiyans and before this whole hero thing made my abilities public knowledge. On paper, I could sign with any team I wanted because as soon as I show up, the game's pretty much over. Buuut," Yamcha continued, "No one'll hire me because I'll get blocked from the field cause, well, the game's over as soon as I show up." He sighed and shook his head. "I mean, it could be worse. Right now the strongest of these guys could have maybe won the 21st Budoukai. We're just lucky none of these guys have any real power."

OoOoOoO

"Mother! Goten! I'm home!" Gohan called as he opened the front door. He'd gone up to the Lookout to say hi to Mr. Piccolo and Dende and catch up. It had been a few months since Gohan had seen them last. Dende had finally hit whatever the Namekian growth spurt age was and was almost as tall as Gohan now. Goten came charging out of her room and nearly tackled her big brother through the wall as she excitedly leaped into his arms.

"Big Bro!" Goten cried happily as Gohan laughed and held her up over his head. "We learned about mom in class today!"

"You did?" Gohan asked as he let her down onto the ground, only for her to rush around his feet in a circle, hopped up on young energy and probably a few more fruit snacks than she should've had.

"They did," Suno said with a sigh as she walked in from her room. She was still wearing her glasses and had her hair up in a ponytail so school hadn't gotten out that long ago. "They were doing history today, or at least that's what Alice told me the lesson plan was, and apparently a lot more _recent_ history than I'd expected. Goten, be careful!" Suno told her daughter as she continued to race around Gohan. "You're going to make your brother trip! Go out in the backyard and play, okay?" Goten was already gone as Suno shouted after her. "Don't mess up the garden!" She chuckled softly before turning back to Gohan and tapping at a large envelope on the kitchen table that was sealed with a large orange star over a green circle with an H in the center of it. "Your letter came from Orange Star High School today," she told him excitedly. It was the one thing in the former Orange City that hadn't been named after Hercule. Satan City, Satan Banks, Satan Supermarkets. It really was ridiculous.

Gohan picked the letter up and opened it carefully, grinning from ear to ear as Suno couldn't help but stare at him. When had her baby boy gotten so tall? It felt like just a day ago he only came up to her elbow. Then one morning this giant young man came out of Gohan's bedroom, barely fitting in Gohan's pajamas!

"I got in!" Gohan exclaimed happily as he held his acceptance letter high over his head, his feet floating slightly off the ground. Suno whooped for joy and clapped, sharing in her son's excitement. Gohan had been agonizing over this ever since he'd taken the placement test about a month ago. Orange Star High School was one of the most prestigious and difficult to get into schools in the country and Gohan had always worried he'd struggle with his school work when he was forced to drop out of regular classes after effectively losing two years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. "Ahh, this is awesome!" Gohan cried as he dropped down to the ground, still holding his acceptance letter proudly in both hands. "Classes start next week! Gosh, there's so much I have to do! I have to pick out my classes and buy my textbooks and…" as Gohan rattled off a list of all the things he needed to do in the next week, Suno found herself thinking something and couldn't stop herself from asking.

"How'd things go with that Felix boy the other day, by the way? The one you used to be in art class with? You never told me." Gohan's smile faded and he looked awkwardly down at his feet. "Not great huh?" Suno guessed, offering her son a sympathetic smile. Gohan shrugged.

"It didn't really go at all," he muttered before looking at her. "Mother," he began, "There's something I need to tell you. I…" Gohan paused and chewed on his bottom lip. I don't think I'm… really interested in guys. I think I just like girls." There was a pause as Suno looked at him blankly. "M-mother?" Suno's legs buckled and she collapsed the ground, kicking her feet and letting out peals of uproarious laughter. "Mother! What the heck?!"

"I-I-I…" Suno collapsed again, her whole body shaking with laughter. "I'm sorry!" she wheezed. "I-I'm pffffaaahahaha!" she laughed again before finally pulling herself up with the kitchen table and leaning on it while she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry Gohan," she gasped out as she tried to collect herself. "I just… I don't think that there's ever been, in the history of the world, someone who had to come out to their parents that they're straight." Gohan looked away in embarrassment and Suno snickered before cupping his face in her hands. "Hey," she said tenderly. "Look at me. Were you really worried about what I'd say?" Gohan had no answer. "You're my son," she reminded him. "I'll always love you no matter who you're interested in. And I know," she added, "That whatever girl you _do_ meet is going to be extremely lucky."

" _Mother,"_ Gohan groaned as he pulled away from his mother's hands before pulling her into a hug. Suno hugged Gohan back and patted his back gently before suddenly remembering something.

"Oh!" she told him as they parted. "I got a call from Bulma earlier. She called to tell you that the 'thing' was ready. Whatever that was. So I guess when you get a chance, you should head over to West City." Gohan was grinning from ear to ear and Suno wondered just what this "thing" was.

"Awesome!" he declared excitedly as he put two fingers to his forehead. "I'll be back later!" Then Gohan was gone in a blink and Suno chuckled with a shake of her head before walking to the back door. She had to go make sure Goten wasn't fighting any dinosaurs, or worse, trying to bring one home as a pet.

OoOoOoO

"So your original design was a little… silly," Bulma explained to Gohan as she handed him the watch. "Like, I dunno why you thought all of the baggy material with the green oversuit or the gloves and boots looked cool. _But,"_ she went on, "I did manage to keep most of the color scheme you had in mind. I wasn't really sure what you wanted me to do with the antenna on the helmet," she admitted, "Since I told you that parabolic hearing isn't really a thing and it'll blow out your eardrums. However, I came up with a little something so it can pick up police and distress radios and intercept 911 calls. Plus," she went on, "The circuits going through the helmet provide a Heads Up Display to show you crimes in the area and how close you are to them. Go ahead," she gestured to the watch as Gohan put it around his wrist. "Give it a shot!" Gohan beamed as he tapped the red button on the watch's side. This had been something he'd been thinking about for about a year now. He had all of this incredible power. Why shouldn't he use it for something other than flying around to see his friends or wrestling giant fish? When he'd told Bulma about the idea, she told him he'd been reading too many mangas but, as his friend, and because she _did_ kind of owe him one for the whole "saving the world" thing, she agreed to help him with his costume idea.

Instantly, Gohan's normal clothes were replaced by his costume and he whirled around exuberantly to look into the full-length mirror Bulma had put in the lab for him. The long, flowing red cape went seamlessly into the green chest plate, which itself blended in well with the green stripes going up the arms, legs, and sides of the form-fitting bodysuit. All of the green was broken up by black on his torso and the inside of his arms and legs, as well as the golden oval on his waist that acted like a sort of belt buckle despite the suit not having a belt. He also had white gloves and boots, not unlike the kind on Vegeta's old armor, but they were seamlessly connected to the bodysuit and clung to him as well. The last piece of the puzzle was his helmet: orange with a black visor and a black crest running along the top of his helmet, plus the two antennae on either side of his head.

"Aw, Bulma!" he exclaimed happily as he checked himself out in the mirror. "This is awesome! It's perfect!" He heard footsteps coming from the hall outside the lab and turned with a grin as Vegeta stopped and stared at him. The King of All Saiyans and owner of the Kings Fashion clothing line (the most popular clothing brand on Earth, to Bulma's chagrin) stood there in his salmon dress shirt with his grey waistcoat, grey dress pants, and brown wingtip shoes with a drink in one hand and a look of disgusted disbelief on his face. "Whaddaya think, Vegeta?" he asked with good natured humor. "Pretty cool, right? You should get Bulma to make you one, too! We could go out and fight crime together!"

"I will go back to being evil and kill you all before that happens," Vegeta responded in a dismally dry tone before taking a sip of his drink and wandering back down the hall.

"Did you really expect him to say yes?" Bulma asked with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest. Gohan shrugged and gave a chuckle.

"Not really," he admitted. He was about to press the button again and turn back to normal when he heard a distress call on his antennae.

"Alert!" A panicked voice was saying. "Alert, Alert! This is South City Transit Line, train 2234! My controls are broken and the train is going full speed! I cannot stop! I repeat, I cannot stop! We need immediate assistance!"

"Gotta go, Bulma!" Gohan shouted as he flew out the window, moving so fast that he was already halfway to South City before the words even got to her. In a matter of seconds, Gohan had reached the city and could see the monorail hurtling toward a curve at breakneck speed. A few of the local heroes had already tried to stop it, as Gohan could see from the netting flapping against the nose of the train and the scratch and burn marks dug into its sides, but to no avail. ' _What do I do?'_ Gohan thought as he flew toward it. He couldn't just slam into it and stop it without severely injuring the passengers. And if he grabbed a section of it to hold it up, the train would still bend and people would get injured! He had to find some way to hold it evenly without letting those inside get hurt. Maybe if he could channel some ki through it to keep the train steady while he held it up… the train was about to go flying, Gohan had to think fast!

Those inside the train shrieked with terror and held onto whatever they could; rails, baggage racks, the seats, one another. Anything that could try to soften the impact of what they knew was to come next. They felt the train go hurtling off of the tracks with nothing underneath them and screamed with horror as they cringed and waited for a sudden violent end that… never came. Something, they realized, was holding them up.

The people down on the ground looked up in amazement, many of them holding up their phones to record what they were seeing. It was a flying man, dressed in green, black, and red, holding the monorail effortlessly over his head. Most noticeably of all, he was _smiling._

' _That,'_ Gohan thought to himself as he held up the train with a ki current running through it to keep it stable, ' _Went a lot better than I thought it might.'_ It wasn't quite the public debut he'd been planning on— he certainly couldn't pose in this particular instance— but it was certainly effective. People were staring up at him with wide-eyed wonder and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face or the booming laugh that followed. "Fear not, citizens!" he called out in a somewhat–put on deep voice. "Help has arrived! Because I am here!" He set the train down gently and ripped the doors off their hinges so that everyone could get out safely. Someone with a phone ran up to Gohan and pointed it at him.

"H-hey," the person stammered, a dark-skinned young man in a prep school uniform with his phone shaking in his hand. "Who the heck are you? H-how did you do that?!" Gohan smiled again, even wider this time. This was perfect! He hopped onto the top of the train and threw one arm out in front of him, striking a dramatic pose.

"I am he who does not allow evil to prevail!" he cried as he shuffled his feet and struck a second pose. "I am the protector of all mankind!" He spun around into a third pose, just like he'd practiced with his cape giving a dramatic twirl. "I am the champion of justice! I am…" he went into his final pose, bending at the knees and putting his arms over his head to create an M-shape that went in line with his antennae. "The Great Saiyaman!" There was a hushed silence as everyone stared at him and Gohan kept right on smiling. ' _I nailed it!'_ he thought enthusiastically. Then the silence went a little longer. ' _...Didn't I?'_

The civilians burst into cheers and clapped excitedly, whooping and whistling. Someone started a chant and within seconds, they were all doing it.

"Saiyaman! Saiyaman! Saiyaman!" Gohan flashed them a smile and laughed again as he flew off into the sky. He saw a speeding car escape a high-speed chase with some police car with the crooks climbing into a boat with their stolen loot. They whooped and hollered once they were out on the open water, thinking they were home free. That was, of course, until the Great Saiyaman landed on their boat. While Gohan's eyes were locked with the boat's driver, one of the other crooks came up from behind Gohan and whacked him in the back with a crowbar. Gohan didn't even flinch and turned to look at the robber as his whole body was shaking from the reverberation of the crowbar hitting Gohan.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a playful tone. "Getting some bad vibrations?" He bent the steel bars of the boat's handrails around the criminals' wrists before depositing the entire thing in the streets of South City outside of the precinct, leaving the officers _very_ confused.

On the way back home, however, something caught his visor's attention in East City and he swung over to make a stop. A man was using specialized grips to climb the side of a bank to the top floors, where all of the rich people's safety deposit boxes were with their jewels and deeds and other priceless valuables. He'd already hit the second-highest floor and was getting close to where he'd need to make the cut through the glass to slip in on the top floor when his suction cup came down on… a white boot. He looked up in confusion at a man in a black and green suit… with a red cape.

"Hi there," Gohan said cheerfully in his Saiyaman voice with his arms crossed over his chest. "Something wrong with the elevator?" The man screamed and fell backwards, dropping out of the sky and plummeting to the ground below. He fell maybe five stories before Gohan caught him and deposited him safely to the ground, where a police officer was conveniently walking by on his patrol. "Good afternoon," Gohan said to the bewildered officer as he held out his hand and read the man's name tag. "Officer Mooney! You know, they say confession's good for the soul," he reached into the thief's bag of stolen goods and produced a string of pearls. "I'd listen to this man." He shoved the pearls back in the man's pocket before handing him over to Mooney. "Take him away. Have a good day, Officer!" Then he flew off again and tapped on his watch once he was above the clouds to disappear from sight before using Instant Transmission to get home without anyone in the neighborhood seeing him.

"So," Suno said when he materialized in the living room. "You have a fun little afternoon?"

"Whaddaya mean, mother?" Gohan asked innocently.

"We saw you on TV, big bro!" Goten cried energetically as she pointed to the TV while jumping on the couch. Sure enough, they were talking about the Great Saiyaman.

"Wh-what?" Gohan stammered unconvincingly. "I-I dunno what you're talking about! That's got nothing to do with me!" Suno smiled and patted her son on the arm.

"I'm proud of you," she told him earnestly as she leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek. "Just don't get too into the habit of it, alright? I don't want this Saiyaman business to take priority over your school life. Goten!" she suddenly added curtly as she spun on her heels and pointed at her daughter. "I told you not to jump on the couch!"

"Awww…" Goten whined glumly as she crossed her arms and sat down on the couch with a huff.

"Don't you give me that look, young lady," Suno scolded her as Gohan walked into his room. "If you keep pouting like that you won't get an ice cream sandwich after dinner." Gohan had barely sat down at his desk before his cell phone buzzed and he saw that he was getting a phone call from Yamcha.

"Oh hey, Yamcha!" Gohan greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Thanks for putting me into retirement, kid," Yamcha replied in a surprisingly sour tone.

"What?" Gohan asked curiously. "What're you talking about?"

"I'm just kidding!" Yamcha assured him with his more natural jovial voice. "I mean, I knew I'd have to give up the whole superhero thing eventually. I just figured I'd get another week to figure it out."

"What?!" Gohan cried in exasperation. "You know, too? Gah! Is there anybody who doesn't know I'm the Great Saiyaman?!"

"...Really?" Yamcha asked.

"What?"

"That's what you're goin' with?"

"What's wrong with it?!"

"Nothin', nothin'! Look, don't worry. The only people who know you're the Great Saiyaman are the people who know _you,_ Gohan. You'll be fine. Now," Yamcha continued, "If you'll excuse me. I gotta go look in the classifieds. Tell your mom I said hi!" Then Yamcha hung up. Gohan let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed at his temples.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "As long as it's just the people who know who I am…"

OoOoOoO

It was a perfect day for Videl Satan. Granted, most people's perfect day didn't involve dropping out of a helicopter into the mayor's office to deal with a hostage situation but, hey, when you were the best, you weren't most people. She certainly didn't look dressed for the occasion in her black shorts, fingerless gloves, black running shoes, or purple shirt, with her pigtails flapping in the breeze. Not a scrap of body armor or other protection but then she didn't need it. What was she, some kinda pussy?

"Are you sure about this, Ms. Satan?" One of the officers asked over the roar of the helicopter blades. "You really should let a professional handle this! Or at least let us send in some backup!"

"My name's on the city!" Videl shot back at him. "I _am_ the backup!" Then she dropped backward out of the airplane, tucking into a ball and rolling before coming down through the roof of the mayor's office in a crouch. The terrorists, having been posted at every window, turned and looked at Videl in shock. She sprang instantly to her feet, launching herself across the room to knock the gun out of a foxman's hand to before driving the point of her elbow up under his chin and knocking him unconscious. She did a back handspring to the other side of the room and drove her feet into another man's chest to take him out, pushing off of him and sliding across the mayor's desk to leap up with a knee across the jaw of a crocodileman that knocked him into an alligatorman, knocking them both out. She came up in a fighting stance and spun around at the sound of a hammer cocking to see the bearman, Urskine Middendorffi, with one huge hand around the mayor's throat and the other hand pointing a gun at the mayor's head.

"Alright," Urskine growled. "You had your fun. You beat up my guys. Now here's what's going to happen. You're going to walk out of that door. The mayor is going to sign this document admitting that he had my entire neighborhood bulldozed to make a stupid theme park for your father. Then he's going to jail and I'm going to walk out of here free. No one gets hurt." Videl glared at him and he pointed his gun at her instead. "Or," he offered, "Since you can't get to me before I pull the trigger, _you'll_ get hurt."

"Sorry," she told him icily, "But I don't make deals with terr–" there was a whoosh of air and green and black blur swept through the room. "Or–" The Great Saiyaman was standing beside her with the bear's gun crumpled in his hand and the bear himself out cold on the floor. "...Ists?" Videl blinked as her brain caught up with everything that'd just happened.

"Don't worry, miss," Great Saiyaman boomed out in his ridiculous, put-on voice. "I've got things under control." Videl rolled her eyes and wanted to slug him in the jaw. It was bad enough that this idiot had been flying around the rest of the world for the last six days, now he was in _her_ town, too? Then he turned to the Mayor, who was shaking like a leaf. "However," he said in a stern tone. "If what Mr. Middendorffi said was true…" the mayor nervously shook his head and the Great Saiyaman nodded. "Alright then," he said as he put out his hand for Videl to shake. "I'm glad I could be of assist-aaaaaah!" Videl grabbed The Great Saiyaman by the arm and yanked with all her might, flipping him head over heels and sending him crashing into the wall. "What was that for?!" he asked in his more normal voice.

"I dunno who you are," Videl told him as she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "But you'd better keep your nose out of Satan City! You know why there are no other costumed goofs like you around here? Because the city has me! I won't tolerate vigilantism in my town!" Great Saiyaman stood up and dusted himself off.

"I go where I'm needed, miss," he said in his showy voice. "Whether that's convenient to you or not." Then he flew through the hole Videl had made in the roof without another word.

"Jeez," Videl muttered to herself with a roll of her eyes. "I've got enough on my plate with school starting tomorrow and the Budoukai coming up without this idiot to deal with."

OoOoOoO

"Jeez," Gohan muttered as he flipped through his Literature book. "They really expect you to read a lot before the semester starts, huh?" He had to cram, though. School started tomorrow and he still had to get in his required reading for Literature, Social Studies, and Economics. He paused and rubbed at his eyes, already starting to get sore from the physics and anthropology textbooks he'd read through. Maybe he needed a break.

' _Son Gohan,'_ a woman's voice whispered in his head. Gohan sprang to his feet and balled his fists, looking around as he got into a defensive stance. ' _Do not be alarmed,'_ she told him in a calming tone. ' _I am not your enemy.'_

"Sorry," Gohan replied dryly to nothing as he turned slowly in a circle. "I tend not to trust random voices of people I don't know."

' _Very well,'_ the voice said softly. ' _Then I will show you.'_ Gohan didn't even blink and he was suddenly out of his house, off of his planet, hurtling through space. He was floating above a planet that looked strangely familiar to him before he was suddenly on the ground. The blue grass… the green waters. He was on planet Namek! But the creatures that inhabited the planet certainly didn't _look_ like Namekians. They were somewhere between frogs and dinosaurs. They were bright green with smooth skin and quivering antennae, lumbering around on all fours with sacs in their throat that shook and quivered as they opened their mouths to let out a trumpeting bray.

"I-I don't understand…" Gohan muttered as he looked around. "What is this?"

' _This is Namek,'_ the voice told him. ' _Six million years ago.'_ Then there was a shimmering light and a woman appeared on the water, her every step creating a ripple. She was almost hauntingly beautiful, with purple skin and long white hair, dressed in pink and red. She was carrying a small statue of Porunga and seven gray orbs in her arms. ' _That is me,'_ she told him. The woman laid the statue and the balls on the ground and Gohan watched as she whispered something. The Dragon Balls grew and turned into shimmering orange spheres and Porunga turned green and yellow, coming to live as he exploded into life and towered over everything. The Dragon Balls hovered around him before shooting off into the sky. ' _I breathed life into their god,'_ she explained, ' _And gave them the Dragon Balls. I don't seem so bad now, do I?'_ Gohan pursed his lips in thought. ' _Very well,'_ she said again. ' _Perhaps another example.'_ Gohan was plucked away again to another world, one which he had never seen before. The woman was there and pricked her thumb, letting her blood seep into the ground. Then hundreds of thousands of years passed and the beings on the planet became at least somewhat familiar to him. They walked with a slight hunch like primitive man with coarse hair covering their bodies but the tails and spiked heads of hair were unmistakable. These were primitive Saiyans. The woman appeared again and reached up into the sky, plucking the moon out of the stars and holding her hands as though it were the size of a basketball. Then she tossed it up into the air where it hung in its natural place in the sky. The primitive Saiyans looked up at it and transformed before his very eyes into towering apes, howling and beating their chests. Gohan realized he was looking at the first Oozaru. Thousands of years passed again and now the Saiyans looked more or less normal, although they were dressed in rags and covered in dirt. The purple woman appeared again in the huts of one of these Saiyans while she slept and whispered something in the Saiyan woman's ear, putting a hand on the woman's heart and pressing her lips to the Saiyan's forehead. Then she was gone and the Saiyan rose from her bed with a howl, beating her chest as she roared with power and her black hair flashed into gold.

"The first Super Saiyan," Gohan murmured in astonishment. Then he wasn't on any planet or even in space. He was hovering out in a white abyss, outside of space and time. It reminded him of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"So you see?" the woman said as she appeared in front of him, looking a few years older than she had before. "You owe a lot to me, Son Gohan. So now, there's something I need from you."

"Wait, wait, wait," Gohan said as he held up his hands. "I-I don't understand. What are you? A-are you… are you God?"

"Yes," the woman replied immediately with an easy smile. "I suppose I am. I am Xī," she explained. "The highest of all Kaiou. I am the Kaioushin."

"Jeez," Gohan muttered as he scratched the back of his head. "I-I mean… I guess I can help but I don't know what the heck you could possibly need from me."

"I need your help," she explained, "Because I have discovered something terrible on Earth. I need you to help me destroy the ultimate evil. The Monster called Majin Boo."

"M-Majin Who?" Gohan asked. "I-I don't understand." He'd thought the ultimate evil was Freeza or Cell. What was worse than them?!

"I know you don't," the Kaioushin told him. "So I will teach you."


	106. A Cosmic History Lesson! Back to School?

A/N: Hey guys! Be sure to join us this Monday, 31 July at 3 PM ET (7 PM UTC) for a special two-year anniversary chapter!

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Chapter Hundred-six

A Cosmic History Lesson! Back to School?!

"My story begins," Xī began as she gestured up to the stars overhead, "Many eons ago." As she spoke, trails of light connected the stars, which turned into constellations and began to move. "For hundreds of millions of years, stretching back even before I was born, there had always been five Kaioushin. The four of the East, South, West, and North, and the Daikaioushin above us all. These were good times, peaceful times. A golden era in the universe when all was at harmony."

'Jeez,' Gohan thought to himself. 'She makes it sound like things suck now.'

"They do," Xī told him bluntly and startling Gohan. For a moment he was surprised before realizing that if she was God, being able to hear his thoughts shouldn't be that big of a deal. "Well, comparatively speaking. For five million years, I have tried to do the work of five gods and I fear the universe has suffered for my failings. Chaos, war, and destruction have been allowed to spread far more rampantly than ever before…" she sighed and shook her head. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Like I was saying, things were good. Then, five million years ago, a sorcerer named Bibidi released an ancient evil called Boo." The constellations changed and Gohan watched as the diminutive form of Bibidi raised its hands and some… thing made of pure blackness formed in space, swallowing up the stars. Tendrils of blackness reached out and swallowed up the Kaioushin, leaving only Xī. "I was the only one to survive," she confirmed, "And when Bibidi sealed his monster in its shell, I cast a spell to send Majin Boo far away from the Wizard's control before killing him. Though I didn't know it at the time, I wound up sending Majin Boo to this planet."

"So what do I do?" Gohan asked. "Do I just… find where Majin Boo is and kill him while he's trapped in his shell?" He guessed that Boo was weaker while it was trapped like this or else it would have probably killed them all by now.

"No," Xī told him firmly. "Bibidi shielded Boo's shell with dark magic so that only he can find it. We will have to wait until Babidi comes to Earth in search of Boo. It shouldn't take long for him to–"

"Wait," Gohan interrupted. "Who's Babidi? Bibidi's… son or something?"

"Sort of," Xī said with a shrug. "More like a clone with many of Bibidi's memories and a desire to carry out his previous form's dying wish from the moment he was 'born'."

"Ohhhh. So he's like Piccolo."

"Yeah, sure," Xī said brusquely with a wave of her hand. "As I was saying, we will have to wait for Babidi to make his presence known on Earth. Once he has made his move, we'll make ours."

"So what do I do?" Gohan asked.

"For now?" Xī shrugged. "Wait until I come for you again. Wait and tell your strongest to prepare. I don't know what forces Babidi is amassing but I can assure you that it will be like nothing you have ever witnessed."

"Right…" Gohan muttered as he tapped his chin in thought. His strongest. Sooo… just Vegeta, then. "I've got a couple questions before you let me go or whatever."

"Yes?" Xī replied curiously with a tilt of her head.

"So… God's a woman?"

"Does that bother you?" Xī asked.

"Not at all," Gohan assured her with a smile. "I just think mother and Bulma'll get a kick out of it." Xī chuckled but shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"This matter is delicate," she told him. "I would refrain from telling anyone that did not absolutely need to know."

"Got it, got it," Gohan said with a nod. "So what happened with the Super Saiyan? Vegeta always told me the first Super Saiyan destroyed the Saiyans' old home planet." Gohan had asked the King of All Saiyans when they were both on Earth after his mom had become a Super Saiyan, wanting to know more about them. "If you're all, y'know, peace and order and all that stuff, how come you made something so… destructive?"

"The Saiyans…" Xī murmured sadly while shaking her head. "I had such high hopes for them. Everything I did was to make them great warriors. Their adaptability, their survivability, their ability to come back stronger from the brink of death. If I had been able to devote the time to them, they could have been something glorious. Champions of justice, protecting the universe. I didn't know how much they had changed in my absence. I didn't know that the first Super Saiyan's creation would be so violent. Without my guiding hand and left to their own devices, the Saiyans became creatures of violence, savagery, and destruction." She shook her head again. "There were only ever six who came anywhere close to how I'd envisioned them. Six," Xī added with a bit of a smile, "And your mom. Anything else?"

"No," Gohan said. "I'm pretty sure that's every–" then Gohan remembered something. "Oh, actually, yeah. How do you pronounce your name? She?"

Xī shook her head. "No, no," she corrected him while holding up her hands for emphasis. "Xī."

"Gee?" Gohan guessed again and Xī shook her head again, growing somewhat more agitated.

"No," she repeated. "No. Xī. Wth a Zh sound. Zzzhhh. Got it?" Gohan blinked a few times before nodding.

"Okay," he said. "Yeah, I get it."

"Okay, good," Xī replied sweetly with a smile, the irritation sliding off of her face like water off a duck's back. "Then I guess I'll let you go back to the mortal world. Oh!" she added. "One more thing. You should probably get a message from Baba or the Northern Kaiou in… oh, about a week or so regarding Son Goku."

"Wait," Gohan started to say as Xī put her fingers to his forehead, "What about my mo–" then he woke up with a start back in his bedroom, jolting so viciously that he fell out of his chair with a clatter. He looked up at the clock, panting and holding his chest. Not even a minute had passed. "What the hell…" he muttered to himself. "Was that just a weird dream?" He felt something on his arm and picked it off, realizing that he was staring at a long white hair. "Okay," he murmured as he sat up. "Not a dream."

"Gohan!" Suno called from the living room. "Are you okay? It sounded like you fell over!"

"I'm fine, mother!" Gohan assured her. "Just dozed off reading."

"Well don't stay up too late," she warned him. "You've got your first class in the morning. And don't forget your gym clothes!" Gohan nodded and rubbed the back of his neck as he stood up.

"Sure thing, mother!" he called as he looked back at his textbooks. How the hell was he supposed to finish his school reading when he apparently had the apocalypse to worry about? "Good thing I only need about three hours of sleep at the most," he muttered to himself before sitting back down at his desk. This was gonna take forever to read.

OoOoOoO

Even though Gohan was sitting at a desk on one of the upper levels of the lecture hall, he could still hear the people muttering as far up as the front row. It made class a little difficult to focus on. He'd heard people muttering when his name had been called for roll.

"Wasn't he the little kid who helped Hercule kill Cell?"

"Yeah. Man, he got tall, huh?"

"Didn't his mom fight that other alien dude? That's what they said on the news, right?"

He also heard some of them talk about the Great Saiyaman, although somehow some people were still pronouncing it "Great Singing man and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from correcting them. The Great Saiyaman had already stopped a bank robbery on Gohan's way to school. Mask or no mask, he couldn't risk anyone getting suspicious. Someone on Gohan's left tapped on his notebook and caught his attention while the professor droned on about the basics of psychology. It was hard to focus on what the professor was saying, he just kept talking one long, incredibly unbroken sentence. It was almost hypnotic. Gohan looked to his left and, for the first time, noticed the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl sitting next to him. She gave a small wave, her lips curled up in a smile.

"Hi there," she said softly. "I dunno if you heard when he was taking roll but I'm Erasa. So… what class do you have next?"

"Uh, physics," Gohan whispered awkwardly. Her smile widened.

"I have geology next," she told him. "I'm not a huge science person but it's pretty easy and, y'know, ya gotta take some kind of science class. I could walk with you there." Gohan, who was often very perceptive in combat, had no idea what kind of eyes she was making at him.

"Jeez," a voice said from the desk next to Erasa's that was almost familiar. "Why don't you offer him a handy under the desk?" Videl leaned forward to smirk at both of them as their faces reddened. "I'm–"

"Videl," Gohan interrupted before remembering that he had actually never seen her outside of his mom's funeral and they'd never actually talked. The Great Saiyaman had met Videl but he hadn't. "I-I mean…"

"Hey, don't sweat it," she told him with a shrug. "Of course you know me. I won the first ever Junior Budoukai and I'm Hercule's best student. I'm kind of a big deal."

"Pffft," said a voice from the row behind Gohan. "No way. My big bro Caroni was always Hercule's best student." Gohan turned in his seat to look back at a muscular young man with long blond hair, wearing a sleeveless, low-cut shirt that clearly existed for no other reason than to show off his body. He looked like a tool.

"Then why'd I kick Caroni's ass seven times before I turned thirteen, Shapna?" Videl asked with a smirk.

"My bro let you win," he told her. "'Cause you're a gi-iiiiiiyyeeeee!" his whispering boast turned into a squeal as Videl reached back and cranked his finger back in a way it wasn't supposed to bend, threatening to break it at the knuckle.

"What was that?" Videl asked calmly, bending Shapna's finger with one hand while still taking notes with the other.

"Okay!" Shapna squealed out in a whisper while Gohan watched the whole thing in bemusement. "Okay, okay, okay! You kicked my brother's ass! Jeeez!" Videl smiled and pulled her hand away while Shapna nursed his finger.

"Ms. Satan!" the professor called out while putting inflection in his voice for the first time. "Is there something important you'd like to discuss with the class?" Videl said nothing as she, Erasa, Gohan, and Shapna looked back at their notebooks. "Just because this entire bloody city has been named after your father does not mean you get to do as you please," he added before returning to his monotone for the rest of the hour. The hour that never seemed to end. Then the end-of-class bell rang and time's normal flow resumed.

"Hey!" Videl called to Gohan while running up to him as he walked the campus grounds toward the science building. "Sorry about that earlier. Not the best intro, I know, but I was really just messin' with Erasa. She sticks onto any hot guy in the school that isn't taken like they're flypaper." Gohan's face reddened and she chuckled. "So you're Son Gohan, right? Your mom's a huge hero of mine. Both of them are."

"Really?" Gohan asked curiously. "I'll be honest, I haven't really heard anyone talk about my mom who isn't one of her friends."

"Oh, yeah!" Videl told him eagerly. "Why not? Goku was an amazing martial artist! She's the only woman who ever won the Tenkaichi Budoukai. Well," she added, "Before I enter this year, that is." Then she asked, "Hey, are you gonna enter?" Gohan shook his head.

"I'm not really much of a fighter," he lied bashfully. "I mean, I'm just kinda… burnt out, I guess, from what I did when I was little." Videl gave a sympathetic, if disappointed, shrug before continuing.

"Goku saved the world like three times," she added. "Even my dad only did it once. Both of your moms took down the Red Ribbon Army!" That made Gohan stop in his tracks.

"How do you know that?" he asked. "I always figured the Royal Military took credit for the Army's defeat," Videl raised an eyebrow at that.

"You don't watch a lot of TV, do you?" she asked. "They just did a whole big thing on the history channel last year about the rise and fall of the Red Ribbon Army." Gohan figured his mother would have said something about that but he had a sneaking suspicion she hadn't watched it, either. "Hey," she said as they walked again, "I gotta ask you something. At your mom's… funeral," she paused and chewed her lip as if she knew it was an awkward subject to bring up. "How did you do that… disappearing thing?" Gohan just shrugged.

"I can't really get into it," he admitted bashfully, "But it wasn't a magic trick or smoke and mirrors. Nothing like that." It might have been easier just to say it was but his mom had taught him Instant Transmission. It'd be wrong to lie about something like that.

"I figured," she said with a shrug. "Hey, I don't think we've got another class til P.E. so I guess I'll see ya in a couple hours!" Then she turned and ran off, at which point Gohan realized that her class and his class must be in completely opposite directions.

'Why'd she walk with me, then?' Gohan thought to himself. 'It doesn't make sense. Now she might be late,' It bears repeating that Gohan was perhaps not the most perceptive young man.

OoOoOoO

"Mooom," Trunks groaned as he tugged at his mom's lab coat. "Why can't I enter the Junior Budoukai? I'm old enough!"

"It's not an age thing and you know it," Bulma told her son while she worked on a prototype design for powered armor that would help relief workers move huge masses of rubble and debris during natural disasters. "You're way too strong to enter the tournament and have it be even a little bit fair. You're only going in there to puff up your little ego and your dad does that more than enough with this whole 'Prince' junk." Trunks huffed and cross his arms in a surly little pout.

"If Goten entered it'd be fair," he muttered. "She's almost as strong as me!" Bulma just giggled. "What's so funny?"

"Ohhh, nothing," she assured him. "It's just funny. Goten's moms got together at the 23rd Budoukai," Bulma gave him a teasing look and Trunks' face screwed up in childish disgust.

"Mooom!" he whined. "No way! Goten's a girl and girls are gross!"

"I'm a girl," Bulma reminded him. "So watch it, mister."

"You're not a girl, mom, you're a mom," Trunks retorted. Bulma laughed and shook her head.

"Either way," she told him, "I doubt Suno'll let Goten enter." Trunks gave Bulma a smirk and jumped up, yanking his mother's cell phone out of her pocket. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Trunks stuck out his tongue as he scrolled through his mom's contacts before getting to Suno. Then he pressed call and waited for her to pick up.

OoOoOoO

"Hey Bulma," Suno said in the middle of her yoga, phone tucked between her ear and shoulder while she stood on one leg in the Half Moon Pose. "What's up?"

"Hi, Mrs. Goten's mom," Trunks said, surprising Suno somewhat. "Is Goten there?" Suno giggled a little, making Trunks roll his eyes.

"Yeah," she told him, "Hold on," Then she moved her phone into her free hand and held it up high. "Goten!" she called. "Phone for you! It's Trunks!" Goten came racing out of her room and yanked the phone out of Suno's hand before dashing back into her room where she'd been watching cartoons.

"Hey, Trunks!" she said eagerly while sitting on the edge of her bed and kicking her feet.

"Hey, Goten," Trunks said smugly. "Guess what? My mom's letting me enter the Junior Budoukai!"

"Whaaat?" Goten gasped excitedly. "That's awesome! Mamaaaa!" Goten called as she pulled away from the phone. "Mama, Trunks is entering the Budoukai! Can I enter?"

"Sure!" Suno called from the other room, smiling from ear to ear.

"Now I'm entering, too!" Goten told Trunks. "I'm gonna kick your butt!"

"No way," Trunks shot back. "I'm gonna kick your butt, 'cause my dad's gonna help me train!"

"Oh yeah?!" Goten bristled. "Well my big bro's gonna help me train and he's way stronger than your dumb ol' dad!" Then she stuck out her tongue with a "Mleeeeh!" and Trunks did the same before they both hung up.

OoOoOoO

"Veeeery clever," Bulma told her son with an approving nod as she tousled Trunks' hair and took the phone back from him. "Just one problem: How're you gonna get your dad to help you train?" Trunks stared blankly. He hadn't thought that far yet and his face fell. Bulma smiled sympathetically and crouched down to be at his eye level. "Wanna know a secret?" she told him. "Your dad wasn't a huge fan of Goten's mom."

"Suno?" Trunks asked and Bulma chuckled, shaking her head.

"No," she told him, "I mean Goku. Although your dad calls her Kakarot 'cause he's stubborn. I bet," she told him with a boop on the nose to emphasize, "That if you told him you were trying to kick Goku's daughter's butt, he'd be happy to help you train." Trunks beamed and rushed off, no doubt planning to do just that. Bulma laughed and shook her head. It was nice that the boys were going to spend some time together.

OoOoOoO

"Now Goten," Suno admonished gently as her daughter gave her the phone back. "Don't you think it's a little unfair to say Gohan will help you train without asking him?"

"Do you think he won't?" Goten asked sullenly as she looked down at her feet. Suno smiled and patted her daughter's head reassuringly.

"Of course he will," she assured her. "You know your big brother will do anything for you. Just remember in the future to ask first," Goten nodded and Suno patted her head again. "Now go back to your cartoons. You've still got a little time before I want you to help me start on dinner," It was a big task, making supper for two hungry, growing Saiyans. Goten beamed and nodded eagerly before going back to her room. Suno wondered how Gohan's first day of school was going.

OoOoOoO

Gohan struggled awkwardly into the gym clothes his mother had bought for him after the other guys had already left the boys' locker room. He'd never worn anything other than his gi for exercise but this probably wasn't the same thing. They definitely felt a size too small. He guessed his mother still wasn't used to buying clothes based on Gohan's growth spurt. Not that Gohan could blame her, of course. Sometimes he was still surprised by how much he'd grown and it was his body, for crying out loud.

"I just hope I don't get laughed at for looking too stupid," Gohan muttered to himself as he walked out of the locker room.

"Do you think Mr. Haddock'll split the teams for baseball to guys versus guys and girls versus girls?" Erasa asked as she and Videl stretched.

"I hope not," Videl muttered as she bent a leg back over her head. "I know I could whip any of these guys' butt in any sport, never mind baseb–" Videl's sentence stopped, as well as her brain, when Gohan walked out of the boys' locker room and out onto the baseball field. Erasa followed her line of sight and had a similar mental shutdown.

Gohan's top, on top of having no sleeves to show off every inch of his muscular arms, also seemed to be cut at the midriff to give a clear view to most of his rippling abs as well as his bulging pecs. Not that it really mattered what the red fabric did cover, since it was stretched so tightly over Gohan's chest that it might as well have been painted on for all the good that it did. His black shorts only went about halfway down his toned thighs and… Videl wrenched her eyes away just as Gohan took a drink of water from his water bottle, a thin stream of water running off of the corner of his mouth, trailing down his neck and catching every contour of his chest like a slinky going down a staircase.

"Jeez," Gohan muttered as he wiped a forearm across his forehead. "Sure is a hot day, huh?"

"Yuh-yuh-yuh-yeah," Erasa muttered, her face as red as a stop sign and her eyes about the size of two Capsule Corp Megamoons. "H-hot." Videl rolled her eyes at her friend and shook her head. Gohan blinked.

"What's everyone staring at?" he asked. "Do I look weird or something?" Videl looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see almost the entire gym class having reactions that were nearly identical to Erasa's borderline epilepsy.

"Y'look fine, ya dork," Videl muttered tersely. To her credit, regardless of her internal reaction, her external reaction was reduced to a slight flushing of the cheeks and a faint trickle of blood coming out of her left nostril, which she quickly wiped away.

"Okay," Coach Haddock muttered in a blase tone behind his thick mustache after the students had composed themselves. "Gohan, you're first up at bat. Shapna, you're pitching." Shapna smirked and twisted his ballcap around so the bill of the hat was facing backwards.

'This Gohan jerk thinks he's fooling anyone with this innocent bumpkin routine,' Shapna thought to himself as he knuckled the ball behind his back and bent forward, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. He was one of the few who hadn't lost their heads when seeing Gohan. 'We'll see how great they all think he is when I lob this ball at his head and make him squeal like a sissy!'

'Okay,' Gohan thought to himself as he choked up on the baseball bat. 'If I don't do anything crazy, they'll think I'm normal. Maybe I'll just let it hit me and walk.' Shapna reached his arm back as far as he could and whipped forward with all the strength in his body. To his horror, the ball hit Gohan right on the bridge of the nose, snapping his head back and making a terrible "CRACK!" Everyone gasped, certain that Gohan's nose had just been horribly broken.

'What the hell?!' Shapna thought to himself as a sudden pang of guilt, panic, and regret stabbed him. 'Why didn't he duck like a sissy?!' He'd barely gotten the thought out of his head when Gohan lowered his head back without so much as a scratch on his face and the two evenly-cleaved halves of the baseball fell to the ground at his feet.

"Soooo," Gohan said as Haddock stared at him with his eyes nearly popping out of his head and his cigar dangling out of the corner of his mouth. "That means I walk, right?"

"Y-y-yeah," Haddock muttered as he jerked a shaky thumb towards first base. "Go nuts!" Gohan dropped the baseball bat as Haddock picked up the two halves of the baseball and stared incredulously. "Somebody get a new ball out of the ball bag!"

'Awesome,' Gohan thought to himself as he walked jauntily toward first base. 'And nobody suspects a thing!'

The rest of gym passed by similarly uneventfully, with Gohan expertly (not at all) managing to convince the others that his leap to catch a pop fly ball had just been because of the soles of his new gym shoes and flawlessly (not a chance) getting everyone to believe that he had been gripping the bat wrong and that was why it had nearly cracked in half when he'd bunted the ball. The rest of the school day passed easily enough and before Gohan knew it, it was time to head home.

"Hey," Erasa suggested as they all walked toward the parking lot. "Why don't you come hang out with us? We can basically go anywhere we want, Videl's name's all over the city." Videl rolled her eyes and gave her friend a good natured shove.

"I didn't know you were just my friend for the perks," she remarked sarcastically. Erasa made a face and looked comically offended at the suggestion.

"I'd like to," Gohan told them, "But I gotta be heading back home. I live outside East City and–"

"Excuse me?!" Shapna interjected. "Outside East City?! That's like four and a half hours from here!"

'Smooth,' Gohan told himself sarcastically. 'Real smooth.' "W-well, y'know," he stammered out quickly as he tried to recover. "I'm just… committed to my education!"

"That's a heck of a commute," Videl observed. "You sure you're okay takin' the bus and everything? My dad got me a brand new Capsule Jet Car for my birthday. We can get you there in like an hour."

"You don't have to do that," Gohan assured her bashfully with the wave of a hand. "I don't mind taking the bus. It gives me time to think and stuff. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Videl studied him curiously for a moment before she gave a shrug.

"Okay," she decided with a wave as she and the others walked through the parking lot. "See ya later!" Gohan walked to the bus stop and watched the three friends drive off in Videl's cherry red hot rod. He waited until they were well out of sight and gave one more quick look around before putting two fingers to his forehead and vanishing.

"I'm home!" Gohan declared as he materialized in the Son Family living room.

"Hi, sweety!" Suno called from the kitchen as she stirred away at a hearty pot of chicken and dumplings. "How was your first day of sch–"

"Big broooo!" Goten cried exuberantly as she launched herself out of her bedroom and threw herself at Gohan, clinging fiercely to his shirt. "Big bro, big bro, big bro, big bro!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gohan exclaimed as he pulled his sister off of him and held her up with his hands under her arms. "What's goin' on, little sis? Where's the fire?"

"Trunks an' me are entering the Junior Budoukai!" she explained. "Trunks told me he was gonna train with his dad so he'd win but I told him that I was gonna train with you 'cause you're way stronger than his dumb, mean, ol' dad!" Gohan thought about that. He hadn't trained seriously in years and, if Vegeta was Vegeta… now Gohan wasn't really sure which of them was stronger. He looked back at his little sister's face and she looked pathetically at him with huge puppy dog eyes.

"Alright," Gohan relented without much pressure. "Alright, alright!" How could he refuse his baby sister?

"Yaaay!" Goten cheered as she kicked her little feet. "Mama!" she called. "Can me and Gohan spar real quick? I wanna show him what you taught me!" Suno picked her spoon up from the pot and seemed to be in deep thought as she tasted it.

"Pleeeease?" Her children asked in unison and Suno smiled so brightly it could have lit the entire house in the dark.

"Okay," she told them. "But just a quick one! Dinner's in twenty minutes and I want you both washed up before you so much as pick up a fork!" Gohan and Goten whooped victoriously and Goten rushed out into the backyard while Gohan zipped into his room to change into his gi before joining her.

"Okay," Gohan said as he got into his fighting stance. "Let's see what you've got, Goten!" Goten rushed at her brother with surprising speed, catching him off guard and nearly hitting him in the stomach with a leaping kick before he caught her. 'Guess I'm rustier than I thought,' Gohan thought as he pushed her away. Goten rebounded with a series of rapid fire punches to Gohan's stomach and chest, even going so far as to throw a leaping hook at Gohan's jaw. Gohan managed to block them all, though the hook got a little too close for comfort. As Goten kept trying, Gohan found himself getting back into his fighting groove. "Come on," he told her as his mom had once coached him. "Don't get frustrated! That'll just make it harder to hit me! Focus!" Goten jumped up and swung a roundhouse kick to the side of Gohan's head with all her might. Gohan pushed her kick away with a forearm and, reacting instinctively, he slugged her right in the face. Goten cried out painfully and hit the grass with a thud. "Goten!" Gohan cried as he dropped right out of his fighting stance and ran to her. "Goten, I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Goten pulled her hands away from her face and Gohan was immediately hit by a rush of guilt as he saw a huge bruise on her cheek. "Oh man, oh man, oh man! Goten, I'm so sorr–"

The next thing he knew, Gohan had been knocked flat on his ass. It took several seconds for him to realize he'd even been hit and he sat up slowly, rubbing at his jaw and wincing painfully. He looked up and saw Goten standing in front of him.

She… she was a Super Saiyan.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

A/N: If by chance, you're like me and you're musically inclined, you might feasibly believe that the Xi and Gohan scene went like this:

Gohan: "So wait... I have a lot of ... I mean... what _are_ you?"

Kaioushin: "I believe the words you're looking for are 'Thank you'."

Gohan: "Thank you?!"

Kaioushin: "You're welcome!"

Gohan: "No, wait, hold on! I didn't... I mean... who the heck... where did you even-"

Kaioushin: "Okay, okay. I see what's happening, here.

You're face to face with Godhood and it's strange.

Don't even know how ya feel. It's adorable!

Well, it's nice to see that Ningen never change.

Open your eyes let's begin

Yes, it's really me, it's Xi, breathe it in.

I know it's a lot, the hair, the **bod.**

When you're starin' at Almighty God!

So what can I say except You're Welcome!

For the planets, moons, and skies!

Hey, it's okay, it's okay, You're Welcome!

I'm just a certain special kinda Kai!

Hey! Who has two thumbs and filled up the sky

With stars to light the dark, this Kai!

When the worlds were cold, who filled them with fire from deep inside?

She's right here, my guy!

Oh! Also, I made your hair gold,

You're Welcome,

To give you strength and make you bold.

Also, I gave Namek life,

You're Welcome!

To save the day and end your strife!

So what can I say, except, You're Welcome!

For forces like gravity!

There's no need to pray, it's okay, You're Welcome!

I guess it's just my way of being me!

You're welcome! You're welcome!

Well, come to think of it...

I mean, I could go on and on, Gohan,

I could explain every natural phenomenon

The powers full moons bring?

Yeah, that was Xi, just doin' her thing.

The dead start to walk, I put 'em back down!

Stopped some space pirates from screwin' around.

What's the lesson, what is the takeaway?

Don't mess with Xi, if you wanna live, walk away!

And the tapestry up in the stars!

Shows just how many victories there are!

Look what I've done, I make everything happen!

Look at the constellations tippity-tappin', tappin', tappin', tappin', hey, hey, hey, hey!

Well anyway, lemme say, You're welcome! For the cosmos that you've seen!

Hey, it's okay, it's okay, You're Welcome!

'Cause there's something you can do for me!

Hey, it's your day to say "You're Welcome!"

'Cause there's something I need from you!

Help me save the universe, you're welcome!

From the abomination called Majin Buu!

You're Welcome! You're Welcome! You're Welcome!

And thank you!


	107. Small Wonders! Great Saiyaman Exposed!

Chapter Hundred-seven

Small Wonders! Great Saiyaman Exposed?!

"I… you… what… how?!" Gohan stammered out as he looked up at his baby sister in shock. She was a _Super Saiyan?!_ When?! How?! This didn't make any sense! She wasn't old enough to go swimming by herself but she could turn into a legendary warrior of myth?!

"Did I do something wrong?" Goten asked as she looked up self-consciously at her hair. "I'm sorry I hit you. I just kinda got mad 'cause you hit me an' it hurt." She looked back down at her feet, shuffling them shyly. She'd forgotten what mama had taught her about sparring. Just because the other person hits you doesn't mean that they mean it and that they don't still like you.

"No," Gohan assured his sister as he touched her face gingerly. "I'm sorry I hit you that hard, Goten. It's just that when I used to fight, I fought for real. I didn't really hold back. I didn't mean it," Goten put her hands on Gohan's hand and smiled at him. "Now," Gohan continued, "How did you become a Super Saiyan?"

"I dunno," Goten admitted with a shrug. "I was just playing with Trunks one day and I felt kinda tingly here," she pointed to the back of her neck. "I kinda thought about it a bunch and…" she pointed to her hair again.

"A tingle in your neck…" Gohan muttered in disbelief. All the training he had endured, the suffering and the rage his mom had felt… and Goten transformed because of a tingling in her neck? It boggled the mind. "How long ago was this, Goten?" She held up two fingers. "Two… weeks?" he guessed. Goten shook her head.

"Two years," she explained. It just got more and more ridiculous. Two years ago? So Goten had been able to transform since she was _five?!_ Gohan could even sense her ki. It was _huge,_ especially for someone her age. She'd been able to defeat _Freeza_ before she could even go to Kindergarten?

' _Jeez,'_ Gohan thought as he sat down hard and stared at his baby sister. ' _If I'm not careful, my baby sister's going to get stronger than me!'_

"Is there something wrong with it?" Goten asked as she looked at her hair again. "Mama said it was a good thing but she also told me not to tell anyone so I dunno…"

"No, no!" Gohan promised his sister as he turned Super Saiyan as well to a gasp from his little sister. "See?" he pointed to his hair. "It's fine! You're just like me, sis!"

"You can do it, too!" Goten exclaimed as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Yeah," Gohan said with a grin. "Your mom was the first one of us who could." Goten's eyes turned starry and it made Gohan laugh. She really did look like Goku sometimes. "So wait," Gohan asked, "If you can turn into a Super Saiyan, why do you need my help to beat Trunks? Unless you just wanna be fair?"

"No," Goten explained with a shake of her head. "Trunks can do it, too!"

"HE CAN _WHAT?!"_

OoOoOoO

"So," Vegeta began as Trunks stretched while the pair of them stood in the Gravity Chamber, Vegeta in his Gi pants and Trunks in a pair of blue gym shorts and a somewhat baggy yellow muscle shirt– Bulma'd had to buy one a few sizes up given Trunks' musculature for a boy his age. "How much stronger do you think you are than Kakarot's daughter?"

"Not that much stronger," Trunks admitted as he got up into a handstand and did some push-ups. "We've sparred a couple times and she's pretty close to me."

"'Pretty close' is too close," Vegeta said with a nod. "When I fought Kakarot, I was several times more powerful than her but she was a capable warrior and still managed to give me the closest thing to a defeat I had ever experienced in my life to that point." It was the closest thing to a compliment Vegeta had ever given Goku. "I will _not_ let my son repeat that mistake. Computer!" he declared.

"Yes, your Majesty?" the Chamber answered with a voice that came from every direction and gave Trunks a start. Vegeta had never actually let Trunks in here before; he never let anyone else into the Gravity Chamber. The handful of times they'd sparred had always been in the backyard or the exercise room in the house.

"Gravity setting ten!" Vegeta ordered.

"Of course, your majesty," the Chamber answered. Trunks, who had up until that moment been throwing lighting fast jabs and leaping into the air to kick with the energy and arrogance of athletic youth, was yanked violently out of the air and would have fallen directly on his face if not for his natural athleticism and instincts making him drop into a crouch at the last second and save himself. Just as well, Vegeta thought to himself. Otherwise, he might have chipped a tooth and then Bulma would have raised all nine hells because of something called a "Class Picture Day" and then somehow it would all be Vegeta's fault.

"Wh-what the heck happened?!" Trunks asked as he struggled up to a standing position, his body trembling from the effort as he took deep lunges to get around the room. It was almost ridiculous. The boy looked like he was trying to swim through tar.

"I increased the gravity to ten times that of Planet Vegeta," Vegeta explained. "Which is one hundred times that of this planet."

"A h-hundred times?!" Trunks stammered out, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "How am I supposed to train like this?!"

"Either find a way or get out!" Vegeta warned him. Trunks huffed and gave his father a defiant look as he braced himself and then–

And then he turned into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide as Trunks began moving much easier now that his strength was emboldened fifty fold.

"Trunks!" he snapped, making Trunks jump into the air. "What are you doing?! How are you doing that?!"

"Doing what?" Trunks asked in confusion. Vegeta turned Super Saiyan with an almost-hostile intensity.

"THIS!" Vegeta clarified as he pointed angrily at his spiked, golden hair.

"Ohhhh," Trunks said with understanding before shrugging. "Iunno," he admitted. "I just could one day a couple years ago." Vegeta's face began to grow red and he ground his teeth so hard that Trunks could actually hear it. "Uh… d-dad?"

"Tell me," Vegeta snarled as the color traveled up from his neck to his scalp. "Can Kakarot's daughter do this as well?"

"Uh, y-yeah," Trunks stammered out nervously. "It happened for the first time on the same day. We were just kinda playin' and then I sorta focused on this feeling in my back," Trunks turned around and jerked a thumb to the space between his shoulder blades. "Then this just happened." Vegeta's red face actually began to _glow_ with anger. "D… dad?" Trunks asked as he took a step backward.

"Of _course,"_ Vegeta snarled without ever opening his mouth. " _Of COURSE she can!"_ He had worked toward the singular goal of becoming a Super Saiyan for nearly his entire life. It was all he dreamed about, it had kept him up countless nights, there were times when it was the only thing that kept him alive. Yet now these… these _children_ were able to do become godlike figures of his people's mythology _on a whim?!_ "IT'S A SUPER SAIYAN BARGAIN SALE!" he bellowed with rage.

"...What?" Trunks asked in confusion. Vegeta clenched his teeth again and seethed with a noise that sounded like a boiling tea kettle. "...Dad?"

"All right," Vegeta finally sighed out irritably. "Show me how much of a Super Saiyan you are," he said while tapping his chin with a smirk. "If you can land a hit on me, I'll take you to that stupid amusement park you're always rambling on about." Trunks grinned excitedly and got into his fighting stance. Vegeta smiled to himself, noticing how similar it was to his own.

"Here I come!" Trunks called out as he shot forward in a burst of shocking speed. It was only due to the fact that Trunks announced himself that Vegeta managed to block the hit.

"Don't announce yourself!" Vegeta told Trunks as he sidestepped to the left and the right to avoid his son's attacks. His son's smaller fists made it somewhat more difficult for Vegeta to block his attacks. While Vegeta was distracted by Trunks' punches to his torso, he was shocked by his son actually displaying a modicum of strategy and throwing a sweeping kick at Vegeta's legs, nearly knocking them out from under him. It surprised Vegeta long enough to make him drop his guard to stabilize himself, allowing Trunks to shoot in and hit him on the jaw that connected solidly. Reacting on pure instinct, Vegeta struck back hard, hitting Trunks right between the eyes and sending him crashing hard into the wall. "Trunks!" Vegeta cried in shock as he realized what he'd just done.

He had struck his son, Vegeta realized to his horror. That horror in and of itself made Vegeta pause as if his brain suddenly stopped working. Why did he feel such a panic for hitting his son? Why did he feel such _guilt?_ It was a single hit in a simple spar. His own father, he reflected, hit him dozens of times. It was only natural for Saiyan parents to hit their children. It made them fight, it filled them with anger. It helped them grow strong. So why was there still this stabbing feeling of guilt and regret in his chest?

"Owww," Trunks whined as he slid down from the wall and sat down on the floor. He gingerly pulled his hands away from his face and Vegeta felt another sick rush of guilt at the sight of blood running down from Trunks' nose. He touched his face and winced, whimpering as he pulled his hand away. "I think it's broken…" he muttered. Vegeta dashed to Trunks' side and dropped to a knee as he gently touched his son's face.

"Hold still," Vegeta muttered with the barest hint of concern. Not only had he hurt his son, he'd _injured_ him. What sort of father was he?! Once again, as soon as the thought touched Vegeta's brain, he was questioning it. He was the King. Who was he to second-guess himself? To coddle his son? ' _Then again,'_ he thought to himself, ' _I_ did _want to be a better father than my own…'_ he shook his head as he moved Trunks' nose gently. "It's not broken," he assured him. "It's just bruised and there's a little blood."

"You didn't say you were gonna hit back," Trunks muttered defensively as he pulled away from Vegeta's hand with a sniffle.

"I didn't say I wouldn't," Vegeta retorted. "You need to be prepared for anything in a battle. Your enemy won't tell your their plans, even if the fight is supposed to be fair," Trunks sniffled again and looked away sullenly. Vegeta rolled his eyes as he wiped the blood off on his pant leg. "Stop your crying," Vegeta told his son harshly before, almost reluctantly, softening his tone. "Then go inside, wash, and change. I'm taking you to that park." Trunks looked at Vegeta excitedly and almost began to squeal happily before Vegeta jabbed a finger in his face. "Don't make me change my mind!" Trunks nodded eagerly before rushing out of the Gravity Chamber. Vegeta rolled his eyes and shook his head. What had happened to him?

OoOoOoO

With brother and sister as Super Saiyans, the pair fought evenly, Gohan holding back a little while Goten went all out. Goten jumped to drive a dropkick into Gohan's chest but Gohan leaped into the air to avoid it, flying up out of her range.

"Hey!" Goten pouted as she stamped her foot. "That's cheating! Get back down here!"

"Cheating?" Gohan asked playfully with a bit of a smirk. "What do you mean?"

"I can't do that!" Goten replied hotly. The ridiculousness of that statement nearly knocked Gohan out of the sky.

"What?!" Gohan exclaimed in shock for the third time that day. "You… you can turn into a _Super Saiyan_ but you haven't learned how to fly yet?!"

"Yeah," Goten huffed defensively. "What's wrong with that?" Gohan sputtered in disbelief.

"G-Goten," he stammered. "That's like knowing how to fly a plane before you know how to walk!"

"I don't know how to fly a plane, either!" Goten shot back, not understanding the metaphor. "Trunks can, though. Bro, you should teach me!"

"Okay," Gohan assured Goten as he touched back down. "Sure thing. I've just got a lot of stuff with school and the Great Saiyaman–" he paused and looked at Goten suspiciously. "You haven't told anyone, right?"

"No!" Goten insisted. Gohan nodded and patted her spiky golden hair.

"Okay," Gohan told his sister with a smile. "So like I was saying, my week's really busy. Starting Saturday, though, I'll start teaching you how to fly." Goten hopped up and down eagerly, the force of her tiny Super Saiyan legs making the ground shake under their feet. "Whoa, whoa!" Gohan cried as he put his hands on Goten's shoulders. "Easy there, settle down! Now look," Gohan said, "I think it's time for us to power down. It's probably close to dinner soon and we need to wash up."

"Race you to the house!" Goten declared, rushing off before Gohan had a chance to agree. Gohan was already inside the house when she got there, smirking.

"Didn't think that one through, huh?" he teased. Goten stuck her tongue out pulled down her eye at her brother.

"Goten!" Suno scolded as she finished setting the table. "Don't do that to your brother!" Goten rushed off to the bathroom with a mischievous giggle. "You get back here and apologize, young lady!"

OoOoOoO

"Sooo," Gohan began while helping Suno do the dishes after dinner. "You've known that Goten has been turning Super Saiyan for two years now?"

"Yep," Suno replied with a proud smile. "It's made training her while you've been studying a _little_ difficult but I've convinced her not to use it unless she needs to."

"Aaaaand when were you gonna tell me?" Gohan asked with a quizzical eyebrow. Suno just shrugged. "It's strange, isn't it?"

"What," Suno asked drily. "The idea of my children being thousands of times more powerful than me?" she chuckled, elbowing Gohan playfully in the side. "I've gotten used to it." Gohan laughed and rolled his eyes.

"I guess you've got a point," he admitted. "Trunks can turn Super Saiyan, too," Suno smiled and nodded. "You knew that already too, huh?" he asked. Suno nodded again and Gohan shook his head. "Why am I the last one to know this kinda stuff?" He didn't know how many more surprises he could take.

OoOoOoO

"Man," Videl muttered as she stood on top of a skyscraper and stared across at the giant robot stomping around downtown Satan City. "It is _way_ too early in the week for things to get this weird." It did _not_ feel like a Tuesday.

"Tremble before me!" Professor Extor… not boomed, his voice was too nasally for a boom. It was more of a bray. Or a squawk. Regardless, he made some sort of noise as he stomped along with the motion controls of his giant robot. "I shall be the master of this world! Gero is gone! Brief has been ousted! I am the greatest mind of all!" It was a strange thing, to boast that you were the best one left.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Videl muttered to herself as she uncurled the grappling hook from her utility belt and started sprinting toward the edge of the building. The plan was simple: the nice thing about megalomaniacal would-be supervillains was that they put themselves on display. The bald, goggle-wearing mad scientist literally had himself in a clear case for everyone to see. She'd climb up the thing, smash the case, break the scientist's glass jaw, and save the day. She leaped off the edge of the building and swung the grappling rope, the hook giving a "Clink!" as it latched into the groove of the robot's shoulder groove. She hit the robot's giant arm with a thud and sprinted up the side, trying to ignore the fact that her shoes were starting to slip on metal. Just as Videl was going to reach the shoulder, however, Extor swung his arm to knock over a radio tower, sending Videl skidding off of the robot's arm, spinning out into the free air.

It was entirely possible, Videl thought, that she hadn't quite thought this through as much as she should have.

' _Crap,'_ she thought while reaching for her backup grapnel gun. ' _Crap, crap, crap, crap!'_ She fired her gun toward another building, feeling a surge of relief as the hook buried itself in the concrete before sprinting along the side of the building to try and attack the giant robot again. ' _Okay,'_ she thought to herself. ' _You got this. No problem. You're Hercule's daughter! You can handle–'_ It was at that point she realized a giant fist was coming right toward her. ' _I should've just dropped out of the helicopter again,'_ she thought belatedly. Before the moment of impact, however, a red, green, and black blur burst into view in front of her, crashing into the giant arm and causing it to violently explode.

"I know you told me to stay out of Satan City," The Great Saiyaman remarked while still holding out his fist from when he'd destroyed the giant robot's arm with a punch. "However," he went on as he turned around to look at Videl while she glared at him, "I hope in this case you'll be able to make an excep–" he was interrupted by the giant robot's _other_ fist smashing down on him, knocking him to the pavement below. Videl couldn't fight the bark of terribly vindictive laughter that burst out of her.

"Okay," Gohan muttered as he picked himself out of the Great Saiyaman-shaped hole in the pavement. "That'll teach me not to put my back to the supervillains." He looked up at the giant robot with a groan as he realized his HUD was sputtering and flickering and that half of his vision was looking up at the regular blue sky. "Crap," he muttered. "Bulma's gonna have a _fit."_ Then he rocketed up toward the giant robot, deciding to put an end to this before anyone got a picture of him with three-quarters of his face exposed. He _really_ should have gone for the full-head mask but it wouldn't have looked as cool. He grabbed the robot's arm as Extor swung his giant fist at him, ripping it off at the shoulder and swinging it up to knock the robot into the sky like a tennis player serving the ball before dropping the severed arm and following the robot up into the air. He punched through its chest before ripping Extor's control station off of the rest of the robot. Then he tore the case apart effortlessly and let Extor hang there in the open air for a few seconds before grabbing him and flying back down to the ground with him. He ripped some strips out of the supposedly-indestructible robot and wrapped them around Extor despite the scientist's wriggles and protestations.

"This isn't the end of things!" Extor swore as the Great Saiyaman handed him off to a police officer on the scene. "No prison can hold my mighty intellect! I _will_ be free!"

"I'm afraid the real prisons will be quite a bit more difficult to escape from than they are in the comic books you clearly enjoy," quipped The Great Saiyaman, the teenager dressed in an elaborate costume complete with a cape. "Take him away, officer!" Then he flew off without another word, hoping the officer hadn't gotten too good of a look at his face. He hadn't.

Videl had, however. She'd gotten to the ground while The Great Saiyaman– no, while _Gohan–_ was beating the hell out of the giant robot and had gotten a solid thirty second look while he'd wrapped Extor up, given his little end-of-the-issue line, and handed him off to the police officer. That face, that dark eye, those few locks of red hair that fell down over his forehead…

"Sunnuvabitch," Videl muttered to herself. Then she stroked her chin and her mouth slowly curled up into a smirk. She could use this.

OoOoOoO

"For crying out loud, Gohan!" Bulma groaned as she looked woefully at the damaged helmet like someone had run over her dog. Not only was half of the visor missing but the helmet had been cracked and one of the antennae was bent. "What'd you do?!"

"Got punched by a giant robot…" Gohan murmured through barely-opened lips as he looked away and rubbed his arm bashfully.

"It's gonna take me, like, three days to fix this!" Bulma whined. Gohan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Three days?!" Gohan exclaimed in shock. "The Great Saiyaman can't be out of commission for three days! The world needs me!"

"Well you better buy a mask from a costume shop," Bulma retorted as she jabbed a soldering iron accusingly into Gohan's face. "And in the future," she added, "Try to remember that _you_ might be indestructible but my equipment isn't!"

"Well," Vegeta remarked from the doorway with a chuckle, "I'd _hardly_ call him indestructible." Gohan spun around at the sound of Vegeta's voice. "You know," Vegeta added, "Without the helmet, you look… _almost_ less ridiculous. Shame you're committed to this secret identity nonsense." Gohan rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore it.

"Hey, Vegeta," Gohan said as he began to walk toward him, "Have you got a minute?"

"I have exactly three," Vegeta told him while already walking down the hall and toward his office. "If you want to talk, you'll have to walk, I have a meeting in ten minutes to start planning the fall lineup."

"But… it's April," Gohan pointed out in confusion. Vegeta looked languidly back at Gohan and shook his head.

"You have no idea how long it takes to produce a clothing line, do you, boy?" Gohan shook his head. "Well as long as you've got my attention," he went on, "What is it?" So Gohan told him a summarized version of his meeting with Xī. "So," Vegeta began while he sat on the corner of his desk and rolled a glass of gin in one hand. "You're telling me that the creator, my creator, is a woman?"

"That's… the first thing I told you, yeah," Gohan remarked with some degree of irritation. Vegeta chuckled.

"Well, you've already lost me," he quipped. Gohan groaned and Vegeta laughed. "Lighten up, boy," he told Gohan with a chuckle. "Gods, you young people have no sense of humor. Now then," he continued after taking a sip of gin. "So this strange purple woman comes to you in a dream and tells you that the ultimate evil exists on Earth and she has named you as her Chosen One to defeat it."

"Well," Gohan corrected him with a modest tone, "She never used the term 'Chosen One'-"

"But she _chose_ to speak to _you,"_ Vegeta reminded him. "And only you. My, my," he said with another chuckle and a shake of his head. "Now you're the Chosen One. Aren't we special?"

"She also told me to gather my forces," Gohan pointed out. "The strongest people I know. Vegeta, you're the strongest person on this planet besides me." Vegeta took a long sip of gin, never breaking his withering glare from Gohan's face. "W-well, I mean," Gohan stammered defensively, "It's not like we've sparred–"

"We should fix that," Vegeta interjected again. "Not right now, of course, I'm busy and you look like an idiot. Soon, though." Then he set the glass down on a coaster on his desk and rubbed his chin. "As for Majin Boo…" he shrugged. "I don't care."

"What?!" Gohan exclaimed vehemently. "D-did you miss the part about how Boo–"

"Is the greatest evil the universe has ever known, yes, yes," Vegeta remarked sardonically. "And how he'll destroy the world and bring about darkness untold, and so on and so forth. People said the same thing about Freeza," Vegeta reminded him. "And Trunks said the same thing about Cell, and some even said that about _me."_ He gave the most dismissive shrug in the history of shrugs. "Forgive me if I don't leap to attention and give a salute."

"I– you… but…" Gohan stammered out in anger as his face began to turn red. "THE EARTH–"

"Is not important to me!" Vegeta interrupted harshly as he stood up from his desk. "This planet does not matter. _Your_ people do not matter. The only thing that matters to me is my family–"

"AND THEY LIVE HERE!" Gohan practically screamed at him.

"For now!" Vegeta barked back. "I have a spaceship with a fully functioning hyperdrive in my yard as well as the coordinates and languages of ten _thousand_ habitable worlds in here," he told Gohan while tapping his index finger to his temple. "If you fail in your little quest then I will take Bulma and Trunks and leave this planet behind. The Earth is not special. It is a mote of water and dust floating in the infinite abyss. The only things on this planet of value are my wife and the Prince," with that Vegeta walked around his desk and sat in his chair, spinning it around to turn away from Gohan.

"We're not done here!" Gohan snapped as he grabbed Vegeta's chair and spun him around to look at a Super Saiyan Vegeta glaring up at him.

"We _are,"_ Vegeta told him coldly. "Unless you'd like to see just how much victory has weakened you, _boy."_ Gohan glared back down at Vegeta before turning away in a huff, his cape swirling dramatically behind him as he stormed out of the room.

"Well," Bulma remarked as she watched Gohan walk past her. "That didn't sound great." Gohan stopped and gave her a weary look and a sigh. "Hey," she said as she patted him on the arm. "If there's one thing I know about Vegeta, it's that an easy way to get what you want outta him is to appeal to his vanity."

"I tried that already," Gohan pointed out glumly.

"Ya didn't try hard enough," Bulma teased him. "Hey, I'll talk to him later. I got him to go to the beach with us before."

"How'd ya do that?" Gohan asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Made a bet with him," Bulma explained simply. "Told him that if he was a _real, powerful_ Saiyan warrior," she put perhaps an inappropriate embellishment on those emphasized words, "He'd be able to go on the beach, out in the sun, for eight hours without sunscreen."

"How'd that work out?"

OoOoOoO

 _Vegeta hovered over his and Bulma's bed in a black rage. He was covered from the bottoms of his feet to his scalp in sunburn and was, in fact, so badly burnt that he was_ glowing _red._

" _Not. One. Word," he growled down at Bulma who was sitting on the bed beside him. She looked up at him with a mix of genuine sympathy and an urge not to burst into giggles._

" _Do you want me to get you some aloe?" she offered._

" _I SAID NOT ONE WORD!" he screamed, although the effort of movement in his neck, shoulders, and face in that scream caused him to cry out in pain, which only hurt him more._

OoOoOoO

"Weeeell," Bulma drew out with a grin, "I got him on the beach!" Gohan chuckled and Bulma patted him on the shoulder again. "So don't you worry," she assured him. "I'll get the old sourpuss to come around."

"I'M NOT OLD!" Vegeta bellowed from down the hall, causing Bulma to giggle again.

" _And,"_ she added, "I'll get the helmet fixed after _you_ broke it so you can go back to being a hero." Gohan smiled and gave Bulma a quick hug before teleporting home.

"Crap," Gohan muttered as he walked into his room and sat down at his desk. "What a friggin day." Well, at least it couldn't get worse.

OoOoOoO

"Soooo," Videl remarked slyly as she leaned against the locker next to Gohan's, talking to him completely out of the blue and separate from her entourage. "When're you getting that helmet fixed?" Gohan's blood ran cold and he was so startled by the question that he nearly ripped his locker's door right off the hinges.

"I-I dunno what you're talking about" Gohan insisted in a horribly unconvincing attempt at playing it casual while Videl giggled wickedly.

"Don't worry," she promised him in a voice that was nearly a whisper. "I won't tell anyone your big secret. Even if I _am_ 'Satan City's Favorite Daughter' or whatever and I could be on the news like that," she snapped her fingers for emphasis. "You just gotta do something for _me…"_ her tone was almost sinister as she moved her index finger in a slow spiral before brushing it along Gohan's arm. Gohan didn't feel entirely comfortable with where this situation was going.

"Y-yeah?" he asked, already wincing. Videl leaned up to whisper in his ear and could probably hear Gohan's heart up in his throat.

"I want you to teach me to fly," she told him. Gohan looked at her as if he were about to faint.

"Oh," he sighed with relief. "Is that all?" he almost burst out laughing. "V-Videl," he stammered out. "You could've just asked me like a normal person. It's not some big, clandestine secret. I'd be happy to show you!"

"Oh…" Videl was kind of surprised by that. "Really?"

"Yeah," Gohan said with a nod as he wrote quickly on a scrap of paper and handed it to Videl. "These are the coordinates to my house," he explained. "You can come by on Saturday. I was gonna teach my little sister to fly, anyway," he closed his locker while Videl stood there with the paper in her hands, still somewhat confused. "Oh," Gohan added. "You might wanna think about cutting your hair or something," he suggested. "Just so it won't get in your way while you're flying. Plus it's too easy for people to grab it during a fight right now." Videl's lips curled up into a catlike smirk as she leaned closer to him. "Wh-what?"

"Is that the _real_ reason?" she asked coyly. "Or do you like girls with short hair?" Gohan stammered in red-faced incoherency and Videl laughed so hard that she doubled over, holding onto her knees to keep from falling over.

"I'm just fuckin' with ya, you dork!" she exclaimed when she straightened up and slapped Gohan on the arm. She let out a few more wheezing laughs before she looked up at him shyly, tapping her index fingers together. " _Do_ you, though?" she asked in a more sincere-sounding voice. At this point, Gohan didn't know what was going on, so he didn't answer one way or the other.

"O-or you can braid it," he muttered while still red in the face. "Or put it back in a ponytail or a bun or somethin'. Just so it doesn't get in your eyes while flying," Then he murmured out an almost-inaudible "See you Saturday," and made his way down the hall to his next class. Videl chuckled and shook her head. So she was gonna learn to fly and, maybe, pick up some Son Family secrets as well.

"Man," she said to herself as she started heading off to her next class. "This week is turnin' out _great."_

' _Man,'_ Gohan thought to himself, ' _Can this week get any_ weirder?'

* * *

SSVC/N: Holy cow. Two years, over a hundred chapters. It's still kind of crazy to think we made it this far. Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their support, every favorite, every follow, every review, every kudos. It all means a tremendous amount. Last year I said we'd see you at the Boo Saga in year two. Now we're here. I wonder where we'll be for year three.

Z/N: It's been a long, rough road but we're finally here. Moved an inch forward; it's been two years. Ups, downs, all arounds, don't know quite what we did to get through. Songs aside, it's amazing that we're here once again and exactly where I said we'd be. This is, quite honestly, beyond even my wildest imaginations. Even if Cloud's done most of the work, the simple fact that we've been consistently doing the same thing for two years and have created one of the longest Dragon Ball fics on AO3 is nothing short of amazing. This is the final stretch of the story, the final saga in the original manga. After this, there'll be a couple different things we could do. Which one will we choose? Well, I guess you'll just have to find out. See you next year!


	108. All it Takes is Faith and Trust!

Chapter Hundred-eight

All it Takes is Faith and Trust! Learning to Fly!

Saturday came quickly for Gohan. He and Goten were out in the front yard in their gi. Gohan's was purple, similar to what he wore to fight Cell, while Goten's was golden yellow and blue. Goten's was clearly inspired by her mom but the blue of Goten's undershirt and belt was more of an ice blue like Suno used for her own gi and the sleeves of her shirt were long and somewhat baggy. They were doing their stretches while waiting for Videl to arrive.

"Now remember, Goten," Gohan reminded his baby sister as he did some one handed handstand pushups. "Videl's not like us. She's kinda, y'know, normal."

"Are we not normal?" Goten asked in confusion while doing a neck bridge with her back arched and her arms folded.

"We are!" Gohan assured her as he switched to the other hand. "I mean, kinda. She just doesn't know about all the… aliens and magic and stuff. I still haven't really told her. So just keep it our secret, okay?" Goten rolled onto her stomach and sat in a full lotus position, nodding eagerly.

"Okay!" she agreed as she hopped excitedly to her feet. Before Gohan could say anything else, a car horn honked off in the distance and the siblings turned to see Videl's red rocket car literally hurtling towards them over the hills, coming to a stop less than an inch from Gohan. For his part, Gohan didn't really flinch. Wouldn't be his fault if Videl totaled her new car on Gohan's shins.

"Yo!" Videl said with a wave out of the window before opening the door and hopping out. She was wearing a baggy white shirt with her fingerless gloves, running shoes, and a pair of black leggings. Gohan was surprised with her new hairdo. It was… a _lot_ shorter. She'd cut her pigtails completely off. It actually looked… pretty nice. "Sorry I cut it close but, y'know, you _are_ the Great Saiyaman."

"Say it a little _louder,_ why don't you?" Gohan muttered while rolling his eyes. Goten tugged at Videl's shirt and waved excitedly, smiling up at her.

"Hi, there!" she greeted. "I'm Goten!" Videl smiled down at her and held a hand out for Goten to high five. Her eyes were drawn to Goten's tail as it swished from side to side but she decided not to make too much of a fuss about it. After all, Goku had grown a tail at the 21st Budoukai, right? It would make sense for Goten to have one. Although that didn't explain why Gohan _didn't._ She'd have to ask him sometime.

"Hey there," Videl said cheerfully as Goten gave her an enthusiastic high five. "I'm Videl! So your big bro's gonna teach us how to fly, huh?" Goten nodded excitedly. "Sounds like fun!" Before Gohan could say anything, though, the front door opened and Suno walked out.

"Gohan," she said as she stepped out of the house. "What's with all the noi–" she stopped when she saw Videl and smiled. "Oh, hello! You must be Videl! It's nice to meet you again." Videl beamed from ear to ear at Suno and took one of her hands in both of hers as she bowed respectfully, to Gohan's mild surprise.

"It's an honor to meet you," Videl said earnestly as she looked up at Suno before standing straight. "You and your wife were _huge…_ inspirations…" she seemed to fixate on Suno's hair. "...To me." She turned on Gohan, glaring at him. "You jerk!" she exclaimed, flinging herself at Gohan and bringing both fists down on him as he tried to shield himself.

"Hey! Hey!" Gohan protested in confusion. "What'd I do?!"

"You said I had to cut my hair!" Videl reminded him vehemently as she continued raining down punches. Since they were hopelessly ineffectual, Goten and Suno just laughed. "Look at how long your mom's hair is! Do you know how long I'd been growing it out?!"

"I never said you had to cut it _that_ short!" Gohan pointed out defensively. "I just said you had to cut it! Your hair was _way_ longer than my mother's! I said you could put it in a bun or braids or something! You're the one that lopped it all off!" Suno giggled and turned to go back inside.

"Well, I'm gonna go do some work," Suno said as she opened the door. As one of three living practitioners of the Odori style, counting the Polar Bear twins Mari and Timus, she'd begun compiling her knowledge and understanding of the style into a book in what free time she could find. She'd combined her own experiences with the samples of Master Frost's own writings that her mother had once sent her in the mail. "You all have fun! I'll bring you some lemonade later." With that, she shut the door behind her. After a few more seconds, Videl finally stopped hitting Gohan and dropped her hands, panting and catching her breath.

"Ya done?" Gohan asked as he rubbed at his forearms.

"Yeah," Videl sighed. "I'm good." She paused, looking Gohan over. "Jeez, I didn't do _anything,_ huh?" Gohan shrugged. "What're you _made_ of?"

"Long story," Gohan said with another shrug. "So, you ready to learn how to fly?"

"Totally!" Videl exclaimed eagerly. "So, how's it work? Think happy thoughts? Try to fall on the ground and miss?" Gohan laughed.

"It's a little more complicated than that," he began while sitting back onto the hood of Videl's car. "I actually realized a little while ago that there's actually a little bit of science behind it." Videl and Goten simultaneously rolled their eyes. "Aw, come on, science is cool!"

"Ehhhh," Videl said with a shaky motion of her hand.

"Ehhhh," Goten parroted while copying the hand motion without quite understanding it. Gohan rolled his eyes again.

"Okay," he sighed, "Think of it like this. Gravity is pushing down on you all the time, right? To fly, you have to expend energy that pushes yourself _up,_ consciously and constantly in opposition to that force. That energy that you have to expend is called ki."

"Oh!" Videl interjected enthusiastically. "You mean like the stuff a Kamehameha is made out of and junk?" Gohan nodded approvingly and smiled.

"That's right," he told her. "But ki isn't always so bright and flashy. It's the energy inside all of us and inside everything. From me to you, to the grass and the sea. Sometimes it can be projected invisibly, which is called a kiai," Gohan held up one hand to demonstrate and swung it forward. A nearly-imperceptible force shimmered through the air, knocking an apple out of one of the apple trees in the garden. It bounced off the branch below it, rolled down the Son Household roof, and into Gohan's open hand.

"Cooool," Goten and Videl said in unison. Gohan grinned, glad to see that he had their attention now.

"So flying," Gohan continued, "Is basically a continuous kiai that you use to push yourself off the ground. So the first step to learning how to fly is to control your ki."

"Okay," Videl said with an understanding nod. "That makes sense. So how do we do that?" Gohan hopped off the hood of Videl's car, flipped end over end several times through the air, and landed between her and Goten… seated in a lotus position with the apple balancing on his head.

"Meditating," he explained simply.

"What?!" Videl exclaimed with a groan. "You've _gotta_ be joking!"

"Awwww," Goten whined with similar annoyance. "But meddy-tating is boring! Mama says I always fall asleep!"

"Hey," Gohan replied with a bit of a smirk. "You guys wanted to learn how to fly, right? Besides," he added, "If I could sit still and meditate when I was _four,_ I think you guys can handle it." Of course, he left out the part where he actually looked _forward_ to meditation because it was the only time of the day where Mr. Piccolo wasn't beating him half to death. He didn't want to scare Goten or make Videl think he was some kind of crazy person.

….Come to think of it, maybe Gohan _was._ Just a little bit. He'd nearly died and seen people die _far_ too many times for him to be completely well adjusted. He tried not to focus on it too much.

Reluctantly, Videl and Goten folded their legs and sat on either side of Gohan, closing their eyes.

"How long does this ta–" Videl began to ask before Goten shushed her.

"Shhh!" Goten whispered with a finger at her lips. "Mama says meddy-tation is quiet time." Videl rolled her closed eyes but said nothing. The trio sat silently for several minutes and listened to the breeze that swept across them and stirred the leaves in the trees and the grass at their feet.

"Breathe," Gohan explained calmly after several more minutes had passed while his chest rose and fell rhythmically. "Slowly and deliberately. Take deep breaths. Turn your focus inward. There's a light inside you. It might be big or it might be small. Focus on that light. Visualize it. Hold it in your hands. Let that light spread throughout your body. Feel it buzzing through your fingertips and your toes, through every part of you. Feel my light. Feel each other's light. Feel my mother's light and the light of everyone in this village. Our ki is all connected." Videl and Goten's eyebrows lifted slightly as they listened to Gohan's words, as though they could feel the energy passing through them. "Now let that light keep spreading," Gohan continued. "Because the light isn't just in you. The light is in the Earth under your feet. It's in the air you breathe. It's in the hum in the stars out in space. We are all part of the same light. Let that light lift you up. Don't fight the pull of the light, let it be a part of you." Gohan slowly lifted off of the ground and Videl and Goten followed up after him, all still sitting as they hovered into the air. Slowly, Videl and Goten opened their eyes.

"Holy sh–" Videl started to say before she realized she was in the presence of a seven-year-old, "Cr–" no, that wasn't good either, "Cow," Yeah, that would work. She was only ten or twelve feet off the ground but still, she was flying! Completely under her own power, no jetpack or rocket boots or airplane or anything! She slowly unfolded her legs and stood up straight in the air while turning to see that Gohan had already done so.

"Yippee!" Goten exclaimed as she thrust her arms into the air and started zipping around. This was so great! She could fly now, just like big bro! Videl, not wanting to be outdone by someone less than half her age, pushed off into the air, straightening her body out. She tried to focus on that light Gohan had talked about, pushing it out through her feet. To her surprise, she actually started moving. She was going at a pretty good clip, too, and started laughing exuberantly as she flew through the air. Then, however, Videl realized two things in quick succession: She was heading straight for a tree and had no idea how to turn.

"Up!" Gohan cried out with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Think up!" Videl screwed her eyes shut and flung her arms up in front of her face, wincing as she tried desperately to picture the light again, trying to think of it pushing her up into the air. When she realized that she hadn't hit the tree yet, the only logical explanation was that she _had_ gone up. She opened her eyes again and looked straight up into the bright blue sky with a huge grin on her face.

"Woohoo!" she cried as she climbed higher and higher. "I'm doing it! I'm flying! Hey, Gohan!" she called as she started to look down. "Looks like I got the… hang… of…." the distance of ten or twelve feet in the air had now, somehow, become nearly a hundred feet. "This?" she asked in a small voice. As she realized just how dizzyingly high up she was, she lost all of her focus and any ability to picture the aforementioned light. Because of this, she immediately dropped out of the sky and the ground came rushing up to meet her. A horrible stream of expletives flew out of Videl's mouth as she tried desperately to focus again, screwing her eyes shut and trying to remember the light or calm down her breathing. All she could focus on, though, was the wind rushing past her and the fact that her heart had dropped into her stomach and that any second now she was going to–

Fall directly into Gohan's outstretched arms.

"It's okay," Gohan assured her gently as she clung to him like a cat that had been saved from a tree, shaking like a leaf and as white as a sheet. "I've got you." He smiled down at Videl and Videl smiled up at him, her face flushing slightly as, despite herself, her first observation was how rock solid Gohan was to hold onto. She recovered by hopping out of Gohan's arms and pushing him away haughtily.

"You could've caught me sooner, ya jerk!" she told him while pointing an accusatory finger at his face. Gohan laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck but before he could say anything, Goten flew over their heads, still laughing her head off. "What's her deal?" Videl asked. "How come she didn't fall yet?"

"We Sons pick things up pretty quickly," he explained with an apologetic shrug. Videl huffed and started to walk before her legs suddenly buckled under her and Gohan caught her again. "Whoa," Gohan said as Videl leaned on him. "Take it easy there."

"What the heck?" Videl muttered as she held onto the concrete pillar that was Son Gohan. "I… why am I so tired?" she was sweating and was suddenly short of breath. The shortness of breath could be explained easily enough as her still recovering from having just dropped out of the sky but she couldn't figure out where all her energy had gone. All she'd done is sit on the ground and flutter in the air for a minute.

"Flying takes up ki," Gohan explained. "And ki, like I said, is energy. It's just like running or doing any other exercise. You'll be able to do it more the longer you work at it," he smiled and offered Videl the apple. She yanked it out of his hand and bit down on it grumpily as Goten flew overhead again.

"So why hasn't _she_ dropped yet?" she asked.

"She's seven," Gohan reminded her. "She's got a lot of energy." Right after Gohan said that, Goten dropped out of the sky and crashed into the ground, digging up a trench in the earth with her body. Gohan and Videl ran to her, only for Goten to burst out of the ground like a gopher and giggle.

"That was awesome!" she exclaimed as she shook the dirt off of herself. "Let's do it again!" Gohan laughed and reached down, putting his hands under Goten's armpits and pulling her up out of the dirt like a vegetable.

"Are you still gonna think it's fun when mom makes you take a bath?" Gohan asked playfully. Goten gave her brother a horrified look and began to kick and squirm in his grip.

"No!" she cried vehemently. "No, no, no! I don't wanna!" She slipped out of Gohan's hands and ran under his and Videl's legs in her mad dash to escape the terror of cleanliness.

"Get back here!" Gohan said in a playfully admonishing tone as he chased after the half-Saiyan half-pint. Videl watched this for a few moments as she finished eating the apple before she shrugged and gave chase after them. The pair of them chased Goten all through the backyard and the garden, around and around, before the trio finally fell into the grass in the backyard, laughing as they struggled to catch their breath. Granted, Videl was struggling much more than the other two. The trio heard the sound of a sliding glass door opening and looked up to see Suno walking out with a smile on her face and three tall glasses of lemonade on a tray. It was easy to tell which of the three was Goten's: it had a curly straw.

"Well," Suno observed as she started handing out lemonades which were quickly and appreciatively drank. "You all seem to be having fun. How's the flying lesson going?"

"We got a little sidetracked," Gohan admitted bashfully. Suno chuckled as she gave a sideways glance to the dirt-covered Goten.

"I can see that," she teased. "Videl," she asked, "How are you handling it? I know I had a hard time adjusting to all of this ki and flying stuff when I was younger." Actually saying the words 'when I was younger' gave Suno a moment's pause. Dear God, she actually _was_ starting to get old, wasn't she?

"I'll figure it out," Videl replied with a grin after taking a sip of lemonade. "I've got a pretty good teacher." Gohan blushed furiously while Suno smiled and nodded.

"Oh, before I get started on it," she said as the idea suddenly struck her. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I'm doing a lamb curry and rice tonight."

"That's very generous of you," Videl said appreciatively, "But I couldn't. I told dad I was only gonna be out a few hours, anyway. Maybe next time, though?" Suno nodded and smiled before taking back the empty glasses.

"That would be wonderful," she told the girl encouragingly. "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to the lesson. Oh," she added as she turned to head back to the house. "And Goten?" Her voice dropped and took an almost icy tone. "You're taking a bath before you get _any_ dinner, young lady." Goten let out a melodramatic wail of despair that made Gohan and Videl burst out laughing.

The lesson continued for a few more hours once Videl had regained her energy and they made sure to stay carefully close to the ground from that point onward. Videl was still fairly shaky when the lesson was drawing to its end but, for a first day, it was _very_ impressive progress.

"This was a lot of fun," Videl told Gohan appreciatively as she started to get back into her car. "We should definitely do the next lesson soon."

"What about tomorrow?" Gohan blurted out before he'd had a chance to really think it through. Videl looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Gohan cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, his face growing redder with practically every syllable. "Just… I dunno. Why not? You can bring your school books and stuff, i-if you want, and we could, I dunno, help each other with our homework. You could s-stay for dinner if you wanted." There was a pronounced pause before Videl smiled at him.

"Okay!" she said eagerly. "I'll be back tomorrow!" Then she revved up her car and tore off back toward the horizon. Gohan sighed happily as he watched her go, relief washing over him.

"So," Suno remarked as she leaned in the frame of the front door. "She seems nice."

"Yeah," Gohan agreed with a nod.

"She's a very cute girl, too," Suno added.

"Yea–" Gohan agreed absently before catching himself. He wheeled around and looked angrily at his mother, his face so red it was actually _more_ red than their hair. "MOTHER!" he exclaimed in embarrassment as Suno laughed her head off.

"Come on," she told him in a teasing tone. "Help me get your little sister in the tub." Gohan huffed and followed after her, snatching Goten before she could escape and tucking her under his arm like a pillow.

"Is Videl Gohan's girlfriend now?" Goten asked innocently, causing her brother to give a wordless cry of embarrassed rage which only made Suno laugh even harder.

OoOoOoO

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" Videl called as she entered the Satan family mansion, her voice echoing off the walls as she walked into the parlor where her mother and father were sitting. Her mother, Miguel, was lounging on the couch in a green sundress and idly flipping through channels on their absurdly large television that covered nearly half of the wall and hung over the fireplace. Her father Hercule, the champion of the world, was reading the newspaper in a smoking jacket, slacks, and slippers while he smoked on an ornate pipe.

"Did you have a nice time, sweety?" Miguel asked, turning over the back of the couch to look at her daughter. "I've never flown an airplane before. What was it like?"

"I told you, mom," Videl reminded her mother, "It's not _that_ kind of flying! There's no plane involved, I'm learning to fly without it like those people on the news from a few years ago."

"I always thought that was some kind of big marketing thing for a movie or something," Miguel admitted, making Videl roll her eyes.

"Anyway," Videl continued, "He invited me to come back tomorrow for another flying lesson."

"He?" Hercule asked as he sat up suddenly in his chair and took his pipe out of his mouth. "Now hang on a second, you never said it was a _boy_ that'd be teachin' you to fly."

"Yeah I did," Videl reminded him. "Like, _four_ times!"

"Well, I don't remember," Hercule admitted defensively. "Who the heck _is_ this flyin' boy, anyhow?"

"I told you that, too!" Videl said with a huff. "His name's Son Gohan."

"Son Gohan?" Hercule muttered thoughtfully while he stroked his thick mustache. The name brought up… _unpleasant_ memories of the day he died. Then Hercule shrugged and went back to his newspaper. "Eh, he's a good kid," he remarked offhandedly. "You have fun tomorrow, sweetheart!" Videl smiled and shook her head before climbing the winding marble staircase up to her room so she could take a shower.

' _Just you wait, dad!'_ she thought confidently to herself. ' _This year,_ I'm _gonna win the Budoukai!'_

OoOoOoO

Vegeta and Bulma lay in bed in the dark that night, Bulma straddling Vegeta's waist as she kissed him. He held her close, his hands running delicately up and down her bare arms. He could be surprisingly gentle when things were quiet which, to Bulma, meant that it was the easiest time of the day to talk to him.

"Hey," she murmured softly against his lips before sitting up. "I wanna talk to you about something."

"If you're going to ask me to attend the PTA meeting this week," Vegeta responded dryly as his hands rested on her hips, "The answer is still no. Those buffoons had the gall to say that _my_ son can't have a peanut butter sandwich?"

"Well there _are_ kids at Trunks' school with peanut allergies," Bulma reminded him gently. She could practically see him rolling his eyes in the dark.

"If there are children weak enough to be killed by beans," Vegeta said, "That's their parents' fault for raising such weak offspring." Now it was Bulma's turn to roll her eyes.

"That's not I wanted to talk to you about," Bulma told him. "I wanted to talk about Gohan." There was a long silence in the dark.

"There are only a handful of reasons why you would choose to bring him up _now,"_ Vegeta said, "And _all_ of them have ruined my mood." Bulma slapped him lightly on the chest.

"It was about whatever you guys were arguing about the other day," she told him. "Something about the end of the world or whatever. I missed part of it but you were both _very_ loud."

"You heard the boy," Vegeta muttered as he turned his head to one side. "He's the Chosen One. He only asked for my help because this god-woman _told_ him to."

"Is that really what you heard?" Bulma asked as she slid her hands slowly up Vegeta's chest. "Because the way it sounded to me, it kinda sounded like Gohan _needed_ you," she put her hands on the sides of Vegeta's face and turned it to look at her while she bent down so her face was an inch from his. "That he can't do it _without_ you," she continued, embellishing the emphasized word. "You're the strongest person on the planet. Gohan just doesn't know it because he hasn't seen what you can do. But he _knows_ how valuable you are."

"You're buttering me up," Vegeta pointed out with a smirk.

"Like an ear of corn," Bulma admitted shamelessly.

"Well it's not going to work," Vegeta lied, making Bulma snicker. "Besides," he went on, "I _told_ him what I was going to do–"

"I heard that too," Bulma told him as she ran her hands up and down his chest, neck, and shoulders, "And I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed."

"What?!" Vegeta exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you'd be glad that I said you and Trunks were the only things on this planet that mattered to me!"

"I _am,"_ Bulma cooed reassuringly as she stroked his face. "And it was _very_ sweet of you to say that. I know how much your pride means to you and it means a lot that you would put our safety above your pride to protect us and escape," Bulma could feel Vegeta bristling under her touch and knew that she'd caught him. "But," she went on. "I don't want you to _run_ for me. I want you to _fight_ for me! Whatever this Majin Boo thing is, I want you to kick its ass! Earth is _my_ home! My whole life is here, all our friends!"

" _Your_ friends," Vegeta interjected before Bulma hushed him with a finger on his lips.

"Trunks was born here. It's your home now, too, buster, whether you want to admit it or not!" She flicked his nose gently before kissing him softly on the lips. "We've built a life here," she reminded him in a voice barely above a whisper. "Isn't that worth protecting?" Vegeta muttered something softly, his face barely moving under her hands. "What was that?"

"I said I'll help him," Vegeta growled while audibly frowning. "When Gohan comes back to pick up his stupid helmet, I'll tell him that I've changed my mind. Of my own volition!" he added, making Bulma let out a giggle that turned into a whoop of surprise as Vegeta rolled over suddenly and her legs went instinctively around his waist. "I think that's enough talking for tonight," Vegeta purred before kissing Bulma deeply. Bulma kissed him back and smiled as she ran her fingers through his thick black hair. He might be able to blow the Earth up by thinking about it really hard but he was still wrapped around her finger.


	109. Guess Who's Coming Back to Life!

Chapter Hundred-nine

Guess Who's Coming Back to Life! The Budoukai Approaches!

It was a normal day in the Otherworld which meant that Son Goku was training. West Kaiou watched alongside North Kaiou as his slightly-larger cosmic counterpart's star pupil moved effortlessly through the air, punching, kicking, and flipping around, despite the one-ton weights on each of her limbs. The red, tube-like weights covered her arms from elbow to wrist and her legs from knee to ankle. The monocled deity was unimpressed by what he saw.

"So she can move around with four tons holding her down," he said with a shrug. "Hardly that impressive. I bet she couldn't even handle twice that much. And this is your star pupil, Kita? Pshaw," he scoffed.

"You think so, Nishi?" North Kaiou asked with a grin. "Hey, Goku!" he called up to the Saiyan woman as she fired off a series of quick jabs through the air. "How about we ramp it up to ten tons?"

"Sure thing!" Goku called down while flashing North Kaiou the thumbs up. West Kaiou chuckled and adjusted his monocle while North Kaiou snapped his fingers. The weights instantly inflated in size and now Goku was trying to support forty tons, her arms and legs quickly being yanked down as she started to drop out of the sky. West Kaiou gave North Kaiou a sly look but North just pointed up and chuckled. West looked up and watched as Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan. His jaw slacked, the curly-q of his antenna sprang straight up, and his monocle popped off of his head as Goku moved effortlessly again with such swift and precise movements that, if not for their change in size, one could hardly have believed the weights had actually been increased.

"Wanna know somethin' else?" North added slyly. "She can still get eight times stronger than that." West fainted, making North chuckle again. As he continued to watch Goku train, Uranai Baba popped into the Otherworld, nearly startling Kaiou out of his loafers. "Jeez!" he exclaimed as she floated idly past him. "Somebody oughta replace that witch's hat with a dang bell or something!"

"Zip it, ya blue cricket," Baba told him dryly as she looked back at him over her shoulder before calling up to Goku. "Goku! Get down here!" The weights promptly vanished and Goku powered down as she descended.

"Hey, Baba!" she said happily with a wave before Baba reached a hand up and ruffled a hand in Goku's thick black hair. "What's up?" While Baba spoke, Goku found a ribbon candy in her hair. With a shrug, she popped it into her mouth.

"Your paperwork's finally gone through," she explained, "And Enma has decided to give you your one day back on Earth."

"It took Enma seven years to decide?" Kaiou asked sardonically. "What, did Goku not tip a guy at a restaurant once and that messed with the metrics despite her saving billions of lives on multiple occasions?"

"Goku didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave," Baba explained, "And Enma's got a lot on his plate as it is, having to sort all the people who die every minute of the day," she reminded him. "So it was kind of pushed off to the side. However," she added, "Orders came from the very tip-top to have the process expedited." The very tip top? Kaiou wondered what the heck that meant. Once he figured it out, he couldn't repress the shudder that went through him. Why would the Kaioushin care if Goku went to Earth or not?

"So I can go to Earth like Grandpa Gohan did when you had him fight me, right?" Goku asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"That's right," Baba replied with a nod.

"Hmmm… What's today?" Goku asked.

"Today?" Baba echoed curiously as she pulled a pocket calendar out of one of the sleeves of her robe. "Today is April 12th," she confirmed. A grin started to spread across Goku's face.

"When's the next Budoukai?" she asked eagerly. Baba stared at Goku in blank disbelief before sighing and flipping through her pocket calendar.

"The 25th Budoukai," she answered wearily, "Is on May 7th." Goku beamed as Baba put her calendar away before rubbing her temples wearily. "So let me see if I understand this," she muttered. "After spending seven years in the afterlife doing nothing - _literally_ nothing- but training and fighting, you want to go back to Earth… to fight?"

"Well sure!" Goku exclaimed eagerly. "Why not? That's what we all always used to do; we got together at the Budoukai! It was how we caught up and saw what we'd all learned and stuff!" Baba sighed and rubbed at her temples again before turning and floating off again.

"I suppose I'll go tell Enma," she muttered before blinking right out of sight.

"So," Kaiou asked with a bemused expression on his face. "I suppose you want me to tell someone on Earth?"

"Yeah!" Goku replied with an enthusiastic nod before turning and hopping up into the air to fly off. "I'm gonna go see what Pikkon's up to! Maybe he'll be up for a spar!"

"Yeah," Kaiou replied sarcastically as he watched her fly off. "I'm sure he's gotten _much_ stronger in the last _two hours."_ He just hoped that whatever the Kaioushin apparently needed Goku for didn't attack before the month was up. Goku was pretty much unshakeable once her mind was made up.

OoOoOoO

"She's WHAT?!" Xī hollered as she pressed her face against the crystal ball, glaring at Enma's terrified reflection in it.

"I–I'm sorry, your highest," the giant, bearded horned man stammered out as he seemed to shrink down under his desk to try and hide from her fury. "Goku said she wanted to go back to Earth in about a month for their Tenkaichi Budoukai and I, well, I already finished the paperwork…" Xī sighed and rolled her eyes, pushing the crystal ball away and watching it roll down a hill.

"I swear to crap," Xī murmured as she tucked her arms back under her chin. "If Babidi attacks in the next week, I'm going to erase Goku's soul." This entire time she'd been lying on her stomach in the grass, a towel wrapped around her middle.

"Can you do that, Xī?" Saike asked as he pushed his elbow down into Xī's shoulder blade. The red skinned brunette young ogre had certainly matured physically in the last several thousand years.

"Less backsass," Xī murmured as her eyes fluttered shut. "More elbow grease."

OoOoOoO

"Careful, Goten!" Gohan called up to his little sister as she flew through the ki rings he'd made for her to practice her control and turns. "Those rings won't hurt you but mother'll still get mad at us if you burn your gi!" The trio had moved their training from the Son Family's backyard to a clearing toward the southern tip of the main continent. Appropriately enough, it was only a short flight away from the Southern Continent and Papaya Island.

"Hey, Gohan!" Videl exclaimed. She concentrated with all her might and formed a single tennis ball-sized white ki ball in her left hand. "Think fast!" she called out and hurled the ball as hard as she could. Gohan turned slowly around and the ball exploded harmlessly against his face as if it were made of cotton balls.

"Very nice," he encouraged playfully as Videl floated down to the ground. "I think you exfoliated the first layer off my nose." Videl huffed and folded her arms angrily as she stomped a foot down on the grass.

"Come on!" she groaned in exasperation. "I spent like two days trying to figure out how to do that! I was hoping it'd do _something!"_ She'd gone online and watched grainy footage of the 22nd Budoukai and somewhat-less-grainy footage of the 23rd Budoukai, trying to brute-force figure out how to correlate what Gohan had told them about ki and flight and how to make lasers shoot out of her hands. "How friggin' strong are you, anyway?"

"Pretty strong," Gohan admitted bashfully with a bit of a shrug. "Still," he encouraged, "That's pretty impressive that you were able to figure out ki manipulation by yourself, even on a rudimentary level. We'll focus on that after you get the hang of flying." Gohan's face flushed as he bashfully added, "Uh, I mean… i-if you wanna keep training with me, that is."

"Yeah," Videl replied as a light blush crept across her own cheeks. "That'd be nice."

"Okay," Gohan said with a grin. "But for now–"

' _Gohan!'_ Gohan stopped as he heard Kaiou's voice in his head. _I've got some big news!'_

"What's up, Kaiou?" Gohan asked aloud. Videl could only watch in confusion as Gohan suddenly seemed to be talking to… no one.

"Uhhhh… Gohan?" she asked while cocking her head to one side. He didn't seem to hear her, though.

' _Your mom got her one day back on Earth,'_ Kaiou explained. ' _She's coming back for the 25th Budoukai!'_ Gohan's mouth fell open slightly and he felt more than a little lightheaded. ' _Well, I'll let ya get back to what you were doin'. Just thought I'd let you know!'_

"Gohan?" Videl asked again, poking Gohan's cheek a few times to make sure he hadn't died on his feet. "Do you smell burnt toast or… taste pennies or anything?"

"My mom's coming back!" Gohan exclaimed suddenly, nearly knocking Videl off her feet in surprise. He grabbed her by the arms and lifted her off the ground, causing Videl to squeal out in surprise as he spun her around, laughing jubilantly.

"W-wait, what?" Videl asked in confusion. "C-coming back?! What are you talking about?!" Gohan set her down before shaking his fists eagerly, grinning from ear to ear and making a sound that was undeniably _squeeing._

"My mom's coming back to Earth!" Gohan repeated as though it were a thing that made sense. "She's coming back for the Budoukai!" Then he turned his head skyward and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Goten!" he cried. "Get the heck down here!" Goten flew down eagerly, throwing herself into her big brother's waiting arms. "Guess what!" he told her enthusiastically. "You're gonna meet your mom!" Goten gasped and her eyes went starry as she, too, squeed.

"Really?!" she asked excitedly. Gohan nodded and she clapped so exuberantly that her hands sounded like firecrackers. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

"Wait, hold on," Videl tried in vain to interrupt. "The heck is going on?!"

"Sorry, Videl!" Gohan said hurriedly as he put Goten up on his shoulders. "We gotta cut practice a little early today! I gotta go tell mother!" Then Videl blinked and the Son siblings were gone.

"Wait…" Videl muttered in the silence as a breeze blew across the plains and stirred the grass. "How the heck am I supposed to get home?!" She sighed and took out her smartphone, scrolling through her apps. "Guess I'm callin' a ride," she muttered. She was definitely gonna make Gohan pay her back for this. Maybe she'd make him take her out to lunch or something. "Wait," she said aloud. "What did I just think?"

OoOoOoO

Suno had been watching television and was startled by her children suddenly popping up in the living room, causing her to fall backward and knock the couch back.

"Gohan!" she exclaimed as son and daughter rushed to help her to her feet. "What're you doing back already? I thought you guys would be gone a couple more hours with your flying lesson."

"We were," Gohan admitted, "But I got the _best_ news from Kaiou!" A smile started creeping across Suno's face as she already began to guess what it was. She wouldn't let herself get too excited, though. She had to let Gohan say it first so she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was happening and she wasn't just dreaming. "Mom's coming back!" Gohan exclaimed.

"That's wonderful!" Suno cried out with joy and threw her arms around Gohan, hugging her son tight. Goten flew up to be up with them, getting in on the hug. "Did Kaiou say when she was coming?"

"Mom's coming for the Budoukai," Gohan explained with a grin. Suno couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course she is," Suno laughed with a grin and a shake of her head. "Then I guess we're all entering!"

"Yeah!" Gohan agreed eagerly with an excited nod. "Only…" his smile faded and he rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Suno asked worriedly.

"I can't enter," Gohan explained.

"What?" Suno asked again. "Why not?"

"I'm trying to be, y'know, normal and stuff," Gohan reminded her. "Remember?"

"Oh," Suno said softly with a frown. "Right." Then Gohan snapped his fingers with a sudden idea and his smile exploded back onto his face.

"That's it!" he crowed triumphantly. " _I_ can't enter," he repeated as he grabbed his watch and struck a pose. His costume appeared in a flash of light and he put on his 'stage' voice. "But the Great Saiyaman can!" he boomed. Suno laughed and Goten clapped excitedly as she always did when she saw Gohan put on his superhero clothes. Gohan grinned as he took off his helmet. "I'll have to do something else to disguise my identity," he admitted as he tapped his helmet. "I'm pretty sure this is against the rules." He pressed the button on his watch again and his costume vanished.

"We should tell everyone!" Suno declared eagerly. "You go up to Dende's and let Piccolo know," she told Gohan. "I'll go ahead and call Krillin and Lazuli. Then you call Bulma and I'll call Launch and Ten," Gohan nodded and put his fingertips to his forehead, disappearing with a flicker while Suno got out her phone.

OoOoOoO

Gohan appeared on Dende's Lookout to find Earth's Guardian watering some Asija trees. He tiptoed up behind Dende with a grin as Dende looked sneakily from side to side to make sure no one was watching him and started to discreetly take a drink from the watering can.

"Hi, Dende!" Gohan exclaimed right behind the teenaged Namekian. Dende gave a cry of shock and the watering can flew out of his hands, flipping end over end to land on Dende's head and drenching him. Gohan laughed loudly, clutching at his stomach as Dende pulled the watering can off of his head and shook the water off of his head.

"Very funny," Dende muttered playfully as he shook water off his clothes and onto Gohan. "And hello to you, too."

"Well look at you," Gohan teased as he looked at Dende. "When I was here last month, you were still about as tall as I was when I brought you back from Namek!" It was true. While still looking like a miniature Kami who'd had the wrinkles ironed out of him now that he was wearing Kami's clothes, he was at least as tall as his staff now. "Look who decided to grow!"

"Well we can't all grow like weeds," Dende retorted as he gave Gohan a good-natured poke in the ribs with his staff.

"Which is funny," Gohan shot right back, "Because I'm pretty sure you're more of a plant than I am." Dende rolled his eyes.

"So what brings you up to the top of the world?" Dende asked.

"I'm here to see Mr. Piccolo," Gohan explained. "There's something I need to tell him!" Dende pointed up with his staff and Gohan turned around to see Piccolo hovering over the temple in a cross-legged stance.

"He's been up there napping," Dende explained with a chuckle.

"I do _not_ nap!" Piccolo insisted sternly, opening one eye to look down at them. "I focus!"

"Right, right," Dende called up to him. Then he leaned over to mutter conspiratorially to Gohan. "He was totally napping."

"You know I can hear you!" Dende and Gohan snickered as Piccolo descended from his point to stand in front of Gohan. Nothing made Gohan realize quite how tall he'd become more than when he stood in front of Piccolo and was nearly eye to eye with him. "Hello, Gohan," Piccolo said with a wry smile. "So what brings you up here? Trying to invite me to another 'game night'?" Gohan laughed and shook his head.

"Mother says you're still not allowed back after you nearly burned down the house over Trivial Pursuit," he told him. "I'm here to tell you mom's coming back to Earth to enter the Budoukai!" Piccolo chuckled.

"Oooof course she is," he remarked. "Are you entering as well?"

"Not me," Gohan explained. "But the Great Saiyaman is!" Piccolo stared at him.

"The Great… who?" If Piccolo had eyebrows, he would certainly be raising one of them.

"Aw, come on," Gohan whined, somewhat deflated. "Haven't you guys heard?"

"The paper boy's throwing arm isn't quite _that_ good," Piccolo reminded him. Gohan grinned and pressed at his watch. Piccolo could only gawk as Gohan suddenly stood before him in some kind of absurd get-up with a red cape.

"Behold!" Gohan declared in a deep, put-on voice. "The Great Saiyaman!" Piccolo continued to stare at him. "Pretty cool, huh?" Piccolo kept right on staring.

"What… on Earth… are you wearing?" Gohan put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes behind his helmet.

"Sorry," Gohan retorted, stretching the word out. "Next time I talk to Bulma, I'll get her to put on some six-foot shoulder pads." Piccolo actually chuckled at that one.

"Why are you even wearing this get-up?" Piccolo asked.

"Because I want to try and live at least a _somewhat_ normal life," Gohan replied. "If I keep all the crazy stuff I can do related to this," he gestured to his costume, "It'll be kinda like I'm everyone else, y'know?"

"You spent your formative years battling alien despots and self-worshipping, time-travelling killer robots," Piccolo reminded him. "You are _not_ normal."

"I know," Gohan muttered. "It's nice to pretend, though, right?" Piccolo sighed and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Alright," he muttered, "Alright. I suppose _I'll_ be entering this tournament as well." Gohan grinned. "But if I fight you," Piccolo warned him, "I'm going to hit you twice as hard for being dressed like an idiot," Gohan smirked and flicked Piccolo's turban off of his head.

"See you there, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said as he turned his costume off. "Bye, Dende!" Then he was gone again as quickly as he'd appeared.

OoOoOoO

When Suno called, Krillin had been fruitlessly trying to meditate with his daughter Marron climbing onto his head. He was almost glad for the phone call because it distracted him from the fact that she was pulling on his hair.

"Hey, Suno!" Krillin said with a grin. "What's up?"

"Hey, Turtle Hermit," Suno teased. "I'm not interrupting any lessons, am I?"

"Is that a serious question?" Krillin asked as he heard the front door open. "Or are you being funny?" Krillin had gotten himself a few students over the course of seven years, although none of them had stayed on the island itself for more than a year or two, although most of them still checked in on Krillin from time to time or at least called. None, of course, except for Lazuli, although at this point she was well beyond a student.

"Little of column A, little of column B," Suno replied. Krillin rolled his eyes as Lazuli walked into the house.

"Mama!" Marron cried, jumping off of Krillin's head and running to her mother. Lazuli smiled and scooped Marron up into her arms, switching to holding her with one arm as she took off her suit jacket with the other.

"Hey, Lazuli!" Krillin called as he turned the phone away from his mouth. "Suno's on the phone."

"Aww, yeah!" Lazuli replied as her smile widened. "Tell her I said hi!" She hung her jacket on the coat rack and undid her shoulder holster, hanging it over the back of a chair and safely out of Marron's reach. After seven years, Lazuli had worked her way quickly up from regular beat cop to plainclothes detective. She refused to be moved to a desk job, however, after rightfully pointing out that it would be a waste of her talents— namely being bulletproof— to spend the rest of her career pushing papers.

"Lazuli says hi," Krillin said as he turned the phone back to his ear again. "So what's up?"

"Well," Suno began. "Gohan got a message from Kaiou today."

"That's never good," Krillin interjected ruefully.

"It was this time," Suno assured him. "Because guess what?"

"Do you actually want me to–" Krill began to say before Suno interrupted him.

"GOKU'S COMING BACK!" Suno exclaimed so loudly that it nearly caused Krillin to drop his phone.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Krillin shouted in disbelief. What the heck did Suno mean 'back'?! Did somebody make a wish on the Dragon Balls without telling the rest of them?

"Goku's getting her one day back on Earth," Suno explained. "And she's using it to enter the Tenkaichi Budoukai! Gohan and I are entering now," she went on to say, "And Gohan just went to go see if Piccolo wanted to enter. You in?" Krillin grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh you _know_ I'm there," Krillin assured her before turning the phone away. "Laz!" he called out. "Goku's comin' back to enter the Budoukai! I'm gonna enter, too!"

"Oh, cool!" Lazuli called back while flipping through the mail with Marron riding on her piggyback style. "I was gonna enter anyway!"

"But what if we end up fighting?" Krillin asked. Lazuli smirked as she reached back and covered Marron's ears.

"Then I guess you better be ready to get your ass kicked," she teased.

"Lazuli!"

"I covered her ears!"

OoOoOoO

"Wait," Suno asked, now talking to Launch while Gohan called Bulma, "So you guys aren't gonna enter the tournament?"

"Maybe," Launch said with a shrug. "We'll definitely be in attendance at least, to say hi to Goku." She covered her mouth and added a conspiratorial whisper. "I think Ten just doesn't want Goku to kick his butt again. He's all old and retired now."

"For your information," Ten replied hotly from the kitchen table where he was sitting with Kani, "I have many responsibilities to consider now as head of the Crane School. Several of my students are already planning to enter. I was going to attend anyway to measure their performance." Then, outwardly, he turned back to helping Kani with her math homework. However, he continued the conversation telepathically. ' _I'd also like to add,'_ he continued, ' _That you hardly seemed to think I was 'old' or 'retired' this morning.'_ Launch let out a sputtering laugh that left Suno terribly confused.

OoOoOoO

"Hey, Vegeta!" Bulma called as Vegeta sat in his office and looked at some preliminary sketch work for their signature fall outfits.

"What?" he called back irritably. The only main difference between the two outfit ideas was that one of them had a scarf. On the one hand, scarfs weren't in fashion. On the other hand, he could bring them _back_ into fashion.

"Gohan called," Bulma replied. "Guess what!" Vegeta rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair as he poured himself a scotch.

"If Suno's going to invite us for brunch again," Vegeta muttered, "Tell her I'm not coming unless she learns how to _actually_ make eggs florentine." Then he took a long sip as Bulma kept talking.

"Goku's coming back!" Bulma told him. Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he sucked and ice cube down his throat, hacking and spitting as he pounded his fist on the desk. Or, more accurately, _through_ the desk. "Are you okay?"

"Are you…" Vegeta finally gasped once the ice cube had dislodged itself. "Are you telling me… that I can punch Kakarot in the face?!"

"I guess," Bulma replied with a chuckle. "She's entering the Budoukai–"

"Then so am I!" Vegeta roared triumphantly as he flipped over his desk. He ripped off his tie and walked over the desk as he strode down the hall toward the nearest door outside to the Gravity Chamber. "And have someone clean my office!"

OoOoOoO

When Gohan went to sleep that night, he found himself with Xī out in the infinite stardust abyss of space again.

' _Guess I should be glad I'm not having another one of those naked dreams,'_ Gohan thought. Xī giggled and Gohan's face flushed when he remembered that Xī could hear his thoughts. "S-so," he said aloud, "I'm guessing you had something to do with my mom coming back?" Xī smirked.

"You could say that, yeah," Xī told him. "Because it's true."

"Did you pull some strings or something?" he asked. That actually made her laugh outright and she brought a hand up to her mouth for a dignified chuckle.

"Gohan," she reminded him, "I'm the Kaioushin. I don't 'pull strings'. I just tell people what to do."

"Oh, right," Gohan replied with a nervous chuckle. "So… you really think we'll need my mom's help? Is Majin Boo really that strong?"

"Gohan," Xī began. "I've been alive some thirty million years-"

"Really?" Gohan interjected with a smirk. "I wasn't gonna guess more than twenty thousand."

"Flattery'll get you somewhere," Xī teased him, "But this isn't that kind of dream." Gohan's face turned bright red as Xī continued. "I've been around a while," she continued, "And in all that time I've never seen _anything_ that comes anywhere close to Majin Boo. We need all the help we can get."

"Oh," Gohan said softly. It was a bit of a sobering thought. "So how long do we have?" he asked. "My mom didn't mess anything up, right?"

"Thankfully, it doesn't look like it," Xī sighed, "But Babidi's dark fingers are drawing close around your world. He knows Boo is somewhere on Earth. We just have to hope it takes him a few more weeks to find it." Then she smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Worst comes to worst," she told him, "I can just _make_ Enma let Goku go to Earth early."

"Right," Gohan nodded, "The whole 'tell people what to do' thing."

"You got it," Xī told him as she playfully flicked his nose. "Well, I've got a universe to run. I'll let you get back to your regular dreams." Then Xī was gone and Gohan found himself playing… underwater soccer. Then he was riding the back of a giant chicken. It was a very strange dream.

When Gohan awoke the next morning, he didn't really remember the dream except for a faint scribbling on his dream journal that just said "Eyy bruddah," which wasn't much help. No more late night snacks, Gohan decided. He _did,_ however, remember his conversation with Xī. He had to step up his training. Which meant that it was time… to do something drastic.

OoOoOoO

"What is it, boy?" Vegeta asked as he tucked his cell phone between his shoulder and his ear. He wondered why he even _had_ Gohan in his contacts. "Get another message from God?"

"No," Gohan began to say, "Well, I mean, yes. But that's not what this is about."

"Oh," Vegeta mocked. He didn't tease, he just mocked. "So we're having _private_ conversations with God now, are we?"

"Look," Gohan sighed, "Do you remember that rocky outcrop in the Northern desert where my mom whooped your butt ten years ago?" Vegeta scoffed.

"That's hardly how _I_ remember it," he muttered haughtily, "But yes, I could probably find it again. Why?"

"Meet me there this afternoon," Gohan told him. "I wanna spar." A cruel smirk curled its way onto Vegeta's lips.

"I wouldn't miss it."


	110. Monkey Prince vs Saiyan King!

Chapter Hundred-ten

Monkey Prince vs. Saiyan King! The Difference Seven Years Makes!

Gohan stood on what he had a sneaking suspicion was the same rock his mom had stood on about a decade beforehand when she had fought Vegeta. After all this time, Gohan noted that the battle scars the planet bore from that conflict remained more or less unchanged. He could look out and see the enormous crater where his mom had powerbombed Vegeta from the upper atmosphere, as if she'd been trying to drive him through the Earth itself. He saw the divot in the terrain where Goku had fired her Kamehameha to stop Vegeta's Galick Gun. Though time and wind-blown dust had scratched most of the surface, it was still undeniably glassy from the heat of Goku's blast. Gohan could see the devastated landscape where he and Vegeta had battled each other as Oozaru and he even recognized, with a small level of discomfort, the rubble of the giant rock Vegeta had smashed over the back of his head. In that fight, however, Goku had been fighting to defeat Vegeta in what seemed very likely to be a fight to the death and to stop him from destroying the Earth. Thankfully, Gohan was comfortably sure that this fight wouldn't escalate to such dire levels.

He was reasonably sure.

As Gohan adjusted the strap of the small cooler he was carrying over one shoulder that his mother had packed for him with fruit and water, he hoped that Videl wouldn't mind too much that Suno would be the one covering her and Goten's flying lesson today. He was also just a little bit worried about whatever his mother might actually _say_ to Videl.

OoOoOoO

" _So you're sure you can handle the lesson?" Gohan asked his mother as he finished tying the red belt of his gi and making sure his boots were on tight. "You've never really taught lessons like this before."_

" _Ohhh, don't worry," Suno told Gohan in a reassuring tone as she handed Gohan what was essentially his pack lunch. "If I can teach your sister not to bite her toothbrush in half and teach thirty something kids long division, I can help your girlfriend figure out how to stay in the air."_

" _Thanks mo–" Gohan started before he noticed what his mother had said, his face immediately reddening. "Motheeeer!"_

OoOoOoO

Even thinking about it now caused Gohan's face to redden. Was it really the right decision to leave Videl and his mother more or less alone? Soon enough, however, he thankfully had something to take his mind off of it. About a minute after Gohan had arrived, Vegeta appeared as well, carrying a cooler of his own over one shoulder. Like Gohan, he was wearing a gi. The sight of it still gave Gohan some small degree of pause, even though Vegeta had been fighting in gi for years. He supposed that the experiences in Gohan's life where Vegeta had been wearing PTO armor had burned themselves rather emphatically into his brain.

"I was wondering how long you were gonna keep me waiting," Gohan said with a bit of a smirk as he set his cooler down. "What's wrong? Starting to slow down as you get older?" Vegeta glared at him as he let his own cooler slide off of his shoulder.

"Still fast enough that I could beat you into a coma before you even realized I'd thrown a punch, boy," Vegeta retorted. "Besides," he added, "Which one of us has been actively trying to better himself and which of us has allowed himself to atrophy?"

"Hey," Gohan objected, "I've kept up my sparring with mother and I've started training Goten. I've been keeping in shape!" Vegeta scoffed.

"If your arms are chained behind your back and your legs are shackled together," he asked, "Does that make wiggling your nose exercise?"

"I dunno," Gohan retorted with a smirk. "Why don't you tell me after I win? I'm pretty sure nose-wiggling is the only exercise you'll be able to get." Vegeta rolled his eyes before looking down at Gohan's cooler.

"And what," he asked in a condescending tone while gesturing toward it tersely, "Is that?"

"Just something my mom packed me," Gohan replied with a shrug. "It's got water and… and apple slices… and grapes… and oranges…" he dropped his head and muttered under his breath, "And a bento." Vegeta let out a bark of derisive laughter.

"A-are you a child?" he asked between guffaws. Gohan huffed and pointed an accusing finger right back at Vegeta's own cooler.

"So what's in that?" Gohan demanded. Vegeta scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Protein," Vegeta replied smugly. "Because I'm an _adult_ and a _man."_ There was an awkward pause as Gohan just kept looking at Vegeta with one slightly raised eyebrow. "That… that Bulma bought for me," he grumbled. Now it was Gohan's turn to laugh and Vegeta seethed. Which was, of course, Gohan's strategy. Through years of fighting both against and alongside him, Gohan had noticed a crucial detail that defined Vegeta's fighting style. As much as Vegeta liked to try and overwhelm his opponents with unrelenting force, he was also a capable and even cunning warrior when he had to be. However, get him angry and he wouldn't be able to focus on strategy. He'd get tunnel-vision and become predictable. While it made Vegeta more dangerous, it also made him vulnerable. That, Gohan told himself, was the paradox of Vegeta. His anger was his best weapon and his greatest weakness.

"Just so we're clear," Gohan reminded Vegeta, "The fight doesn't leave the desert and no–"

"Yes, yes," Vegeta interrupted dryly with a roll of his eyes. "No beams pointed toward the Earth. Just because I don't care about the mudball doesn't mean I'm actively going to destroy it." Then the two warriors got into their stances and eyed one another coolly.

Gohan's mouth quirked slightly and Vegeta hesitated for a moment, wondering what clever comment Gohan was going to make so that they could engage in a last little moment of witty pre-battle repartee. In that moment of hesitation, Gohan was suddenly gone before he appeared in front of Vegeta with his Instant Transmission, driving an uppercut into the King's jaw that knocked him into the air. He followed up on the punch with a driving kick to the gut that sent Vegeta crashing into the mountainside. Gohan flew after Vegeta to continue his attack when Vegeta burst furiously out of the rubble. He used his ki aura to lift the rubble into the air, whipping it around him like a hurricane before sending it all flying toward Gohan at frightening speeds. Gohan dodged and punched away at the rubble, blasting boulders bigger than his entire body to get to Vegeta. Now it was Vegeta's turn to surprise Gohan as he came from behind the Monkey Prince while his focus was elsewhere, smashing his fists down on Gohan's back in a sledge hammer blow to knock Gohan out of the air. Gohan let out a cry of pain reflexively from the blow and grit his teeth to stifle it as he caught himself, landing in a crouch on the ground. The half-second of a rush of air was the only indicator he had to duck down even lower, practically parallel to the floor as Vegeta's roundhouse kick whizzed over his head. He popped upright again and drove the point of his elbow hard into Vegeta's shoulder blade, causing Vegeta to spasm in pain and cry out before Gohan swept his feet out from under him and threw a precise palm strike to the side of the head and send Vegeta spinning off in a spiral. Angry, off-balance, and now disoriented. The fight was only getting started and Gohan already had the advantage.

Vegeta dragged his feet along the ground to stop himself and straightened himself slowly. As he let out an irritable breath he ran a fingertip along his temple, looking irritably down at the red staining his hand wrapping from the thin trickle of blood from his temple.

"Okay," he snarled as he balled his fists and got back into his guard. "The games are over." In the space between "v" and "er", Vegeta turned into a Super Saiyan.

' _Oh right,'_ Gohan thought to himself as he watched Vegeta barrel towards him, transforming himself as quickly as he could. ' _Super Sai–'_ Vegeta interrupted him with a punch to the gut that lifted Gohan off the ground, driving the air out of his lungs and making him cough painfully. Vegeta's foot found its way under Gohan's chin with a flip kick that knocked Gohan backwards and into the air, flipping end over end, the rotations only stopped by a series of rights and lefts across the face by Vegeta before he swung Gohan around by the ankles, hurling him back to the ground. Gohan bounced hard off of the desert floor with a pained gasp and Vegeta was already on him again, grabbing Gohan hard around the middle and sending both of them crashing through several stony spires, pain shooting through Gohan's back with every violent impact. Gohan managed to gather himself in the spaces between the slams and wrapped his arm around Vegeta's neck, grabbing one hand with the other to secure his grip. He squeezed hard while driving his knees into Vegeta's gut over and over, driving the wind out of him. Vegeta shoved Gohan away forcefully and rubbed at his throat, coughing and spitting. Gohan didn't give him the breathing room, however, and pressed his attack with a flying knee that he smashed into the side of Vegeta's face. Gohan pivoted with Vegeta still staggered and drove his other knee into the other side of Vegeta's face hard enough to make Vegeta spin around. Gohan cinched his arms tightly around Vegeta's middle and flung him backwards, spiking Vegeta on his head with a back suplex and cracking the Earth underneath them. Vegeta responded by making the ground explode with a full-body ki blast, wrenching himself out of Gohan's grip before he drove both hands into Gohan's chest and fired off a ki burst to knock him back.

OoOoOoO

Bulma watched the fight unfold with the spy camera she'd had installed into the Capsule Corp Megamoon (which the public obviously didn't know about) with a glass of merlot and a big bag of popcorn, which she gobbled greedily as Gohan caught a ki ball from Vegeta and hurled it back at him, only for Vegeta to smack it back at him with a backhand, which Gohan kicked back in return, all of this at subliminal velocities.

"Mrs. Bulma," her assistant said from the speaker on her desk phone. "The King is on the line and he sounds angry." It was Heidi, who Bulma had hired back once she'd fully sobered up and realized that firing someone for literally doing what they were told wasn't the best business strategy. Even if Capsule Corp would have _obliterated_ her in court, it would have been a PR nightmare.

"Patch him through, Heidi," Bulma said as she put down her popcorn and picked kernels out of her teeth with one hand and picked up the phone with the other. "Your Highness, hi!"

"Don't 'hi' me!" Giran growled on the other line. "What is going on?!"

"Now I know what it looks like," Bulma replied as she tried to soothe the Giant Dragon Monster. "But Gohan and Vegeta are just sparring."

"Are you _sure?"_ Giran snarled. "Because to me, it looks like they're trying to DESTROY MY PLANET!"

"Oh come on, now," Bulma admonished the King with a bit of a jovial tone. "I think that's a bit of an–"

OoOoOoO

"Galick Gun!" Vegeta roared as he fired his signature purple death beam at Gohan, purple lightning arcing across the sky.

"Masenko ha!" Gohan cried in response as he raised his hands overhead, firing the volatile yellow beam and shooting his own electric bolts through the air. The beams met in a blinding multicolor explosion.

OoOoOoO

"I'll… uh… I'll keep an eye on 'em," Bulma muttered nervously.

OoOoOoO

The two beams exploded mutually against each other, equal and opposites. Gohan and Vegeta flew right through the explosion and met fist to fist, pushing off of the impact to strike again, their fists colliding again. They exchanged a competitive glare before they launched into a striking rush, their fists crashing into each other with grunts and cries of effort before pushing away again. Before either one had a chance to recover from the recoil, they resumed their clash, replacing fists with balls of ki that filled the air, hitting each other and exploding in a dazzling display, as though the sky was filled with tiny, exploding suns. Through the hale of ki blasts, Vegeta was able to see that Gohan had disappeared and smirked, throwing his elbow backward into Gohan's face… or more accurately, _through_ his face as he struck an afterimage. Gohan came from Vegeta's left, swinging a vicious hook into the older man's side and causing his body to practically curve around Gohan's fist as he tried to absorb the blow. Vegeta threw his head over to his left and caught Gohan with a glancing headbutt, staggering him. Vegeta swung a kick up into Gohan's ribs as hard as he could, knocking out a mixture of spittle and blood as Gohan hacked up painfully. He followed Gohan as he bounced along the ground, hitting him again each time he came up to knock him back down. On the fifth time, however, Gohan was ready and he grabbed the front of Vegeta's gi to launch him head over heels with a flip toward the powerbomb crater. Gohan pushed off the ground and drove his feet down into Vegeta's back to knock him down into the hole in a veritable slam dunk as he followed him down.

The crater, which was normally pitch black even in the light of day, was suddenly overflowing with light as the two Saiyan warriors exchanged punches and kicks, racing each other in circles around the walls of the crater. They crashed into each other in a thunderclap and an explosion of light like a flash of lightning, each one grabbing the front of the other's gi as they shot up out of the crater in a glowing spiral. They each let go with one hand to bash their forearms into one another's faces before Gohan suddenly let go of Vegeta's gi completely.

"Taiyoken!" he cried out and in a blinding flash of light… Vegeta punched him right in the nose. Gohan cried out painfully and clutched at his face.

"You honestly thought I hadn't learned to close my eyes by now?!" Vegeta demanded angrily as he clapped his hands around Gohan's ears to discombobulate him. Completely disoriented, Gohan was vulnerable to a violent kick to the chest that sent him skidding and tumbling into the dirt at something conservatively approaching mach twelve. As Gohan got up to his hands and knees, Vegeta drove one of his own knees down hard into Gohan's back, splaying his limbs out and driving him into the ground again. "Had enough yet, boy?" Vegeta asked smugly as he got off of Gohan's back. "Maybe you should go back to fighting your baby sister. That seems like more of an even challenge, don't you think?" Gohan pushed himself up off the ground and smirked at Vegeta, stretching a little.

"You kidding?" Gohan replied with a cocky grin. "You just popped that kink out of my back! Pretty sure that's been there since _I_ defeated Cell." Vegeta glowered at him and Gohan's grin only grew. "C'mon, let's go!" Vegeta let out a war cry as he and Gohan crashed into one another again. As long as Vegeta thought he was in control, Gohan thought to himself, he wouldn't get angry enough. The problem was, as much as Gohan didn't want to admit it, that right now Vegeta _had_ control. He was stronger and faster than Gohan, which was a little worrying. Maybe Gohan _had_ been slacking off more than he'd thought. That wasn't a problem, Gohan assured himself as he blocked a right cross with his forearm and feinted with a chop to the throat before really attacking with a kick to the inside of Vegeta's thigh, causing the King's leg to buckle. He'd just have to fight smarter.

With Vegeta distracted by his Charlie Horse, Gohan pushed back and fired a ki beam out of his hand. Vegeta looked up just in time to slap it irritably away. Gohan was behind him from an equal distance and fired another beam which Vegeta slapped away before Gohan nearly caught him with a beam from the left, then from the right, then over and over at various diagonals.

"What even _is_ your strategy here?!" Vegeta asked in frustration. "Are you just trying to make me dizzy?!"

"Nope," Gohan assured Vegeta as he appeared in front of him again. "Just this," he said as he took a step back and snapped his fingers simultaneously. The ground completely vanished from under Vegeta's feet in a wide circle with cacophonous explosions ringing in his ears. It was classic misdirection. While Vegeta's eyes were on the basic ki beams Gohan had been shooting at him with one hand, Gohan's other hand had been shooting controlled ki balls into the ground. Even as someone who was able to fly, the ground no longer being under Vegeta's feet was enough of a surprise to cause him to stumble backward, as though he'd been tripped. Gohan struck like a viper, driving spear strikes into Vegeta's solar plexus at a machine gun pace. Vegeta managed to collect himself and swung with a wild haymaker that Gohan barely dodged with Instant Transmission. Vegeta spun around and swung behind him, only for Gohan to come down from above, driving his elbow down into Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta snarled and swiped at Gohan with a grabbing hand only for Gohan to sift through his fingers like sand as he disappeared with Instant Transmission again. Vegeta looked around with wide, bloodshot eyes that darted from side to side as he grit his teeth, waiting for Gohan to make his move.

"What're you waiting for, damn it?!" Vegeta demanded, seething and red faced. "Show yourself!" Gohan's voice came at him from his left.

"Next you'll say 'Come on out and fight me already, you halfbreed little coward!'"

"Come on out and fight me already, you halfbreed li–" Vegeta started to say automatically before he realized what he'd started to say. He spun to his left where there was… no one there. "What the?!" Gohan came up from below Vegeta from the hole Gohan himself had created just a minute before, driving his shoulder into the small of Vegeta's back. Vegeta spasmed from the impact as Gohan grabbed his hair and swung him around, throwing him hard down to the ground. Vegeta burst up to his feet in a rage, the veins in his forehead bulging out.

"How did you do that?!" Vegeta bellowed. "How the hell did you–"

"What?" Gohan asked casually as he floated in the air with his arms behind his head. "The part where I predicted what you were gonna say because you're about as one-note as a dial tone? Or the part where I sounded like I was somewhere else? That part was pretty easy, too. I just threw my voice. Have you thought about getting a hobby, Vegeta? Something outside of selling shirts and perpetuating a dick-measuring contest with my dead mom?" Vegeta seethed through clenched teeth and Gohan chuckled. "And, y'know, despite her not even having one, I'm pretty sure you still lose." Vegeta let out a shriek of rage and Gohan got into his guard. ' _Perfect,'_ he thought to himself as Vegeta came barreling forward. ' _I've got him right where I–'_ Vegeta grabbed Gohan violently by the face and slammed the back of his head viciously into the ground, both as if he were trying to shove Gohan through the planet and his hand through Gohan's head. While he'd been patting himself on the back, Gohan had forgotten the "faster and stronger" part. Vegeta slammed his fists down hard on Gohan's chest, only missing by a hair's breadth as Gohan rolled out of the way. He lashed out with another kick to the ribs so vicious that it seemed as if he wanted to wear Gohan's left lung for a boot. Gohan did his best to roll with the impact and got to his feet just as Vegeta pounced on him again.

"Come on, boy!" Vegeta taunted as he rained punches down on Gohan's forearms that he was using to block his face and chest. "Say something funny now! I'm all ears!" He reached his arm back to deliver a haymaker that would have shattered Gohan's guard before Gohan's hand shot out and grabbed Vegeta's wrist. Gohan's spiked hair had risen even higher and lighting ran up and down his body.

"Okay," Gohan growled out as he narrowed his eyes, squeezing Vegeta's wrist harder. "Something funny." He yanked Vegeta by the wrist into a headbutt, disorienting the King of All Saiyans before unleashing a pair of left and right hooks and exploding with a jumping right roundhouse to the side of Vegeta's head and finishing with a left crescent kick that made a whip crack from the force of its impact. Vegeta staggered and almost fell to a knee before he pushed himself back up and uppercut Gohan hard enough to lift him off the ground. Apparently, Gohan suddenly realized in between the stars he was seeing and the blood he was tasting as Vegeta smashed an axehandle strike into the side of his head, Super Saiyan 2 was no longer the overwhelming, all-encompassing advantage he'd thought it was. Still as a regular Super Saiyan, Vegeta was nearly matching him. Gohan staggered and nearly fell before he recovered as well, swinging his fist just in time to meet Vegeta's high kick. Still, Vegeta was mad enough that Gohan hadn't lost the advantage. He asserted said advantage by grabbing Vegeta's extended leg in both hands and spinning him around before punching Vegeta hard in the back of the head. Vegeta took several staggering steps forward before he stopped and spun around, gathering a purple ki ball in his right hand.

"Let's go" Vegeta challenged as he flew at Gohan with the ki ball reaching back. "Come at me head on! No more games!" Gohan nodded and drew his right hand back, gathering a yellow ki ball into his palm as he rushed forward. The two warriors cried out furiously, their voices carried on the wind as their ki balls met in a flash of light and a star burst of an explosion.

OoOoOoO

"So," Gohan said with a voice muffled by a fistful of grapes in his mouth as he and Vegeta sat on their rock spires. "I think that went pretty well." Vegeta said nothing, chugging chocolate protein shakes in a manner that could genuinely only be described as "spitefully." It would be hard to tell who between the two of them had won. Their gis were scuffed and torn in places with spots of blood in the fabric and each carried his fair share of scrapes and bruises.

"Just so you remember," Vegeta reminded Gohan as he took an aggressive bite out of a peanut butter protein bar, "You were only able to gain your advantage by doubling your strength which had already been increased fifty times before that." Gohan shrugged and finished drinking his water.

"Maybe," Gohan agreed. "Buuut it also helped that I'm kinda smarter than you." Vegeta groused as he continued eating his protein bar. "Besides," Gohan added, "You still haven't figured it out so I've got time. I mean, it's been seven years and it took you… thirty? To figure out how to become a Super Saiyan when it took me…" he paused, only counting the years after he'd learned what a Super Saiyan was, "Four? Three and a half? So I think I'm okay for a while." He chuckled and ate his bento while Vegeta scarfed and drank his proteins. Then, Gohan said the words that even he had been dreading. The words that he desperately, truly did not want to say but that he knew were crucial if he wanted to be ready for the battle with Majin Boo. "...Same time next week?"


	111. Get Ready, Everyone!

Chapter Hundred-eleven

Get Ready, Everyone! The Tournament Looms on the Horizon!

Gohan couldn't believe how quickly Videl had progressed with her flying lessons. In less than two weeks, she had gone from not even understanding ki as a concept to having mastered flight. She wasn't exceptionally fast, of course, but that wasn't anything that couldn't be overcome by training like any other form of exercise.

"So," Videl panted out once they got to the end of training while Goten floated over their heads, backstroking through the air. "I guess we're done? With the training, I mean," she added quickly when she saw the hesitance on Gohan's face. "We can keep hanging out and stuff, obviously, I just figured that it might get in the way of you training Goten for the Junior Budoukai or you training with that Vegeta guy and the Great Saiyaman stuff."

"Y-yeah," Gohan agreed with a blush. "Totally, we can hang out. Do you maybe wanna–" he thought he might say "do something this weekend?" or "Go see a movie sometime?" Something that a normal person would say. Instead, the next words he said were "Ask my mom if she'd train you for the Budoukai?" Gohan was going to play it off as a joke before Videl's face lit up.

"That would be amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly. Gohan blinked in surprise.

"Really?" Gohan asked. He'd known that Videl was a big fan of his mothers but he hadn't expected this strong of a reaction.

"Are you kidding?!" Videl asked eagerly as she shook her fists as if she were about to explode with energy. "I could get to train with one of the best female martial artists of all time?! That would be the greatest thing ever!" Gohan laughed nervously at Videl's exuberance, forgetting that he still had to ask his mother about her opinion on the subject.

"Yeah," Goten added from above them, "Mama really had fun helping me and Videl learn about flying while you were fighting' Trunks' dad." Gohan's face reddened slightly as he looked down at Videl.

"D-did my mother," he asked nervously, "S-say anything?" Given how badly Suno had needled him about the idea of him and Videl being in a relationship, he couldn't even guess what she might have said without Gohan being around to cut her off. Videl just laughed.

"She just asked what kind of martial arts background I had," Videl assured him, which made Gohan let out a reflexive sigh of relief. "Aaaand if I thought you were cute," she added. Gohan was struck stiff as a fence post with a face like a stoplight, making Videl laugh out loud.

"There's no way my mother said that!" Gohan asserted in an almost panicked voice that only made Videl laugh even harder. "Y-you're lying!" Videl laughed so hard she went off her feet, swinging in the air from side to side like she was in an invisible hammock. "W-well," Gohan stammered out flusteredly, "What'd you say?" Videl just flew off, still laughing. "H-hey! Get back here!" Videl just kept on flying and laughing, her humor exacerbated by Gohan's reaction. "Videl! What'd you say?!" She flew off into the distance, her laughter echoing on the wind, mocking Gohan. He groaned and rolled his eyes, holding a hand up for Goten to take so he could take them back to the house with Instant Transmission.

"Hey, guys," Suno said with a smile. "How was trai–"

"WHAT DID YOU ASK VIDEL?!" Gohan exclaimed so furiously that it made Suno's hair blow back.

"E-excuse me?" Suno asked, startled.

"Videl said you asked if she thought Big Bro was cute," Goten explained while still hanging in the air. Suno just chuckled and shook her head.

"Wait a second," Gohan said with a sudden realization. "Goten, why didn't _you_ say anything?"

"It was funny watching your face turn all red," Goten explained. Gohan groaned and shook his head, resting his face in his hands.

"I told Videl that I'd ask if you would train her to get ready for the Budoukai," Gohan said wearily. Suno clapped her hands excitedly and gave a squeal of delight as she went starry-eyed. "I guess that's a yes?" Gohan asked.

"Of course!" Suno assured him eagerly. She'd gotten a bit of a teaching bug from helping Goten and Videl with their flying lessons that one day. Obviously, she was a teacher but she'd never taught anything related to martial arts before. It was so fun and such a new, exciting experience that she considered doing it more often. Taking on someone with a degree of martial arts experience of her own would be a good starting point to see if she would think about doing it on something closer to a full-time basis. "Be sure to let her know that I'd be happy to train her!"

"Sure thing," Gohan said a smile crept onto his face despite his suspicions. "But," he warned her, "That _doesn't mean_ you're gonna be playing matchmaker or anything, alright?" Suno chuckled and held up a hand as if she were swearing an oath.

"You have my word," she promised him. "I'll do no such thing." Gohan nodded and walked off to his bedroom so he could start on his homework before dinner. "For the record," Suno called as Gohan closed the door, "Videl was telling the truth!" The solid wood door barely muffled Gohan's howl of embarrassed frustration.

OoOoOoO

"I don't get it," Trunks said as he and his father stood on a small, deserted island off the southern tip of the Western Peninsula. "How come we're training out here? Is the gravity chamber busted or something?"

"No," Vegeta explained as the waves crashed high and flecks of foam blew past them on the breeze, "But your mother wouldn't appreciate me blowing holes in it. That's why we're out here."

"Holes?" Trunks asked curiously as he scratched the back of his head. "Whaddaya mean? Are you gonna teach me some kinda ki stuff?" A rare genuine smile crept across Vegeta's lips.

"Something like that," he said before crouching down on one knee to look at Trunks. "If you're going to win this tournament then you're going to need a special attack. I expect Suno or Gohan have already taught Goten Kakarot's ridiculous Kamehameha by now so you're going to need an attack of your own."

"But I've already got my own move!" Trunks protested.

"This is more important than your ridiculous Victory Cannon," Vegeta snapped before instantly pulling back when Trunks recoiled. He didn't mean to be harsh with his son but he was trying to do something important for him. Why couldn't the boy just shut up? "This technique," Vegeta went on in a more measured tone as he put a hand on Trunks' shoulder, "Was taught to me by my father. It was passed down to him from his father, and from his father before him, to the very beginning of our family line. Some day," he continued, "You will pass it on to your child." Gods willing, Vegeta thought to himself, it wouldn't be a child made from a union with Kakarot's daughter. No matter how amusing Bulma found the notion and regardless of the fact that the child would have more Saiyan blood than if each of them found human partners, he couldn't get past the idea of looking at his grandchild and seeing some measure of Kakarot's face in them without his skin crawling.

"Uhhh, dad?" Trunks asked as he poked his father's face. "You kinda zoned out on me there." Vegeta shook his head and brought himself back to the present.

"This technique," Vegeta went on as if nothing had happened, "Is the Galick Gun." He stood up and pivoted his body to one side. "Follow my movements exactly," he told Trunks and the boy eagerly copied his father's stance.

"How do I turn my ki purple?" Trunks asked. Vegeta blinked and stared off into the distance in deep thought. He… wasn't entirely sure how ki changed color.

For the next several hours, Bulma watched happily from CCMM satellite as pairs of purple ki beams shot off into the sky. It was nice to see her boys bonding.

OoOoOoO

"Kamekameha!" Goten cried as she fired the beam off toward the clouds. The beam shimmered slightly and vaguely resembled water coming out of a hose in its loose, unfocused structure. Gohan sighed and shook his head. "What?" Goten asked in confusion. "I did it, didn't I?"

"No, Goten," Gohan told his sister as gently as he could. "Come on, we've been over this, right? Watch me again." He got into his stance and brought his hands forward. "Watch my hands," he told Goten, making the movements of his hands very clear and precise. "Kame…" the blue-white bulb of light grew in his hands while Goten watched him attentively, " _ha_ me…" he put special emphasis on the first syllable. "Ha!" Gohan thrust his hands forward as a straight and true pillar of light shot out of his hands and off into the sky. "See the difference?" he asked Goten, who nodded eagerly in response. "Good. Now try again."

OoOoOoO

"Don't worry," Lapis called over the din of his and Amy's five young children and several of their pets running through the house that nearly drowned out the sound of the telephone ringing. "I'll get it!" He picked up the phone and opened a window, sticking himself halfway out of it to escape the noise as he answered the phone. "Yo, sis," he greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Not much," Lazuli said on the other end. "Just checking in. How's Amy and the kids?"

"Oh, ya know," Lapis replied with the casual shrug of domestic bliss. "Rhodey and Emmy are growing like weeds. Greg, Andy, and Jamie have adjusted to living out here pretty well." Those were Lapis and Amy's three adopted children, whom Lapis had saved during a forest fire that had claimed their parents' lives. Not wanting to see the trio end up in the foster system that had traumatized him and his sister when they were kids, Lapis adopted the trio without a second thought.

"Lapis!" Amy called from inside the house. "That better not be another animal shelter! You can't just adopt every last chance dog you see in the paper!"

"One," Lapis shouted back with his hand covering the phone's mouthpiece, "It's not, it's Lazuli! Two," he added with a grin. "Try and stop me, babe!" Lapis had gotten a habit, since they'd put a Capsule House on the park he worked at, of buying and taking care of the older, injured, and otherwise unwanted pets from shelters and pounds. Why not? His job paid well and it wasn't like they were short on space.

"I will break this friggin' laptop over your head!" Amy warned him before adding in a juxtaposingly sweet tone, "Tell your sister I said hi!" Lapis rolled his eyes.

"Amy says hi," he echoed dutifully.

"Give her my love," Lazuli told him brightly. "Oh," she added. "There actually _is_ something I wanted to talk to you about. Krillin and I are entering the Budoukai–"

"Gonna be a hard pass on that one," Lapis told her. "I'm not really into the whole fight for money thing. Besides," he went on with a grin, "You don't want me to kick your butt like last time, do ya?"

"That is _not_ how I remember it going down," she shot back. "Besides, I figured you'd at least wanna come cheer your sister on. Buuuuut if that's not enough, Son Goku's coming back to life to enter the tournament."

"No fooling?" Lapis added as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know it did always kinda bother me that we never even _met_ the lady that we were basically 'created' to kill."

"I know, right?" Lazuli agreed. "So, whaddya say? Are you gonna come and see us?" Lapis flashed a grin as he slipped back into the house.

"What the heck, I'll see ya there!" After exchanging goodbyes and hanging up, Lapis cupped his hands around his mouth to shout over the din. "Kids! Amy!" He shouted. "We're goin' to go watch Aunt Lazuli and Uncle Krillin fight at the Budoukai!"

OoOoOoO

Lazuli put down her cell phone with a shake of her head and a smile before she walked into the bathroom where Krillin was standing in front of the mirror with an electric razor in one hand and a frown on his face.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked playfully as she ran her fingers through his thick black hair.

"They're not worth that much," he muttered dryly as he leaned back against her hand.

"Hey," she mock-scolded him, "I'm the only one allowed to put you down." He chuckled and leaned back against her as she put her arms around his neck. "Now tell me, you goofus. I won't laugh at you if that's what you're worried about."

"Well," Krillin said slowly as he looked back up at his reflection. "I was gonna shave my head for the Budoukai, ya know? Bring back the Bald Tiger look and everything. But when I looked at myself, I thought about how I hadn't really shaved my head in six years. Before that, the longest I went without doing it was a couple days at most during that whole saga on Namek. So this," he gestured to his hair again, "Is more than just a haircut. Or, y'know, _lack_ of a haircut. It represents something. It represents us and our life together."

"Funny," Lazuli remarked as she wiggled her wedding ring under his barely-visible nose. "I thought it was this. Or her," she added as she pointed a thumb back to the living room where their daughter was watching cartoons. Krillin let out an almost-dejected sigh and Lazuli kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just teasing."

"So that's why I _don't_ want to shave it," he explained. "But I _do_ want to shave it because…" he chewed his lip as he ran his fingertip over the incense burns on his forehead. Or, more accurately, where the burns _should_ be. Over seven years they had faded to such a pale white as to be nearly nonexistent. "If I don't shave my head, is anyone even gonna know who I am? Will they even remember me?" he gave a bit of a sad shrug. "It's not like I ever really did anything at the Budoukai, ya know?"

"C'mere, you goofus," Lazuli muttered good-naturedly as she tilted his head back and leaned her own head forward to kiss him on the lips. "Hey," she told him gently. " _I_ think you're pretty great and you've got a daughter who thinks her daddy is the greatest guy in the world. That's gotta count for something, right?" Krillin smiled up at Lazuli and kissed her again before putting the electric razor back in its drawer.

"So," he said as she disentangled her arms from around him. "What're we gonna do about the prize money? Like, what happens if I win?"

"Oh, that's easy," she told him. "We'll split it."

"Same thing if you win, right?"

"Nah," Lazuli said sweetly as she sat back on the bed. "That shit's all mine."

"Hey!"

OoOoOoO

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Shouronpo cried as she attacked her father. She unleashed a flurry of right and left strikes, her fingers curled like claws as she tried to get through Yamcha's defenses. She brought both palms forward with a howl, driving them forward into Yamcha's forearms with enough force to send him skidding backward through the grass, his feet digging into the earth as he stopped himself.

"Ha!" Yamcha exclaimed proudly as he lowered his arms. "That's my girl!" Despite only being eleven years old, Shouronpo was nearly as tall as her father, though that was hardly a surprise given the height of her and Ocha's mother, Chi-Chi.

"Come on, dad," she protested. "When are you gonna teach me the Kaiouken so I can kick everyone's butts?"

"When I can trust you not to use it just 'to kick everyone's butts'," Yamcha retorted complete with finger quotes. "And when you're older," he emphasized, "So your muscles won't fly off your bones." Shou groaned and Yamcha wagged a stern finger at her. "Don't you groan at me, young lady," he warned her. Then they sparred again, their battle carrying them up into the air this time before Chi-Chi came out of the house.

"Come on down, you two!" she called up to them, cupping her hands around her mouth. "It's time for dinner!"

"Aww, come on, mom!" Shou pouted. "Five more minutes?"

"Yeah, c'mon, Cheech," Yamcha echoed. "Just a couple more?" This was a decision that both father and daughter _immediately_ regretted as Chi-Chi flew up and took them both by the ear, twisting and pulling on their ears as she flew them back down toward the ground.

"I didn't spend all afternoon on dinner," she scolded them over many "Ow's", "Quit it's", and profuse apologies, "Just so you could blow me off to keep training! Shouronpo, you should be thankful I even let you take time off from your violin lessons to train for the Junior Budoukai, so don't you sass me, young lady!"

After dinner, it was Yamcha's turn to do the dishes and his earlobe was still a dull red as he scrubbed pots and pans in the sink. "Y'didn't have to twist it _that_ hard," he muttered as Chi-Chi came up beside him and started to put away the dishes that had finished drying in the drying rack.

"Oh, you're fine, you big baby," she teased him with a bump of her hip. "How's Shou's training coming along?"

"Great," Yamcha told her proudly. "She's doing really well. She's a heck of a lot stronger than I was at her age. How's Ocha coming with his piano lessons?"

"He's–" Chi-Chi started to say before they were interrupted by the cacophonous clunking of keys from Ocha's room, the pair sharing a wince. "He's progressing," she admitted delicately, making both of them laugh. However, Chi-Chi couldn't help but notice Yamcha chewing his lip in thought almost as soon as their laughing ceased. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he lied. Chi-Chi fixed him with a look and raised one eyebrow, holding it until he caved. "Okay," he sighed, "Okay. It's about the Junior Budoukai. Suno told me that Goten's entering because Trunks is entering. Shou… she'll probably be way stronger than just about everyone else entering but those two," he sighed and shook his head. "I just worry that she'll inherit her old man's bad luck of being a side character in someone else's tournament, ya know? And that's not fair to her, she's only eleven years old!" Chi-Chi smiled sympathetically and put her arms around her husband.

"I'm sure you already told Shou the most important things she needs to hear," she told him. "That the only thing she can do is her best and that no matter what happens in the tournament, we'll be proud of her."

"Yeah," Yamcha sighed as he leaned into Chi-Chi's embrace. "I guess you're right." He put his arms around her and they stood in the warmth of domestic bliss for a moment. "I guess I _could_ try to teach her Kaiouken–" the words were barely out of his mouth before Chi-Chi grabbed one of the wooden salad spoons off the wall and cracked it over his head.

"Don't you dare!"

"Ow! Hey! Jeez, I was kidding!"

OoOoOoO

Yamu watched his younger brother Spopovich training with some degree of concern. The man had become almost obsessed with Hercule since his rather humiliating defeat at the champion's hands at the 24th Tenkaichi Budoukai, an obsession that had only been fueled over the last seven years as Hercule had risen to prominence as Earth's hero and arguably the most famous man on planet Earth.

"Kill him," Spopovich snarled as he bench pressed an obscene amount of weight. "I'm gonna kill him. I'll kill him!"

"Uhhh, bro," Yamu pointed out good-naturedly, "You know they won't let you win if you kill him, right?" He'd meant it as a joke, something to break the tension that hung heavy in the air of Spopovich's home gym like humidity. Spopovich sat up from the bench with a snarl and hurled the weight bar away to send it crashing into the wall.

"Then I'll kill them!" he declared furiously as he started to advance on his brother. "I'll kill everyone who gets in my way!"

' _My, my, my,'_ a sinister voice said inside their heads. The brothers turned and looked at each other to wordlessly confirm that both had heard the same thing. ' _That's quite a lot of anger, isn't it?'_ The voice chuckled, sending cold chills running down their spines. ' _So you want to defeat this 'Hercule', eh?'_ the voice asked. Spopovich nodded emphatically and Yamu started to say something before he was interrupted by the voice. ' _You want to be powerful, is that it? I can give you the power to crush Hercule a thousand times over. In return,'_ it continued, ' _You must swear your souls and undying loyalty to your new master. Me,'_ it clarified, ' _Babidi.'_

"We'll do it!" Spopovich declared emphatically. Yamu's eyes widened as he looked at his brother in shock. Was he so far gone that he was willing to sell his soul to defeat Hercule in a martial arts bout? More importantly, what the hell was this "we" crap?!

"W-wait a second," Yamu stammered out, "How did I get roped into–" his protestations were cut off as he and Spopovich screamed in pain, their bodies contorting in agony as they were forcibly transformed. And all the while, the voice in their heads cackled like the Devil.

OoOoOoO

Gohan opened his eyes in that starry abyss and chewed his bottom lip pensively. "Well," he muttered with a voice that echoed slightly into the cosmic void as he turned to Xi, "This doesn't mean anything good."

"I thought you liked my company?" Xī asked in a playfully-hurt voice.

"I do," Gohan assured her, "It's just that you only show up if you have something new to tell me about Majin Boo and Babidi, which is never good."

"That's fair enough," Xī admitted with a shrug. "And you're right, I _do_ have more information about Babidi. It seems your mom might have actually had the right idea with when she wanted to return to Earth. I had a revelation the other night. I don't know how I didn't notice it before but I recalled that the first time Bibidi summoned Majin Boo, he'd used the life force of an entire planet to call it forth."

"Oh," Gohan muttered as the color drained from his face at the threat of planetary extinction. "That might have been helpful to mention earlier, yeah."

"Don't sass me," she warned him. "Just because it's a dream doesn't mean I can't slap you. Anyway," she continued, "I realized that with this tournament on your planet, Babidi has a prime opportunity to try and steal the energy from your planet's most powerful warriors to release Boo from its prison."

"Okay," Gohan said, "So am I looking for a little green man?" Xī shook her head.

"Babidi wouldn't be brazen enough to try and steal the energy himself," she told him, "He's too much of a coward. I expect that he's already used his magic to ensnare at least two people who intend to enter the tournament. You'll recognize them by his symbol," she drew a finger in the air to draw a stylized 'M' that glowed brightly. "Be ready, Gohan," she told him in a deadly serious tone. "The day of reckoning is nearly at hand."

Gohan sat up in bed with a start and looked belatedly at his alarm clock. "Three in the morning," he grumbled as he rubbed at his eyes. How was he supposed to fall back to sleep after _that_ conversation? He'd been expecting that Babidi's attempt to resurrect Boo and the Budoukai would be close together, that was just how these things worked out. He hadn't, however, expected them to be intertwined. The battle for the fate of the universe was only a couple of weeks away. But all Gohan could think about was his growling stomach. ' _I_ am _my mother's son,'_ he thought with a bit of embarrassment as he got up quietly out of bed to tip-toe into the kitchen. As he began the vain search for leftovers before settling on making himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he thought about Xī's words. Now Babidi was apparently going to have minions at the tournament who would try and steal people's energy. The Budoukai had suddenly gone from a fun family outing and a chance to see his mom again to something deadly serious. What was he going to tell his mother? What was he going to tell Videl? The moment the thought entered his head, Gohan lost his appetite. What was he going to do?


	112. Student of the Frozen Turtle!

Chapter Hundred-twelve

Student of the Frozen Turtle! Gohan Confesses!

Suno watched Gohan and Goten fly off toward the island Gohan had found for them to use for training with a wide smile on her face and let out a soft sigh as she watched them go. She could just imagine Goku going off with the pair of them to help their daughter get ready for her first tournament. Even after seven years, it was so easy to let her mind wander into a world where Goku was still there, as if she could talk to her or go out into the backyard and find her tending the garden.

At least, Suno reminded herself as she turned away from the window and headed back to her bedroom, she'd get to see Goku again at the Budoukai in a few weeks. She couldn't help but count herself lucky for that. She didn't count on seeing Goku in person again for many, many years so this was nothing less than a gift. As she changed into her gi, Suno caught her reflection in the mirror and frowned at her wrinkles and the few, stray grey hairs hidden among the red. She'd never really noticed them before and, when she had noticed them, they hadn't really bothered her. Now that Goku was coming back, though, it was impossible not to think about them. Goku hadn't aged a day in seven years while sometimes Suno felt like she'd aged fourteen.

"She'll think I look so old…" Suno muttered to herself with a deepening frown. She shook her head and tried her best to push those thoughts away as she finished changing. She knew Goku wouldn't care how she looked. Goku would always be Goku, she would always love Suno, and it was going to be so amazing to see her again. She'd just tuck those insecurities far enough back in her mind that she wouldn't have to think about them for a while. A knock at the front door alerted Suno to her pupil's arrival and she rushed to the door eagerly before catching herself before she opened the door and taking a slow, composing breath. After all, Master Frost had never looked giddy to see her. The very _notion_ of a giddy Master Frost made Suno giggle and she had to compose herself all over again. There was a second knock at the door before Suno finally opened it to see Videl standing on the other side of the door with an eager grin on her young face. Videl was wearing the same long tank top, purple undershirt, black shorts, yellow boots, and black fingerless gloves she was wearing when she trained with Gohan so Suno supposed that was as much of a gi as the young girl probably wore.

"I just wanna say," Videl began with a bow as Suno stepped out of the house, "How much of an honor it is to train with you, Mrs. Suno–"

"There's your first problem," Suno interrupted her. "I know we had fun when I was helping you and Goten learn to fly but from now on during training, you will call me Master Suno. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master Suno!" Videl agreed emphatically as she bowed again. Suno nodded with her hands behind her back, trying her best to look stern. You had to set boundaries, she told herself, and establish the master-student relationship as quickly as possible. Technically, she supposed that Videl could call her 'Mistress Suno', but that just made her feel… uncomfortable.

"I'm going to help you get as strong as you can in the next two weeks but I can only make you as strong as the effort you give me," Suno watched as Videl nodded eagerly, already getting into a fighting stance. "You should know," she added, "That some incredibly powerful fighters will be in the tournament, including me. So I don't want you to get discouraged but it's very likely that you won't get far in this tournament." The words were barely out of Suno's mouth before she was instantly regretting them. What was she doing?! Why would she say what? Videl had come to her eager to learn, there was no need for her to try and crush her spirits by projecting her own insecurities onto the girl!

"That's okay, Master Suno," Videl assured her, snapping Suno out of her panic. "I know that the deck's stacked against me this time. I won't be discouraged, though!" There was a fire and a determination in the young girl's eyes that nearly stunned Suno. "I'm going to train my very hardest to be the strongest version of myself that I can be!" Suno nodded proudly at her pupil, a grin spreading across her own face.

"All right," Suno declared. "Let's get started! Come at me and show me what you've got!" Videl blinked and looked at Suno in surprise but already had the discipline not to drop out of her guard. "Attack me! Let me see what you're capable of!" Videl nodded and shot at Suno like a bullet, her feet never touching the ground as she flew toward her with one fist reached back. The only problem for Videl, of course, was that Suno was several times faster than the speed of a bullet. Suno effortlessly deflected the punch with the side of one hand with the other tucked behind her back and pushed it away. Videl tried her best to press the attack, however, using the momentum from being pushed away to try and catch her new teacher by surprise with a kick to the back of the head. Suno ducked under the kick with time to spare and Videl caught herself out of her spin to swing her elbow down as hard as she could with a strike down at Suno's collarbone as she stood from her crouch. It would have normally caught her precisely, except for the fact that Videl had abandoned the normal world the moment she'd asked Gohan to teach her how to fly. Suno leaned back slightly with her feet still firmly planted in the grass and Videl's elbow rushed harmlessly past her, the momentum bringing Videl down to a crouch. The young woman looked up just in time to see Suno bringing down two fingers toward her, tapping her between the eyes and sending her flying back as if she'd been cracked in the face with a baseball bat. Videl got to her feet relatively quickly despite the tiny red bump on her forehead and got into a fighting stance again before Suno waved a hand for her to stop.

"What's wrong, Master Suno?" Videl asked as she got out of her guard, standing with her hands at her sides. "How bad am I?"

"Not bad at all," Suno said. "For a regular person, you're actually very talented. Just training with Gohan to master flight has already bolstered your ki and boosted your strength. If I had to guess, you've already surpassed your father. Not that I mean that as an insult to your dad, of course."

"It's okay," Videl said with a bit of a grin. "I know my dad had pretty bad luck in the tournament until you guys stopped showing up." Suno gave her a bit of a look and Videl quickly straightened her posture again. "Master Suno," she added. Suno nodded and continued.

"But if you want to have any chance to last more than a second in the tournament," Suno continued, "You're going to need to do a lot better than regular. For starters," she said as she walked toward Videl, "Get back into your guard again." Videl got into her fighting stance and let out a slightly surprised noise as Suno put her hands on her, pushing on her arms, shoulders, and back to fix her posture. "That's better," she declared. "Your stance wasn't bad but it had several weaknesses." She got into her own fighting stance and stood beside Videl, who watched her sharply and followed Suno's every motion studiously with her strikes, trying her best to copy the older woman's smooth movements as she showed her the basics of the Odori style. They also spent most of that first day of training with Suno having Videl do several pushups and situps, as well as running laps around the house, both forwards and backwards. And on her hands. In an attempt to show Suno how well she'd already been progressing, Videl displayed her own ki ball.

"I tried to figure out how to do it myself," Videl explained as the fuzzy, glowing white ball hovered in the air. "I put together what Gohan told me and Goten about how ki works when he was showing us how to fly with videos of you, Goku, and the others using their attacks I'd scrounged up on the internet." Suno inspected the ki ball like a stern schoolmaster staring at a student's homework before popping it like a bubble with a fingertip.

"You can't brute force ki generation," Suno explained. "It comes with balance. Don't worry, though. We'll get there."

OoOoOoO

The second day of Videl's training was conducted inside a large Capsule meat locker with the temperature cranked to the lowest possible point to try and simulate the conditions that Suno had trained under with Master Frost. Videl was, under Suno's own instruction, in the warmest clothes she had. In contrast to her winter boots, thick sweatpants, sweater, gloves, and wool cap with thermal underwear underneath all of this, Suno was just wearing her gi.

"A-a-aren't y-y-y-y-ou c-c-c-cold, Master Suno?" Videl stammered out through chattering teeth. She was clearly fighting the urge to hug herself to keep warm and stay in her fighting stance. Suno couldn't help but give her a bit of a smirk with her hands on her hips.

"This is nothing," Suno replied playfully. "If we were training in Jingle Village in the winter, you wouldn't be able to feel your toes!"

"I-I-I already c-c-can't feel my toes!"

Despite Videl's protestations, they spent the first hour or so of this arctic education in meditation, both so that Videl could focus on her ki awareness and control and to acclimate her to the cold conditions. They sparred after that, although with a bit of a twist. Suno made Videl cover her eyes and ears with a cloth wrapped around both so that she could only rely on her ki sensing to fight with. The binding would come off after the first time she was hit and, for fairness' sake, Suno went as slowly as she possibly could.

She still had to take off the binding almost immediately.

The training like this continued for another week and, with every day, Videl began to make incremental progress. By the third day of training alone, it took Suno two attempts to to hit a blinded Videl. It was almost remarkable how quickly the young woman was picking up on ki control and the Odori style. It was clear that Suno's pupil was taking her training home with her to try and pack as much progress as she could into the limited time. She only hoped that the girl's actual homework wasn't suffering because of it.

"It's no big deal," Videl assuaged Suno when she questioned her as such. "I mean, my name is on the school, Master, I can kinda get away with a lot." Suno fixed Videl with a stern look that she had never gotten from any professor, martial arts teacher, or even her own parents. "I-I'm kidding, Master Suno!" she said hurriedly. "It was a joke! I'm keeping up with my studies!"

"That's what I thought you said," Suno warned her in an authoritative tone. "Now let's see that ki ball." Videl smiled proudly as she held out her hand and let out a calm, relaxed breath. Her palm glowed brightly and a ball of ki raised up from her hand, shimmering brightly and practically humming with energy. In contrast to her earlier attempts, which had both the appearance and effectiveness of glowing cotton balls, Videl's new ball was like a tiny sun in her hand. Suno gave a few cursory pokes and nodded approvingly when the ki ball held up against the pressure.

"So when do I learn how to do a Kamehameha?" Videl asked excitedly as the ki ball vanished out of her hand.

"We can do it today if you're in such a hurry," Suno told her jokingly. "Just let me go see if Bulma has a nuke that I can fire at you." Videl's skin paled slightly and she swallowed nervously.

"Th-that's okay, Master Suno," she stammered out. "We can take the slow route." Suno gave a bit of a chuckle before handing Videl her bind again to wrap around her eyes and ears to begin their sparring.

OoOoOoO

There was a tradeoff to Videl's progress, however. When Gohan had been teaching her to fly, they'd started spending more and more time hanging out together. It started with her sitting down with him at lunch which meant that soon enough all of Videl's friends sat with them, too. They also often paired up during gym class which meant that Videl's friends started hanging around them then, too. It seemed inevitable that she'd drag Gohan kicking and screaming into being one of the popular kids. There were also the quiet moments between just the two of them; usually they would pair off in study hall or for labs in science class. After a week, they started having their lunch on the roof of the school so they wouldn't be bothered by everyone else. Videl could feel that they were starting to grow closer and it would actually take a few seconds for Gohan to realize that their hands were touching before pulling away, blushing and stammering like an idiot.

However, as the tournament grew closer and closer, it felt like Gohan was drifting away from her. She couldn't find him at lunch and when she asked where he'd gone, he'd say something about how Great Saiyaman was needed in some city or other. When Videl checked the news, though, there weren't any stories about the Great Saiyaman doing anything. He started working alone in labs and study halls as well and seemed to talk to everyone in their group of friends _but_ her. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't anything to get worried about. After all, Gohan probably just had a lot on his mind, given that his mom was coming back to life in a few days, he still had to train his little sister, and he had to take care of his own training and still, somehow, find some time to do superhero stuff every now and then. She couldn't help but get worried, though, especially when Gohan stopped answering her texts. Then she tried calling him and it just went to voicemail.

"Hey, Gohan," she said the first time, "It's Videl. Obviously. I know you've got a lot going on right now but I… I guess I'm just a little worried, I guess? I don't want you to overwork yourself or shut yourself in. You know you can talk to me. So, call me back, I guess. Or talk to me at school. Bye." He didn't do either of those things.

"Hey, Gohan," the third voicemail began. "I… I don't know if I did something to upset you or I said the wrong thing, o-or if you think I'm a distraction or something, or if you found another girl you like but… just tell me, okay? What's going on with you?"

"Gohan…" the fifth voicemail said in a pained voice. "Talk to me. Please…" Videl tried asking Suno what was going on with Gohan but, despite being the guy's mother, she didn't really have a definitive answer for her, either.

"Honestly, I'm lucky if I can get ten words out of him a day," Suno said with a sigh. "It's like he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders and he's afraid that if he tells anyone else, it'll crush them. I've never seen him like this, not even when he and Goku were training to fight Cell."

"I've got a bit of a plan," Videl decided firmly upon receiving that information. "I don't know if you'll like it, though. It kinda involves me doing something that isn't great for my academic career."

"If it gets Gohan to talk about whatever's eating him," Suno replied, "You can get the school closed for a week." That made Videl laugh despite her worries.

"Nothing _that_ drastic," she assured her teacher.

OoOoOoO

"Mother, I'm home!" Gohan called as he pushed open the front door. He'd taken the "long" way home and flew rather than using Instant Transmission. Mostly because he was in a paradoxical conundrum where he didn't want to be at home where he knew that his worrying was upsetting his mother but he also didn't want to be by himself because it left him alone with his thoughts, which always turned to armageddon. "I don't know if it's a good idea to keep training Videl," he lied as he turned and closed the door behind him. "I saw her at school today and she looked pretty tired. I think you might be overworking her."

"That's funny," Suno replied in that tone she only ever used when Gohan was in trouble. The blood froze in his veins as he was instantly taken back to when he stole cookies out of the jar on top of the fridge before dinner or pretending to be studying when he was really reading manga. "Because I saw Videl today, too, and I thought she looked fine."

"Not fine," Videl admitted, her voice giving Gohan a shock. " _Ticked off."_ Gohan slowly turned at a glacial pace to see his mother and his… friend, both sitting on the living room couch and glaring at him. "I played hooky and waited here all day after your mom told me you'd left for school," Videl explained. "I can get away with it," she reminded him. "Name, school, all that jazz." Gohan started reaching a hand up to put his fingers to his forehead before Suno shot across the room and grabbed his wrist.

"Ohhh, no you don't," she told him sharply, still using that 'I brought you into this world and I'll take you out' tone. "You're gonna stay right here, mister. You don't wanna tell me about it? That's fine," she continued as she dragged Gohan across the room by the wrist. "But whatever's going on with you, you owe this young lady an explanation." She shoved Gohan onto the couch beside him and jabbed an admonishing finger in his face, the unspoken decree very clear. He wasn't moving from that couch until he started talking to Videl.

"What's going on, Gohan?" Videl asked in a hurt voice. "Are you… I mean, I know it sounds crazy to ask this, given who you are, but are you in trouble? Is something wrong? Did _I_ do something wrong?" Her voice and her lip quivered when she asked her next question. "Why are you avoiding me?" Gohan looked down at his hands, feeling wretchedly miserable now that he was confronted with just how much his actions had hurt Videl. "Don't just make that face, talk to me!" Videl demanded, her voice thick with heartache.

"I didn't wanna worry you," Gohan muttered, barely moving his lips. Videl glared at him and punched him in the arm as hard as she could. He actually flinched at that.

"I've been worried sick for like a week!" Videl exclaimed hotly. "Why do you think I spent all day in your house?! D… do you not like me? Do you not want to be friends anymore? If that's what it is then for fuck's sake, just _tell me!"_

"I…" Gohan swallowed as he balled his fists into hands on his lap. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I didn't mean for it to be like this." He let out a shaky breath and looked up at the ceiling, blinking a few times before looking at Videl again. "Okay," he finally relented. "Okay. But if I'm gonna tell you, you're gonna need some context." He took another breath, chewing on his bottom lip. "I… my mom is an alien."

"Which one?" Videl asked with the barest hint of a smile. She still wasn't really sure where this was going. Gohan rolled his eyes.

"Goku," he clarified. "She's a Saiyan, like–"

"Like those guys who attacked the Earth and one of 'em turned into a giant monkey?" Videl finished.

"Yeah," Gohan replied with a nod.

"So the Vegeta that my dad advertised shirts for–"

"Same guy, yeah."

"Jeez…"

"Anyway," Gohan continued, "It's a _really_ long story. Most of the Earth doesn't know about most of it, except for King Giran, and he only knows because it's Bulma's job to tell him."

OoOoOoO

"So your uncle kidnapped you and tried to kill your mom?" Videl asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Gohan said with an almost-ambivalent shrug. "I'm pretty sure I broke a couple of his ribs. It was a really weird day."

OoOoOoO

"Wait, hang on," Videl interrupted again. "So somewhere out there, there's a whole _planet_ of Piccolos."

"Yeah," Gohan acknowledged.

"Only they're called Namekians, Piccolo isn't actually a demon but some kinda weird plant-man who got puked up out of an egg, and also God is an alien."

"Something like that," Gohan said with a chuckle.

"I did _not_ expect this conversation when I just thought you were cheating on me."

"Wait, cheating?!"

OoOoOoO

"I thought you said the planet was supposed to blow up in five minutes."

"I did."

"This all sounds like it took a _lot_ more than five minutes."

"I know, I know."

OoOoOoO

"So," Gohan finally said, "Now you know where everything is."

"Yeah," Videl nodded as she struggled to process all of this information. "Your mom's coming back to life to compete in the Tenkaichi Budoukai because she was a really good person and gets to come back to Earth for twenty four hours."

"Uh huh."

"But at the same time, you've been getting these visions from God or whoever telling you that an evil wizard it trying to unleash an evil, unstoppable monster that will kill everything and everyone in the whole universe and that's _also_ probably gonna be on the tournament."

"Yep, that's pretty much it." Gohan said with a lopsided grin, trying his best to look casual about the whole ordeal.

"Jeez," Videl muttered for what felt like the thirtieth time that afternoon. No wonder Gohan had been so worked up over the last few days. "You still could've told me," she muttered after punching him again.

"I know, I know," Gohan sighed. "I promise I won't hide anything anymore and I'll start talking to you again." Then, as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head he added, "Just...gimme a couple days. I kinda panicked because you kept calling me and threw my cell phone into space." Videl rolled her eyes.

"Dork," she muttered affectionately. Gohan blushed and she smiled at him. "There's just one thing I don't know," she added.

"Really?" Gohan asked curiously. "Because I kinda covered my entire life story."

"Not all of it," she told him. "I know where every _thing_ is now," she agreed, "But I don't know where _we_ are." Gohan's face flushed and she rolled her eyes again. "Well if you're not gonna give me an answer…" she grabbed the sides of Gohan's face and pulled him to her, kissing him suddenly. "Is that a good guess?" she asked. Gohan nodded dumbly with a face as red as a stoplight and she kissed him again.

Suno peaked into the living room from a crack in her bedroom door, grinning broadly. ' _My grandchildren are gonna be beautiful,'_ she thought happily.


	113. The Tournament Arrives!

A/N: Hey, guys. Zelenal lives in Florida and he's right in the middle of Irma's path so keep him in your thoughts

* * *

Chapter Hundred-thirteen

The Tournament Arrives! Welcome Back, Son Goku!

The day of the Twenty-fifth Tenkaichi Budoukai had finally arrived and, while Gohan was at the Wolf and Ox household getting the finishing touches done to his costume change, as his helmet would be considered armor and therefore not allowed in the Budoukai, Suno was making sure Goten was ready before Bulma came to pick them up in her Capsule plane. Despite the fact that Suno herself would be competing in the adults' tournament, she was far more concerned with her daughter's preparation, as if she were seeing her off on her first day of school.

"Okay," Suno said as she sat beside Goten on the couch and brushed her hair, "Let's go over it again; We had a healthy breakfast–"

"Uh huh," Goten affirmed with a little bit of a nod, not wanting to interrupt her mother's brushings.

"You took a shower and got dressed in the gi I washed last night–"

"Uh huh," Goten said again, smiling happily and swinging her arms back and forth, enjoying the swishing sound her long sleeves made.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"..." There was no 'uh huh.'

" _Goteeen,"_ Suno warned her daughter sternly.

"Why do I need to brush my teeth?" Goten protested. "It's not like they'll kick me out if I stink! That Battery-man never washed and he got to fight when mom was little!"

" _Bacterion,"_ Suno corrected, "Also died of a series of infections less than a week after the Budoukai because he'd never bathed. Now go brush your teeth, young lady!" Goten zipped off the couch and rushed to the bathroom in an orange-blue blur. She returned a few seconds later and showed her teeth to her mother in a wide smile as if presenting them for inspection. "Did you floss?" Suno asked pointedly. Goten huffed and crossed her arms when Suno used her undefeatable "Maternal Stare" technique, causing her defenses to crumble before she dashed off to the bathroom again. Suno smiled, proud of herself. Not even Goku had ever been able to stand against it. Just as Goten returned, they heard the loud sound of turbines winding down from what could only be the Capsule plane landing outside. Suno looked out of the window to see Bulma waving at them from the pilot's chair and couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course, Bulma was flying the plane herself. Who else would she trust? She looked up slightly and, upon seeing Vegeta standing atop the plane with his arms folded and doing his level best to look stoic and badass, couldn't stop herself from letting out a snort of laughter.

"Mama!" Goten cried excitedly as she tugged eagerly on Suno's pant leg. "Mama, let's go, let's go!" Suno smiled and put a hand over her mouth and chuckled before getting down on a knee to look Goten in the eye.

"Not yet," Suno told her impatient daughter affectionately. "There's something I have to give you first."As she said this, she put her hands to the back of her neck and undid the clasp of her necklace and slowly took it off. "This necklace," she explained as she held it up to Goten, "Was a gift from your grandpa to your grandma for their wedding day." Goten didn't remember her grandmother very well as she had died when Goten was three, but she looked reverently up at the necklace all the same as the reflection from the light glinted off the topaz twinkling in her eyes. "Your grandpa said that it brought out the fire in your grandma's eyes whenever she was passionate about something and she gave it to me when I met your mom and we went off on our first adventure together. I've worn it in every important moment of my life; not just every battle, but at your mom and my's wedding, and when your brother was born, and when you were born." She put it slowly around Goten's neck and made sure the clasp was secure before stroking Goten's hair affectionately. "I want you to have it now," she cooed softly as she looked lovingly into her daughter's eyes. "Because I want your life to be full of adventures." Goten took the pendant in her small hands and held it up to look at with even more awe and wonder now that she knew how important it was before throwing herself at Suno and hugging her tightly. Suno hugged her back, holding her daughter close to her chest. The necklace might not have any special properties like the Power Pole that Goku had handed down to Gohan but it still meant a lot to Suno and she was glad to pass it down to her daughter.

Their heartfelt moment was interrupted by Bulma loudly blaring the Capsule plane's horn which nearly made mother and daughter jump out of their skin before they jumped to their feet and rushed out the door.

"Are you two coming or what?!" Bulma demanded in what could best be described as playful irritation while Suno made sure to lock the door. Goten rushed off to run toward the panel that opened in the back of the plane and, not having to worry about setting a bad example for her daughter, Suno pulled down one eyelid and stuck out her tongue at Bulma. Bulma returned the gesture before they both burst out laughing. Although they obviously hadn't had much time to spend together in the last year or so with Bulma becoming one of the most, if not _the_ most powerful and important person on Earth, their friendship was still there.

As Suno climbed into the back of the Capsule Plane, she was delighted to see that Krillin, Lazuli, their daughter Marron, Lapis, his wife Amy, their five children Rhodey, Emmy, Greg, Andy, and Jamie, (Suno's heart went out to them, she couldn't even _imagine_ raising five Gotens or Gohans at the same time), Trunks, Tenshinhan, Launch, their daughter Kani, Roshi, and even Piccolo were all already inside. It was a little cramped, but it was nice to be around friends. Although Piccolo seemed to be there under duress, that was probably just Piccolo being Piccolo. Suno gave an excited shout when she saw Lazuli and wove her way through the throng of children to pull Lazuli into a hug, which the latter eagerly returned while doing her level best to retain her "Cool mom" image. In the last seven years, what had initially been Suno coming by to check on Krillin and his new Turtle School had not only strengthened their own friendship but formed a friendship between herself and Lazuli. As Bulma grew busier and busier with her growing responsibilities and borderline-totalitarian reach, Lazuli quickly supplanted her as Suno's best friend, with Suno even serving as Lazuli's maid of honor at her and Krillin's wedding.

"So what've you been up to since I talked to you last week?" Suno asked curiously. "Any exciting new cases?" Lazuli just shook her head with a rueful smile.

"Uh uh," she said with a wag of her finger. "I leave work at work. Besides," she added in a conspiratorial whisper as she leaned closer to Suno, "Way too many munchkins around to be talking about murders and drug rings and all that crap." Suno nodded and cleared her throat awkwardly, sometimes forgetting just what unit Lazuli was involved in. It felt like just the other day she was a traffic cop. She had only been one for about a day, of course, as in that single day she canvassed the entirety of East City and had written over two thousand tickets. Speaking of the munchkins, Suno's eyes drifted down to the children, where Goten had already swiftly made friends with Lapis and Amy's adopted children, astounding them with her ability to fly and her feats of strength as she held them all over her head with one hand. "What about you, though?" Lazuli asked to get Suno's attention again. "Anything exciting in the world of academia?" Suno just rolled her eyes.

"Riveting," she replied sarcastically. "I've been thinking about taking some classes online to start teaching at a university. Honestly, the most excitement I had was when I threatened to suspend one of my students, Eddie, over a song that he and his friends had made about me."

"Wait," Lazuli interjected with a gasp. "You're not saying that 'Hot For Teacher' song that's all over the internet is about–"

"Yup," Suno admitted with a bit of embarrassment, which only worsened as Lazuli let out a scandalous laugh and gave her a playful shove.

"So what'd you do to discourage the scamps?" Lazuli asked. Then, with a mischievous eyebrow waggle, she added, " _Did_ you discourage them?" Suno rolled her eyes and shoved Lazuli right back.

"I told Eddie and his friends that while I was flattered," Suno explained, "I demonstrated that it probably wasn't the best course of action for them to continue and that they should turn their talents and… _attentions_ elsewhere."

"How'd you do that?" Lazuli asked with a grin.

"I mangled an appropriately-sized piece of steel rebar in my bare hands," Suno explained simply, reducing the both of them to titters of laughter.

"So, Lapis," Krillin said as he turned to his brother-in-law in an attempt to distance himself from the current conversation. "Who's keeping an eye on the herd?" He was referring to the rather absurdly-large pack of pets that Lapis and his family had accumulated.

"Don't worry about it, bro," Lapis assured him with a grin and a wave of his hand. "The big guy's got it covered."

OoOoOoO

Back at Lapis's home, Adrian was sitting up to his neck in a sea of old, disabled, or otherwise unwanted dogs and cats, affectionately and gently petting them all in turn with his massive hands. Bulma had managed to reconstruct him completely from the blueprints that had been salvaged from Gero's lab, although all of his weapons had been removed, as well as his murderous programming, and his body armor had been replaced with the same synthetic skin that covered his hands, neck, and face. More often than not, he liked to wear overalls and a green shirt. He helped range the park with Lapis and was always useful as an extra pair of hands to help with the children. The five, as well as Marron, loved their Uncle Adrian. It had taken about a year or two to finish the project with everything else Bulma had going on, and a few years more to get Adrian back up to speed, but now he was more or less back to normal.

OoOoOoO

"So how's Marron's training coming along?" Lapis asked in a half-joking tone. "She made a Kienzan yet?" Krillin just laughed and shook his head.

"Training?" Krillin repeated jokingly. "She's three! We don't trust her with safety scissors yet, never mind teaching her the Kienzan!" Lapis grinned.

"Then I guess it's up to cool uncle Lapis to teach my little niece how t'kick butt." He reached down and ruffled Marron's blonde locks. "Whaddaya say, kid? You wanna be a crane?"

"Yeah!" Marron exclaimed excitedly. "Kickin' butt!" Krillin put a hand to his heart, feigning a heart attack.

"I've never felt so betrayed," he bemoaned melodramatically. He and Lapis laughed as Suno looked around the plane.

"Is there even gonna be room for the others?" she asked half-seriously. "Chi-Chi and the twins take up quite a bit of space." She supposed it was a good thing that Gohan was flying on his own, or else they'd be packed in like sardines.

OoOoOoO

"This is never going to work," Gohan muttered as he sat in a chair in front of Yamcha's bedroom mirror, wearing his Great Saiyaman outfit while the older man worked thick globs of black gel into his hair with his gloved hands.

"Hey, you came to me, remember?" Yamcha asked as the gel completely smothered Gohan's fire engine red hair and, against all logic, actually made his spiked hair stay in place. "Besides, you trusted me with your new look for school, remember?" Which, truth be told, was more or less a copy of Yamcha's own old spiked hairdo.

"Yeah," Gohan protested, "But that's different! I thought you had more of a plan than… this!" he gestured to his hair in frustration.

"Hold still," Yamcha said sternly as he kept working the gel into Gohan's hair, smoothing it out to create an almost-spherical effect. "Look, it was either this or your mom's idea with the head wrap and the sunglasses.

"No way!" Gohan insisted while Yamcha put a finger into Gohan's bangs and pulled down a single spit-curl that hung in the middle of his forehead. "That would've looked so weird! It would have messed with the whole aesthetic."

"Then this is what you're getting," the bandit told him firmly. "Now pipe down and put on that mask." Reluctantly, Gohan picked up the green domino mask off of the table in front of him and pressed it to his face. He'd asked a few other heroes, as the Great Saiyaman of course, how they kept their masks fastened to their faces. They'd all said that they used something called "spirit gum," but Gohan still couldn't shake the feeling that the mask was going to fly off his face the second he got hit. He looked into the mirror and frowned.

"I'm _doomed,"_ he muttered forlornly.

OoOoOoO

Gohan flew off before the Capsule plane arrived to cram in its last few passengers. The Great Saiyaman arrived on Papaya Island as was greeted with calls and cheers from the people below, all arriving to either participate in or watch the tournament. The size of the stadium caught Gohan off-guard as he slowly descended to the ground, making sure to arrive a few minutes before the Capsule crowd just to err on the side of caution. The stadium was far larger than what the others had described it as from their times participating in it. He suspected the fact that Hercule was the returning champion and the world's greatest hero had something to do with the tournament's explosion in popularity and demand for increased coverage.

"Name?" the young turtle-girl asked at the sign-in desk, not looking up at Gohan as he got to the front of the line.

"The Great Saiyaman!" Gohan boomed in his stage voice, startling the girl so severely that her head shot down back into her shell. She peered slowly up over the rim of her shell with wide, awestruck eyes.

"R-r-really?!" she stammered out. Gohan flashed her a dazzling smile and gave an emphatic nod. Professionalism completely forgotten, the turtle-girl squealed excitedly and scrambled over the desk with her phone in hand. "C-can I take a picture with you, Mr. Saiyaman, sir?" she pleaded. Gohan laughed boisterously and smiled again.

"Certainly!" he declared. He struck a couple of poses for the girl before picking up a brick out of the path. "What's your name?" he asked.

"V-Venus," she gasped excitedly. Gohan smiled and carved something into the brick with a fingertip before handing it to her, which she read aloud. "T-to Venus, keep standing for justice, from your pal the Great Saiyaman!" She squealed excitedly and hugged the brick to her shell as if it were her own child.

"Good Grief!" someone a few spots behind Gohan shouted. "Can we keep this thing moving?!" Venus rushed back behind her desk in embarrassment and quickly wrote down 'The Great Saiyaman' before Gohan finally got out of the line.

"Name, please?" Venus asked the next person in line.

"Spopovich," the man growled before pushing past Gohan. The sight of the man gave him pause. He only saw the large, bald, singlet-wearing man's back but he was the most… unsettlingly-muscular man Gohan had ever seen. He had protruding veins covering nearly his entire body that were the size of small dogs! Before Gohan had gotten too much farther, however, he was struck in place by a boisterous laugh that was even more recognizable than the Great Saiyaman's own.

"Well if it isn't the flyboy!" Hercule Satan boomed as the crowd parted for him like a sea, his white cape billowing in a breeze that seemed to appear from nowhere as his throng of media followers tailed behind him. Videl, still in her tank top, purple shirt, and black shorts walked beside her father step for step. Hercule stepped right up to Gohan and seemed to glare at him intensely for a moment while cameras snapped like crazy. A brief moment of panic ran through Gohan as he wondered if somehow, someway, Hercule was going to recognize him and blurt out his identity to the world. But Gohan's fears were alleviated as Hercule grinned. "Gotta say, I like the new look!" he declared with another laugh. Gohan laughed in return with no small measure of relief as Hercule threw an arm around his neck and pulled him to his side. "Let's get a picture!" he declared in a tone that made the decision _for_ Gohan. "The world's greatest heroes, huh?" Gohan grinned despite himself and the pair took several pictures for the press, posing ridiculously.

"Mr. Saiyaman," one of the reporters asked, "What do you plan to do with the prize money if you win?"

"Give it to charity, of course!" Gohan declared with plenty of bravado. "The Great Saiyaman doesn't fight for money!" Hercule laughed and slapped Gohan on the chest.

"I love this kid!" he exclaimed as they stood for a few more pictures. All the while, Videl watched from a few feet away with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. She strolled casually up to Gohan after Hercule and his media circus departed.

"Well," she mused in a hushed voice. "It's nice to see that my dad likes both halves of my boyfriend's identity." Gohan's face reddened and Videl snickered, elbowing him playfully in the side. "So," she asked, "Seen anyone that looks like they want to start the end of the world?" As quickly as the blush had arrived, the color instantly drained from Gohan's face. In all the excitement and his Saiyaman-related buffoonery, he'd forgotten about the very real, overwhelming danger of Babidi's minions being among the entrants.

"Not yet," he admitted out of the corner of his mouth, "But I'm keeping my eyes open." Then, as if just remembering it, he added with another mutter. "Hey, you shouldn't be so close to me. Videl and the Great Saiyaman don't get along, remember?" Videl just smirked.

"Well I guess I just got to know him a little better," she teased. Gohan smiled and blushed again, making her chuckle. Soon after, Gohan noticed his mother and their friends that were entering among the throng of those at the registration desk and those who weren't entering just moving among the crowd and had to fight an inclination to wave.

"Hey," Krillin asked Suno as he stood in line behind her, "Where's Gohan? I thought you said he'd be coming ahead of us." Then he looked at the Great Saiyaman and frowned. "Didn't you say that Gohan was dating that Videl girl? Why's she being so chummy with Great Saiyaman?" Suno looked back at him and smiled until she realized that that Krillin was actually being serious and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wait," she asked in disbelief. "Do you… _honestly_ not know?"

"Know what?" Krillin asked somewhat irritably. Suno laughed so hard that her legs nearly went out from under her and she had to lean on a very-confused tortoise-man in front of her to keep from collapsing to the ground. The harder she laughed, the more consternated Krillin grew. "What?!" he demanded before looking at the Great Saiyaman again. Finally, it clicked. "OH MY GOD!" he cried, clapping both sides of his face in his hands. This only made Suno howl with laughter even more as tears ran down her face.

"Mr. Vegeta!" a reporter asked Vegeta as she ran up to him, a microphone up to his face. "What do you expect to do in the tournament?" Vegeta gave her a chuckle and a sly, sideways glance.

"What I always do," he said cockily. " _Win."_

"What will you do with the money if you win?"

"Keep it," Vegeta replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "What else would I do?" The reporter moved a few places back in line to Piccolo.

"And you, sir," she asked, "Mr…"

"Majunior," Piccolo replied bluntly.

"Ma… Majunior," the reporter stammered, clearly knowing her history. "I… uh…" she cleared her throat and tried to recover. "How well do you expect to do in the tournament, as a former finalist?" Piccolo only gave her a chilling, almost wicked grin before looking forward again. The reporter broke out into a cold sweat before she and her cameraman quickly scampered off. Piccolo didn't have much time to savor his bit of fun, however. He was distracted by the purple, white-haired woman in front of him in line. There was something about her that made him _incredibly_ uneasy.

OoOoOoO

Once everyone had gotten through the line and finished registering, they all congregated together with those who'd be spectating until it was time for them to take their seats. Gohan stayed a few feet apart from the rest of the gang to perpetuate some kind of an illusion while Videl wandered off to go find their school friends, bullshitting some story about how Gohan wasn't there because he'd come down with stomach flu and trying not to punch Erasa in the back of the head when she called the Great Saiyaman "a dreamboat". With everything else taken care of, there was just one attendee conspicuous by her absence: Son Goku.

"Of course she's going to keep us waiting," Bulma groaned with a weary smile. "Why not make it three in a row?!"

"I mean, technically," Krillin reminded her, "Last time we just didn't recognize her."

"It still counts!" Bulma insisted. Before Suno could offer her own input, she heard a vaguely familiar voice call her name.

"Suno!" a man shouted. Suno spun on her heels and was utterly stunned as he walked up to her. He had grown much taller and more muscular since she'd last seen him and his skin was now several shades darker. There was also no feather in his long black hair but his hide vest, fringed pants, and moccasins were all undeniable giveaways of…

"Upa!" she exclaimed in amazement before running to greet him with a hug. "Oh my Goodness, look at you! It's been forever, how have you been?" Upa flashed Suno a smile as he looked down at her.

"Well, you know," he said casually. "A few years after you and Goku left, I decided I'd try and climb the Sacred Korin Tower myself so that I would be strong enough to protect the village. I… uh… I didn't expect him to be a cat," he admitted, making Suno laugh. "It took me about a week to climb the tower and a month to claim the sacred water. Though I somehow suspect that by that point I was hardly breaking new ground." Suno gave an apologetic shrug. "A few years after that, I moved to Central City and–"

"Upa!" a voice called from the crowd. Now, as Mai and a lavender-haired woman- both of whom were noticeably older than Upa (although not in a bad way)- pushed their way through the crowd, each with a child of a slightly-lighter skin tone than Upa in tow, it was Yamcha, Puar, and Bulma's turns to gawk in slack-jawed amazement.

"There you are!" the lavender-haired woman said as she looped her free arm through one of Upa's. "Where did you wander off to?"

"I was just catching up with an old friend, Iris," Upa explained to her as Mai came to his other side and took his other arm. "Suno," he said while indicating with turns of his head, "This is Mai and this is Iris. These are our children," Upa gestured with his head first to the child next to Mai and the one next to Iris, "Shu and Mercury." Shu, the black-haired young man with short, feathered black hair looked to be about fifteen and Mercury was probably thirteen, his hair such a light shade of purple that it looked gray. Shu wore glasses, had a shy smile, and was wearing cargo shorts and a tank top. Mercury, by contrast, was smirking self-assuredly and wore a silver-and-black gi.

"O-oh," Suno stuttered as she looked back and forth between the three, "S-so you all…" Mai chuckled.

"He stumbled his way into a case at Iris and I's detective agency," she explained. "He nearly lost us the whole shebang but he proved himself useful in the end."

"He just kept hanging around," Iris added, "And after a while…" she shrugged and all three of them chuckled.

"We'll catch up later, Suno," Upa said as the women began pulling him along. "I've gotta go help them find a good seat so they can watch me win!"

"Man," Yamcha muttered as the group watched them all walk off, "Some guys have all the luck." Tenshinhan and Krillin nodded in agreement, earning all three of them rather severe clubbing blows to the back of the head despite their insistence that they were only kidding.

OoOoOoO

Another twenty minutes passed while the gang waited for Goku. With each passing second, Vegeta grew more and more irritable that Kakarot's face had not yet appeared for his fist. However, as the first moments of worry started to flutter in Suno's heart, she picked out a voice through the murmur of the crowd as clearly as if it had been right next to her.

"Hi, there!" she heard Goku say in an eager greeting. She turned around slowly and could see her wife with her back to them at the registration desk and her heart skipped about half a dozen beats.

"Name, please?" Venus asked.

"Son Goku!" Goku exclaimed. Venus looked up at her slowly, gawking at the halo floating over Goku's head.

"A-a-as in…" Goku just nodded and the poor turtle-girl swooned and fell backwards, fainting on the spot. Goku signed her own name on the sign-in sheet before she suddenly appeared in the middle of their little band and gave everyone a start.

"Hey, everyone!" she shouted happily with her arms outstretched. They all stared at Goku in astonishment and wonder. Despite having nearly a month to prepare for the idea, it was still almost unbelievable to see her back. Krillin was on the verge of tears. "Are you all just gonna stand there," Goku asked teasingly, "Or is somebody gonna give me a hug?" Krillin, Bulma, Yamcha, Launch, and Roshi flung themselves eagerly at Goku with enough force to knock a normal person to the ground. Goku, however, stood firmly in her spot as she put her arms around her friends, laughing and hugging them all close. Then she hugged Tenshinhan and when Piccolo tried to give her a polite nod, Goku wasn't having any of it and yanked the tall Namekian down into a hug. Despite his protests, Piccolo returned the embrace easily enough.

Before Goku could do anything else, Suno launched herself at Goku like a ballistic missile, knocking her wife off her feet and sending both of them to the ground in a sprawling tangle of limbs. Goku giggled happily as Suno covered her face in kisses before she silenced Goku's lips with her own. They held each other like that for several seconds, lost in recaptured bliss as if no time at all had passed.

"Soooo," Bulma interrupted. "Should the rest of us leave or are you two gonna forget about the tournament and get a hotel?" Everyone else laughed as Suno and Goku quickly got to their feet, Goku grinning like she always did while Suno's face was flushed with embarrassment. Then, Goku's eyes locked on Gohan.

"Hey, Gohan!" she greeted eagerly, noticing her son instantly despite seven years and his get-up. "Look at you!" she proclaimed proudly. "Look at how big you got! Suno, look at our son!" Then she paused, a worried expression crossing her face as she looked at Gohan's. "Are you okay?" No, Gohan thought, he wasn't okay. From the very second that his mom had arrived, Gohan had been struck with a cold bolt of guilt that ran through his entire body and made everything seize up. He thought he'd come to terms with everything that had happened. He thought that, after seven years, he'd finally made peace with himself. Yet seeing his mom now, exactly as she had been on that day…

Gohan threw himself at his mother, hunching over as he hugged her tightly and buried his face in her neck. "M-mom," he whispered in a hoarse voice, his throat tight with emotion. "Mom, I'm so sorry! I-I'm just…" his shoulders shook and he was on the verge of tears.

"Hey," Goku whispered softly as she hugged Gohan back and rubbed his back gently. "Hey, Hey. It's okay, Gohan. It's okay." Gohan looked up and took several deep breaths, blinking to keep from crying.

"Goku," Suno said suddenly. "I think there's someone you should meet." Goku and Gohan turned to Suno and Goku couldn't help but look a little confused as a tiny version of herself seemed to be peeking out from behind out from behind Suno's legs. "This is Goten," Suno explained, "Your daughter." Goku got down in a crouch so that she would be on Goten's level, smiling softly at her.

"Hi there," Goku greeted in a gentle, soothing voice to make herself more approachable in a sharp contrast to her earlier almost-deafening exuberance. "It's nice to meet you." In the style of her mother and brother, Goten charged toward Goku and jumped up to land in her arms, pressing herself to her mom's chest.

"Mommy!" Goten cried excitedly. Goku laughed and shot up to her feet again, swinging Goten from side to side in her arms and making her burst out into a fit of giggles. She put Goten up on her shoulder and met the rest of the children afterward, smiling and shaking all of their hands.

"Hi, Trunks!" she said to the Prince, who looked up at her suspiciously.

"How do you know my name?" he asked curiously. He didn't remember ever meeting Goten's other mom.

"Oh," Goku replied with a grin, "I met you–" Suno clapped a hand over Goku's mouth to interrupt her.

" _When you were a baby,"_ she said while giving Goku a very pointed look that, in no uncertain terms, explicitly said 'Do _not_ tell Trunks about time travel.' Goku nodded with understanding and muttered something muffled and wordless in agreement to Trunks. Suno smiled and gave Goku a pat on the arm before Lazuli and Lapis walked up to her.

"Hi," Lazuli said as she put out her hand for Goku to shake. "I'm Lazuli, this is my brother Lapis. I just wanna say how awesome it is to meet you and how much of a hero and an inspiration you were to me as a girl." Lapis rolled his eyes as Goku shook their hands.

"And I'm Lapis," he greeted dryly. "We were the cyborgs genetically modified by Dr. Gero to kill you." Lazuli shot her brother a murderous glare despite the fact that Goku's smile never faltered.

"Neat!" she proclaimed before turning to Lazuli. "Don't worry," she assured the blonde, "Lots of my friends used to want to kill me." With that, she turned to Vegeta while still grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, Vegeta!" she said happily. "How ya been, buddy?" Vegeta's glower would have frozen the sun.

"I have not," he replied in a measured tone, "Nor shall I _ever_ be, your..." he paused and screwed up his face, as if the word coming out of his mouth were about to be followed out by the contents of his stomach. " _Buddy."_ Goku laughed and slapped him on the arm.

"Ah, sure ya are!" Goku assured him. Vegeta's glare somehow grew even _colder._

"If you could die twice…" he began to threaten before Ken's crystal-clear, crackle-free voice boomed over the audio system.

"Llllllladies aaaaaaaand gentlemeeeeen!" his voice rang out, instantly hitting all of those who had participated in tournaments past with a wave of nostalgia. "The historic twenty-fifth Tenkaichi Budoukai is about to begin! Spectators, please make your way to your seats! All Junior Budoukai participants please proceed to the warm-up area! All Adult contestants, please make your way to the elimination machiiiine!"

"Bye, mommy!" Goten declared as she gave Goku a quick kiss on the cheek before hopping off of her shoulder. Then she gave Suno another cheek kiss before following one crowd of children with Trunks, Shouronpo, and Mercury.

"Good luck, Goten!" Goku called after her daughter with a wave. Then she turned to the others and asked, "The heck is a Junior Budoukai?"

"It was implemented last time around," Yamcha explained. "It's a separate tournament for everyone under the age of fifteen."

"What for?" Goku wondered. "Krillin and I entered our first tournament when we were twelve and thirteen!"

"Some kid entered a different tournament between the 23rd and 24th Budoukai," Yamcha informed her. "He got put up against some thirty-year-old and broke both his legs, so that was all the parent groups needed to demand a full-scale reform to the Budoukai. Apparently," he added teasingly, "You two set a bad example."

"Yeah," Krillin replied with a roll of his eyes. "Like we were the _only_ ones to enter the tournament as kids."

"Hey," Yamcha reminded him, "I was sixteen when I entered the 21st. I was over the age limit."

"Come on, let's go!" Bulma told the other spectators. "I've got a box up at the top of the stadium," she said to the tournament entrants as her group moved away from the others. "You can come up there and watch the Junior Budoukai with us!" With that, they disappeared into the crowd while Goku and the others got in line and filed off toward the elimination area.

"Why'd you keep us waiting til the last minute?" Suno asked as she walked behind Goku. Goku grinned and looked over her shoulder.

"I didn't wanna waste any of my twenty-four hours standing around and waiting," she explained. "Plus, there's a _lot_ of stuff you have to sign the day you come back to life, and I had to get my Death Pass made–"

"Death pass?" Krillin interrupted curiously from in front of Goku, turning around to look at her.

"It's like a passport," Goku explained, "But for dead people who get to keep their bodies. We're supposed to have it on us if we come back to the living world or any of the other realms." She fished it out of her back pocket and handed it to Krillin. It was a small leather booklet that, when he opened it, said "Son Goku" on the first page over a picture of her. For clarification's sake, the picture shifted between her regular appearance and her Super Saiyan appearance. It also listed her age at death, her race, her home planet, her _birth_ planet, her Kaiou, her height, her weight, her hair and eye color, and the cause of her death. Krillin gave a macabre chuckle when he read that her cause of death was 'assisted suicide' and listed the assistant as 'Cell.'

"So how long have you been back among the living for?" Suno wondered, tapping her chin.

"I think about… ten minutes?" Goku guessed. Suno nodded thoughtfully, tapping her chin. So she would be around for twenty-three hours and fifty minutes. She doubted that the tournament would take the _entirety_ of Goku's time so that hopefully left them with a few hours.

For Goku to bond with Goten and catch back up with Gohan, of course.

And for other things.

"Hey!" Goku exclaimed with a sudden realization, "Krillin, you grew out your hair!" Krillin chuckled and ran a hand through his thick, black hair.

"Nothing gets past you, huh?" he asked jokingly.

"I thought you said you can't be a real martial artist if you don't shave your head," Goku retorted playfully. Krillin shrugged.

"I was wrong about a lot of things," he admitted.

"And what's with your gi?" Goku asked as she gestured to his orange longcoat with the Turtle logo emblazoned on the back.

"Oh," Krillin explained coyly, "That's just part of the new Turtle School uniform," he explained. "Yeah, that's right," he added with a bit of a boast, " _I'm_ the Turtle Hermit now."

"I think you did it backwards, though," Goku pointed out. Krillin blinked and looked at her curiously. "Master Roshi grew his hair on the bottom of his head, not the top!" Krillin rolled his eyes and they shared a laugh as the line kept moving. "Man, you sure have changed."

"You're not kidding," Krillin agreed as he held up a hand, showing off the golden band around his finger.

"You got married?!" Goku asked excitedly. She'd _thought_ the little blonde girl with no nose looked familiar! Krillin nodded and Lazuli's hand shot up from in front of Krillin.

"Yo!" she declared with an almost territorial intent. Goku squealed happily and stepped out of line to yank Lazuli and Krillin into a hug, pulling both of them up off their feet. Vegeta rolled his eyes at the indignity of it all as Goku, Krillin, and Lazuli got back into line.

When they finally got to the Elimination Machine, Goku couldn't hide her confusion. It was a large, cylindrical machine on a stand with a black screen on top of it and a large burgundy mat at the end that looked like the bottom of a punching bag.

"The heck is that?" she asked aloud.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Suno muttered curiously as she rubbed at her chin.

"What," Lazuli wondered, "Am I the only one here who read the brochure? They replaced the preliminary rounds with this thing to limit the risk of injury. Hercule's gonna come in and set the number to beat. Anyone who doesn't get within five points of it gets eliminated. The fifteen highest scores make it to the finals."

"Aww man," Goku whined as she crossed her arms. "I liked the preliminary rounds…" She _did_ like the idea of the finals being bigger, though.

"Goku," Lazuli pointed out as she gestured expansively to the seemingly-neverending line behind them, "Look how many people entered this tournament! It would take _forever_ to get through the preliminary rounds, even with them expanding the finalists from eight to sixteen." Well, really it was only fifteen, as Hercule was exempt from having to qualify by virtue of being the returning champion.

' _Okay, guys,'_ Gohan whispered telepathically. ' _I think we should hold back on the machine, just not to raise any suspicion.'_ Everyone agreed except, notably, for Vegeta.

"Here he is, ladies and gentlemen!" Crowed Jimmy Firecracker as seemed to have appeared from nowhere. After the Cell Games, Jimmy had retired from the news and got a job as Hercule's new personal hype man. "The man of the hour! The savior of mankind! The world's greatest hero…" he gesticulated wildly before pointing at nothing, "HERCULE!" There was a puff of smoke and, when it cleared, Hercule was standing there. He'd snuck in through a trap-door while the smoke bomb had everyone's attention.

"All right!" Hercule declared as he flexed his bicep. "Remember, one of you will be facing me in the finals for the title of World's Champion!" Although when Hercule noticed that quite a few of the people who had been at the Cell Games were among the entrants, it was only his showmanship that kept him from breaking out in a cold sweat. "So I want you all to give it your best shot! Break through the impossible and push past all your limits!" He spun around to face the Elimination Machine and drew back a fist. He let out a war cry and punched the machine with gusto, the screen quickly flashing "147." He laughed and flashed a peace sign as he disappeared in another puff of smoke. Lazuli was the first one to step up to the machine and she cracked her knuckles as she eyed it coolly. Then, she gave it a quick little tap with her knuckles. The machine blared "774", leaving the judges and attendants gobsmacked.

"Oh for crying out loud," Gohan grumbled as he put his face in his hands.

"E-excuse me a second," one of the attendants muttered, "Th-the machine must have been improperly calibrated." Lazuli rolled her eyes as he fiddled around with the machine's inner workings for a minute before stepping away. "Try again." Lazuli tapped it even more gently than before. "203" the screen proclaimed.

"That means I qualify, right?" Lazuli asked with a smirk. The judges nodded dumbly and Lazuli strutted past them, tossing her hair back. Krillin looked at her absolutely adoringly and let out a sigh as he stepped up to the machine. His gaze never breaking from watching his wife walk, Krillin punched the machine absentmindedly and scored 192 before walking past her, not even waiting to hear whether or not he'd qualified. Goku stepped up after him and made a big, elaborate show of taking a deep breath, getting into her fighting stance, and drawing back a fist. Then she tapped the machine with the lightest little punch that wouldn't have even swatted a fly. It scored her 186 and, honestly, probably would have obliterated the fly on a subatomic level. Suno came up after Goku and scored 177, doing her level best to hold back as much as she could.

"There's no way this is right," one of the judges said to the other. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?!" None of them could comprehend, could even fathom the concept, that this gaggle of strangers had so completely blown the champion out of the water.

"Maybe we should get the new machine out," another judge suggested. "Though that'll take a little time." Vegeta had heard about as much of this as he could stand and stomped toward the machine.

"Out of my way!" he ordered them while already drawing back a fist. Gohan winced, already expecting the worst. There was a deafening boom as if they had all stood at ground zero of a megaton bomb, and when everyone looked up, Vegeta was standing there with smoke rolling off of his extended fist with no machine in sight. It seemed that Vegeta had simply punched it out of existence. "I win," he growled as he pushed his way past the judges.

"Well," one of the judges said, "We definitely need the new machine now." Gohan groaned and massaged his temples. It was going to be a long, _looooong_ day.


	114. Young Lions Roar! Goten VS Trunks!

Chapter Hundred-fourteen

Young Lions Roar! Goten VS Trunks!

After Vegeta's complete annihilation of the elimination machine, it took twenty minutes for the new machine to be brought out and calibrated. On top of that, when all that business was finally finished, it still took half an hour to whittle down the hundreds of potential entrants to fifteen. During which time, incidentally, no one could find Goku or Suno. Eventually, however, the business was finally done with.

In addition to Goku, Suno, Vegeta, Krillin, and Lazuli; Piccolo, The Great Saiyaman, and Videl also qualified. Outside of these usual suspects, there were a few others who rounded out the fifteen. There was Upa, whose face visibly dropped when he realized that Goku was in the tournament as well; the monolithic Pintar, an enormous dark-skinned man with a ponytail in a vest, pantaloons, and comically small pointed red shoes; the mysterious and enigmatic Xī, who Gohan confirmed to Vegeta as being the God who had spoken to him in his dreams; the tall and muscular Kibito, who wore a similar manner of dress to Xī and whose white hair and weathered pink face made him seem incredibly old; and there were the brothers Yamu and Spopovich, each bearing a black tattoo on their foreheads that made Gohan's blood run cold. So these, he realized, were the minions of Babidi. Rounding out the fifteen non-Hercule qualifiers was the only other costumed hero besides Great Saiyaman in the tournament: the champion of South City known as Mighty Mask.

"Jeez," Videl muttered to herself when she spied Spopovich. "Somebody's been hitting the juice _hard_ since he lost to my dad seven years ago." Then she noticed the 'M' tattoo as well. "Isn't that what you said the guys who worked for that Babidi guy would wear?" she asked in a hushed tone. Gohan nodded slowly, eyeing them suspiciously behind his domino mask. "So why don't we go beat 'em up?" she whispered.

"That," Xī said from behind the both of them, startling the pair as neither had even noticed her sneaking up behind them, "Wouldn't be very smart." However, even more surprising was her massive compatriot, Kibito, who had moved behind them just as silently despite his frame and bulk. She chuckled as the mortal pair stared at them. "The best course of action," she continued, "Is to wait for them to make the first move. They will lead us back to Babidi. With that, we'll be able to find and destroy Majin Boo." She noticed that Videl hadn't run off screaming at this point and chuckled again. "I'm guessing he's told you about who and what I am, then? Like he wasn't supposed to?" she asked while giving Gohan a slightly admonishing look. Gohan said nothing, only blushing and giving a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah," Videl replied as she stepped in front of Gohan and, to his complete disbelief, _squared up_ to the creator. "You're Xī, right?" Kibito's face purpled with indignant rage.

"How dare you!" he protested hotly, sticking a finger in Videl's face. "The great Kaioushin's name should not pass through your mortal lips! I should–" Xī put a hand to her servant's chest to silence him and he lowered his hand.

"It's no big deal," she assured Kibito before turning back to Videl. "Although he's not entirely wrong. I'd prefer _Kaioushin,"_ Xī explained, "But, yes, my name is–"

"Well, _I'm_ Videl," she interrupted as she actually started _poking Xī in the chest._ "And _you_ need to stay out of Gohan's' dreams from now on, got it?" Xi, if anything, seemed amused by this act of open confrontation and defiance. She raised an eyebrow at Videl as if she were somewhat impressed.

"Of course," Xī replied with a smile, one hand raised to her mouth to cover a chuckle. "Gohan," she began while turning her attention to the disguised half-Saiyan before correcting herself, "Oh, sorry," she said before clearing her throat. "'Great Saiyaman'?" Gohan puffed out his chest and did his best to look like nothing was amiss.

"What is it, citizen?" he asked, causing Videl to roll her eyes and Xī to chuckle. She'd never actually seen one of his "performances" before. It was actually quite funny.

"In the intermission between the Junior and Adult Budoukai," she explained, "I would like to speak with your m– with Son Goku. Tell her for me, if you get the chance." Gohan nodded and watched as Xī walked back toward her giant counterpart and the two seemed to engage in some sort of hushed conversation.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Ken declared as he walked into the room, pushing along a cart with a small box in it with a young woman walking at his side and pushing a large whiteboard with the bracket pre-drawn onto it. Ken seemed virtually unchanged in the last two decades, barring a few wrinkles around his eyes and a slight thickening of his mustache. The girl, who looked to be around the same age as Shouronpo and Ocha, was dressed in much the same way as Ken. She wore a dark suit, sunglasses, and had blonde hair like his. However, hers was longer and she wore it in a pair of twin braids. "We're going to go ahead and draw numbers now for the tournament finals before moving onto the Junior Budoukai," Ken declared as everyone slowly turned to look at him."

' _Man,'_ Goku found herself thinking, ' _I wish Chaozu was here. He'd be able to use his telekinesis to make sure me and Vegeta don't fight in the first round.'_ That'd be such a downer if they just fought right off the bat. ' _Oh, wait!'_ Goku realized. ' _I can do that, too!'_

"Hercule," Ken continued as the man _yet again_ appeared as if from nowhere in a dramatic column of smoke and sparks, "Shall make the first pick," he said unflappably. Hercule grinned as he reached into the box and pulled out a green ball marked with the number sixteen. He held it up for everyone to see and then showed it to Ken, who nodded. "Hercule draws number sixteen," he reiterated as the girl walked all the way to the end of the whiteboard and wrote Hercule's name at the absolute bottom bracket. Spopovich growled at the sight of Hercule and Yamu put a hand out to stop his brother from lunging at his hated enemy. "Videl Satan," Ken declared, "Please step forward and draw your number." Videl walked up to the box with a smirk and drew out her number.

"Number five," she muttered as she held the ball up and looked at it before showing it to Ken. "I can work with that." She put the ball beside the one Hercule had drawn so no one would draw it again and stepped off to the side while the girl wrote down Videl's name on the bracket.

"Son Goku," Ken announced with a noticeable brightness and excitement in his voice. Goku grinned as she came up to the box and put her hand inside. "I just wanna say," Ken added as he let his showman's veneer drop away for the moment, "It's really great to see you again, Goku." He was clearly trying not to look at Goku's halo. Out of sight, out of mind and all that.

"You too, Ken!" Goku replied before looking at the young girl who was writing everyone's names. "Who's that?" she asked. Ken beamed with pride as he turned to the girl.

"That," Ken informed her, "Is my daughter, Keri. She's my assistant _and_ she'll be announcing the Junior Budoukai shortly. Speaking of which," he stopped to turn to Keri. "Do you still have all your note cards? We don't want you mispronouncing anyone's names for your first announcing performance, after all."

"Yes, dad," Keri replied with a groan as she rolled her eyes. Someone, either Piccolo or Vegeta, cleared his throat irritably and Goku drew her number.

"Number seven!" Goku declared as she picked the ball up and held it triumphantly over her head. She'd kinda hoped to get number four, honestly. That was her good luck number! But she wouldn't use her telekinesis on her _own_ number, that'd be cheating. Now she just had to make sure Vegeta stayed on the opposite side of the bracket from her.

"Spopovich!" Ken announced. The giant of a man lumbered toward the box and awkwardly reached in with his mammoth hand. It would have been comical if he weren't such a disturbing individual. The entire time, he stared unblinkingly at Hercule, who shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Twelve," he snarled as he held up the ball, squeezing it in his fist until it exploded.

"Y'know, we have to pay to replace those…" Ken muttered under his breath before declaring loudly. "Upa!" Upa walked slowly up to the box, repeatedly mouthing the words "Not eight, not eight, not eight." He drew his box and let out a burst of relieved laughter as he held up number six. "Upa has drawn number six," Ken announced, "And will face Videl in the first round!" Upa stood beside Videl before noticing that Goku was right next to _him_ and that he'd have to face her in the following round anyway.

And so it went on. The Great Saiyaman drew thirteen against number fourteen, Kibito; Xī drew nine against number ten, Piccolo, who seemed less than enthused about this development; Suno drew number eleven to face Spopovich; Yamu drew number three against number four, Lazuli; Krillin drew number one against Pintar, who drew number two. Lazuli and Krillin exchanged a playful glance after they and their opponents had both drawn, knowing for a certainty that they would face one another in the second round. There were only two numbers left: number eight, to face Goku, and number fifteen, to face Hercule.

"Vegeta!" Ken announced. The King of All Saiyans smirked as he walked toward the box and reached in for his number. "By the way," Ken told him, "I just want to say I'm a big fan of your work." Vegeta chuckled.

"Of course you are," he replied, although his face screwed up in confusion for a moment. It seemed that the ball he had reached for decided to roll out of his grip as soon as he touched it. He reached for it again only for it to elude his grasp again. He snarled and thrust his hand forward, nearly ripping through the box, and grabbed the ball tightly in his grip. He ripped his arm out with a triumphant cry and held his number overhead. "I am…" he began to declare excitedly before he actually turned the number over to look at it and let out a disappointed groan. "Number fifteen." Goku snickered quietly to herself as all of the color drained from Hercule's face and he looked as if he could be a cousin of Chaozu's.

"That means that Mighty Mask will take the eighth spot," Ken proclaimed as Vegeta stood beside Hercule. "He will face Son Goku in the first round!" Mighty Mask grinned eagerly and stood beside Goku.

"I like your outfit," Goku said earnestly as she held out her hand for Mighty Mask to shake.

"Thank you," Mighty Mask replied with no small amount of pride as he shook her hand. "My wife helped me make it."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ken declared, "Your Twenty-Fifth Tenkaichi Budoukai Finals!" As everyone turned to face their opponents and many pictures were taken, Gohan sighed to himself.

' _C'mon, mom,'_ he thought wearily as he put on his best showman's smirk and looked up at Kibito. ' _You couldn't have let Hercule win_ one?' By Gohan's sensing, Mighty Mask was the only person here whose ki was on par with, if not _lower than_ Hercule's.

"And with that," Ken declared with an enthusiastic clap, "We're done for now. You can all go about your own business as the Junior Budoukai will begin in just a few moments." Keri let out a surprised squeal at that announcement and ran off as fast as her legs could carry her, presumably in pursuit of her note cards.

"Ohhh, this is awesome!" Videl declared excitedly as the groups broke up and she followed Gohan and the rest of the gang to take the elevator up toward Bulma's private box. As there were so many of them, they'd have to go in turns. "I can't believe that I'm gonna fight Goku in the second round!" Videl knew that she would almost certainly lose but still, it was the principle of the thing. She was going to fight one of her heroes! How many people got that chance?

"Goku," Suno teased, "Did you mess around with Vegeta's number so that you two wouldn't meet til the finals?" Goku gave a sideways glance at Vegeta and leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in her wife's ear.

"Maaaaybe," she admitted, which caused Suno to giggle. "Why?" Goku asked. "Are you mad I didn't mess with your number?" Suno raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she replied. "That Spopovich guy? He's just a big guy. I can handle a big guy. Heck, I don't even know if he's as big as that Recoome woman." After several dings of the elevator chime, the whole gang was up in Bulma's private luxury box. Although, once again, it was cramped, though thankfully Piccolo and his shoulder pads were up on the roof so as to take up less room. The box had several plush seats so that they could watch the show comfortably as well as a minibar and dining area complete with a Capsule Corp replicator like the one that had been on Goku's spaceship. The box had a bird's eye view of the ring down below although there were several handheld monitors that showed the action from closer ringside camera angles.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Keri declared excitedly as Lazuli sat down beside Lapis and pulled Marron off of his lap to sit her daughter down in her own. "The second-ever Junior Budoukai is about to begin! Are you ready?!" The crowd roared in approval as Vegeta took his seat beside Bulma, who offered him some of her popcorn. He scoffed at the pedestrian snack… and reluctantly took a handful.

While the audience may have been ready, the contestants were absolutely _not._ It soon became apparent through a series of incredibly quick matches that Goten, Trunks, Shouronpo, and Mercury were head and shoulders above the rest of the Junior combatants. Goten and Trunks had each won their bouts against the young, obnoxious, mulleted warriors Idasa and Ikose in a single blow apiece (their mother had to be dragged away by security, raging and foaming at the mouth) and Shouronpo and Mercury defeated Koryuu and Mooki without much more difficulty than that. However, as the latter two were about to discover, all was not as it seemed. While they _were_ head and shoulders above the rest of the competitors, Goten and Trunks were standing on a pair of circus stilts above the two of them.

"The first semifinal matchup is about to begin!" Keri announced as Goten and Mercury walked to the center of the stage. "Son Goten versus Mercury! Fighters ready?" Goten bowed to Mercury who smirked and gave a half-hearted bow in return.

"Come on, Mercury!" his family cheered from the stands. Upa tried not to think too much about the fact that Goten was Goku's daughter and had her hair. That didn't mean anything, right? Even if she was strong, she was only _seven,_ for crying out loud! She was, at most, as strong as Goku had been when she'd come to the Sacred Korin Land. Mercury was that strong now from the training Upa had given him, right?

"Begin!" Keri cried. Mercury dashed back away from Goten, using his height and superior reach to put distance between them as he threw out a furious barrage of kicks. Each one was thrown with such force that they seemed to launch miniature cyclones at Goten.

"Incredible!" Keri declared with plenty of flourishes as Mercury launched his attack. "Look at the speed and power on display by young Mercury! Even the air created by his body _moving_ is a weapon!"

"Come on, half pint!" Mercury taunted as he kept on kicking. "I'd like to see you get through this–" he watched the cyclones literally rip through Goten, who dissolved as an afterimage before Mercury's back bumped into something. "...Defense?" he muttered weakly in confusion as he slowly looked over his shoulder. Goten smiled and waved up at him.

"I can kick, too!" she declared. "Look at this!" Then she flipped backward and struck Mercury under the jaw with a flip kick, making the older boy let out a cry of dismay as he was launched rather violently into the air in a silver-black blur.

"Look at that speed by Son Goten!" Keri announced. "Look at the force of that one kick! Look at… uh…" she peered up toward the sky where a black-gray dot vanished into the blue. "Oh, wow, he's really up there…" she muttered. There was a stunned silence of several seconds before someone rushed up to Keri and whispered something in her ear. "O-oh! Okay! One!" she started to count. "Two! Three!" she got as high as "eight" before Mercury plummeted back to Earth at much the same velocity as he left and crashed hard into the ground. "A knockout!" She announced as the crowd cheered and Goten waved at them. "Goten wins in a stunning knockout victory!" Suno squealed excitedly and clapped from the luxury box.

"Yeah!" she cried happily. "Go Goten! That's my baby girl!" She always knew that Goten was going to win the fight, of course, but it was always nice to see her daughter succeed. Vegeta rolled his eyes and scoffed. They would see how much Suno felt like celebrating after Trunks embarrassed Goten in the finals. Of course, if Goten _won…_ Well, Vegeta would have to ask his lawyer to see what was the longest time it was legally permissible to ground one's child.

"And now!" Keri proclaimed once Goten had left and Mercury had been carted away, "We begin our second semifinal match! The winner of this bout will go on to face Son Goten and see who shall be the champion of the Junior Budoukai! It will be Shouronpo versus Trunks!" Shouronpo smiled down at Trunks, being nearly two times his height. For his own part, Trunks was unintimidated and stuck out his fist for the older girl to bump. "Fighters ready?" Keri asked. "Begin!" Shouronpo threw out a kick at Trunks but in the time between when she'd started the kick and when she'd ended it, the boy had completely vanished from sight.

"Hey!" Trunks called from the far end of the ring, waving smugly at Shouronpo. "Over here!" he whistled to get her attention and stuck out his tongue, making her snarl and charge at him, swinging down a huge overhand blow that, once again, went through the air where a Trunks used to be. "Come on!" Trunks taunted from behind her. "I'm standing right here!"

"Don't get frustrated," Yamcha muttered as his family watched their girl fight. "It'll be okay, you've just gotta keep your head in the game!"

"Come on, Trunks," Bulma muttered with no small measure of disappointment in her son's behavior. "Don't be a jerk!" Vegeta only chuckled and nodded approvingly.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," Trunks admitted mockingly as there seemed to be seven of him standing in front of Shou at once. "I mean, it must be hard to move at all, considering how big you are." Shou huffed at Trunks and got into her guard, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"You're such a little jerk!" she derided. "I can't believe I ever thought you were cute!" That brought Trunks to a screeching halt.

"Say what now?" he asked as he stood still and right in front of her.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Shou cried as she lunged forward in the perfect opportunity to strike. She battered Trunks with a series of blows that stunned him and knocked him off his feet _far_ more than they actually hurt him before driving the signature double palm blow into his chest to knock Trunks toward the edge of the stage.

"Yeah!" Yamcha cried excitedly as Chi-Chi and Ocha jumped up and down exuberantly.

"Catch yourself," Vegeta ordered his son through gritted teeth as his fingers dug into the armrests of his seat. "Catch yourself. Catch yourself!" Trunks did catch himself, coming to a stop just above the grass, causing Vegeta to let out a sigh of relief as he slumped back against the chair. If Trunks had lost…

Well, that was what the Dragon Balls were for.

"Oh crap!" Trunks muttered as Shouronpo came barreling toward him again and he shot higher up into the air to avoid her lunge. To his surprise, she stayed in the air with him. Until, at least, he kicked her down and she landed hard in the grass.

"Ring out!" Keri declared. "Trunks is the winner!"

"Sooo," Trunks said awkwardly as he drifted back down to Shou's level. "What was that you said about me being cute?" He grinned a little and crossed his arms, trying to be cool. Apparently, he'd taken a sharp turn in the last month about his "girls are gross" stance.

" _Thought_ you were cute," Shou corrected him as she stood up and shoved him a little. "You're still a little jerk." She walked past Trunks, leaving him… confused as he walked back to the center of the ring to wait for Goten. He'd never actually been denied anything before in his life or told "no" in any way. It was weird.

"Come on, Goten!" Goku cheered from the private box. "Keep up the family tradition!" she gave Vegeta a wry, teasing grin and he snarled between clenched teeth before Bulma elbowed him in the side.

"Oh, lighten up," she chided him. "Honestly, you've been living on Earth for more than a decade now, you'd think you'd have learned a sense of humor by osmosis by this point." Vegeta scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"This is it!" Keri announced as Goten and Trunks walked up to meet each other. "Here you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The finals of the second-ever Junior Budoukai! Goten versus Trunks! And I have a feeling that this is going to be the most exciting junior matchup in _history!_ " Ken raised his sunglasses to wipe proud tears from his eyes as he watched his daughter perform her job so effortlessly. "Son Goten! Trunks!" she cried, gesturing to each of them in turn. "Fighters ready?" Goten bowed to Trunks and, surprisingly, Trunks returned it earnestly.

"Hey Goten," Trunks offered, "If you beat me, I'll let you have some of my toys." Goten looked at him excitedly.

"Awesome! And if you beat me," she added, "You can have…" she thought about that for a moment before realizing that she didn't actually own anything that Trunks couldn't buy seven of. She shrugged and Trunks laughed as the two tiny titans got into their fighting stances.

"Begin!" Keri cried. The words had barely left her mouth before Trunks and Goten vanished from sight, reappearing nearly a hundred feet in the air with their forearms bashed together, eyes locked and smirking. They pushed off from each other and disappeared again, reappearing here and there in cross-collisions of fists, shins, and knees, each with a tremendous "Boom!" from the impact. The majority of the audience in attendance was shocked and amazed, although those watching at home had a slightly better understanding of what was going on thanks to Capsule Corp camera technology. Those in the luxury box had the clearest idea of what was going on. Most of them, at least.

"Man am I glad am I retired," Yamcha muttered as Trunks and Goten darted all across the ring. "You have no idea how old watching an eight-year-old and a seven-year-old run around as a couple of little blurs makes me feel."

"Uh huh," Tenshinhan, Launch, Roshi, and Krillin muttered with agreeing nods, even if Krillin was only semi-retired. Suno noticed Tenshinhan's daughter Kani watching the action intently with her third eye and scribbling down everything she saw in a notepad. Not the words, though, but the actions. She was sketching everything, from the way Goten and Trunks' bodies moved, to how their clothes fit on their bodies in motion, to their hair movements and the way their bodies absorbed the blows.

"Taking notes?" Suno asked with a smile. "So you can study for when it's your turn to enter?" Kani shook her head.

"I'm not interested in being a fighter," she replied while never taking her third eye off of the fight. "I want to be a mangaka." Suno heard a sniffling sound and turned her head to see Ten smiling with tears welling in his eyes. Launch smiled and leaned forward between Suno and Goku's chairs to whisper.

"He's very proud," she explained. Meanwhile, in the ring, Goten and Trunks came to a stop, both fighters breathing completely evenly despite their breakneck opening pace.

"Hey, Goten!" Trunks shouted in a challenging tone. "How about we get serious?" Goten grinned, her tail swishing excitedly at the prospect.

"Ohhh no," Gohan muttered as saw what stances they were taking. "No, no, no, no, nononono!" But it was too late. Goten and Trunks powered up to Super Saiyans before the audience's eyes, causing them all to cry out in shock. It wasn't just the general masses who were stunned, either.

" _What?!"_ Launch, Piccolo, Roshi, Chi-Chi, Ocha, Yamcha, and Tenshinhan exclaimed.

"They can do that?!" Lapis, Lazuli, Videl, and Krillin added.

"Awesome!" Goku shouted as she clapped her hands eagerly. She didn't know her daughter could turn Super Saiyan! That was so cool!

"Incredible!" Keri declared. "Absolutely amazing! Who had any idea that these two tyke-tans had such power? Who knew that they could take on these forms?! This kind of power hasn't been seen since those other blonde warriors helped Hercule save the world from Cell!" She was pretty proud of herself for coming up with 'tyke-tans' on the spot like that.

"Come on!" Goten called as she beckoned to Trunks. The pair met in a flurry of punches and kicks, their battle now taking to the skies and all across the arena as their speed and power were boosted drastically. They flew past the still-stunned private box, the windows rattling as they rocketed by.

"Come on, Goten," Trunks teased as he blocked and deflected Goten's strikes. "Is that the best you can do? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since you've been training with your lame ol' big brother."

"My big bro's _not_ lame!" Goten protested hotly. "Janken!" Trunks wondered what the heck _that_ was supposed to mea– "Rock!" Goten cried as she punched him in the stomach. "Scissors!" She poked him in the eyes. "Paper!" she slapped Trunks hard across the face, leaving an angry red mark on his cheek as he was sent hurtling back toward the ring. Goku gave a wordless, whooping cheer of jubilation as Goten flew down with a diving kick that Trunks slid out of the way to avoid, pushing off of the ring to throw himself at Goten with a headbutt when she got her foot stuck in the ring from her impact. Goten rolled off the blow and pushed herself back up with a handspring before launching a ki ball at Trunks, who smacked it away before realizing it would hit the audience.

"Oh crap!" he cried, blowing it up with one of his own. He just hoped his mom hadn't heard that somehow. She didn't like it when he sweared. That distraction nearly cost him dearly as Goten rushed toward him and he ducked quickly to avoid a punch to the side of the head. That duck, however, brought his chin right down to Goten's upraised knee. Trunks rubbed at his jaw while Goten grinned before he came at her with a feint high kick, snapping his leg quickly away to kick Goten hard in the stomach and yank her by her hair into an uppercut.

"Trunks!" Bulma scolded even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "No hair pulling! It's rude!" Vegeta, on the other hand, had very _different_ advice for his son.

"Win, damn it!" he bellowed. "Win!" Trunks grabbed Goten by the ankles after his uppercut launched her into the air and spun her around and around before throwing her into the audience as hard as he could. Goten barely managed to stop herself, coming within an inch of sitting in an audience member's lap before she halted her momentum. She gave the audience a small wave before flying back to Trunks, barreling toward him with both fists. Trunks rocketed forward to meet her, the ensuing tackle creating a shockwave of such tremendous force that the thousands in attendance were knocked off their feet. The two demi-Saiyan demigods were locked in a grapple as they pushed against each other, the ground cracking under their feet as their golden auras twisted and tangled together like flames.

"You pulled my hair!" Goten accused as she pushed forward, bringing Trunks down to a knee. He could practically hear his father's heart attack and forced himself back up to his feet.

"You poked me in the eyes!" Trunks retorted angrily as he pushed down, bringing Goten down to a knee.

"That's different!" Goten insisted as she got back up and pushed against Trunks, the two locked in a stalemate. "That was something my mama taught me! She said it was my great grandpa's!"

"Oh yeah?!" Trunks shot back as he jumped away from Goten, causing her to nearly fall on her face. "Well here's something my dad taught me!" He launched up into the sky and Goten looked up at him in confusion, wondering what he was planning. He brought his hands up to his sides and a purple light shone from his hands, mixing with the gold of his aura. "Galick Gun!"

"Haha, yes!" Vegeta declared in a proud, booming laugh. "That's my boy!"

"Doesn't this seem kinda… overkill?" Krillin suggested.

"Screw that!" Bulma shot back. "Get 'er, Trunks!"

"Uh oh!" Goten muttered as she got into her own stance, trying to remember everything that Gohan had taught her. "Kaaaameeee... _haaaa_ me…"

"FIRE!" Trunks roared as he threw his hands forward, purple electricity sparking off of his body as he launched his attack.

"HAAAA!" Goten roared in response as she fired her own blast, the blue beam rushing from her hands straight and true.

"She did it!" Gohan and Suno cried in unison as they threw their hands excitedly in the air.

"Duck and cover!" Keri exclaimed as she threw herself to the ground and put her hands over her head. The twin blasts collided in the air in a dazzling, and somewhat terrifying, display of lights, crackling and sparking as they pushed against one another. Arcs of purple and blue energy lanced off of the point of impact as the smell of burned ozone filled the air and a hum of energy reverberated beneath everything. However, unlike that fateful day more than a decade before, neither beam was more powerful than the other and they exploded in a mutual, blinding eruption, not unlike Goku and Jackie Chun's own battle many years ago. A hush fell over the arena as the blinding light faded and everyone slowly recovered. Goten glared up at Trunks and Trunks glared down at Goten. They both let out fierce war cries and flew towards each other, Goten leaping up and Trunks diving down, with flying kicks.

"Oh man," Goku muttered to herself as she got flashbacks to her first tournament. "I hope Trunks' legs aren't longer than Goten's…" She, Vegeta, Suno, Gohan, and Bulma leaned forward in their seats and watched with bated breath as the two young warriors drew closer and closer to one another, hurtling toward each other like ballistic missiles. As it turned out, neither one had longer legs than the other, their feet crashing into one another's jaws knocking them both out of Super Saiyan and out of the sky. They bounced hard off of the ring and landed in the grass, and for a moment it seemed like the tournament was going to end in a draw. Keri rushed over to the competitors and couldn't tell which one of them had hit the ground first. She ran back to the judges and there was a hushed discussion before a replay of the footage was played on the jumbo-sized screens at the top of the arena. Multiple, slow-motion shots from multiple angles showed that, in fact, Goten's body hit the ground a _picosecond_ before Trunks' did. The understanding rose through the crowd like a wave, the muttering rising into cheers while, in the box, Bulma gripped Vegeta's arm giddily as she bounced up and down in her seat and shrieked with motherly pride and excitement.

"A ring out!" she declared. "In one of the most spectacular finales in the _history_ of the _entire_ Tenkaichi Budoukai, Trunks defeats Son Goten by ring out!" The crowd roared its approval as Trunks and Goten finally recovered from their final blow, each one rubbing their jaw sorely.

"Hey," Goten gasped with sudden realization, "You won!" She cheered excitedly for her friend and threw her arms around him, hugging him and lifting off the ground.

"Why are you so happy?" Trunks asked in utter confusion. "You lost, remember?"

"Yeah but that was so much fun!" Goten replied as she kept right on hugging Trunks, who was desperately trying to play it cool by not reciprocating. "I'm happy for you!" The crowd cheered and chanted Trunks' name, pumping their fists and whooping as he finally disentangled himself from his friend's embrace. He waved to the crowd and played up their cheers as Goku suddenly appeared behind him and the crowd cheered even louder. Trunks grinned, thinking it was for him.

"Hey, Goten!" Goku cheered proudly as she scooped her daughter up off the grass and onto her shoulder. "You did really well! I'm so proud of you!"

"You are?" Goten asked. "But I lost." Goku smiled and patted her daughter on the cheek.

"That's okay," she assured her warmly. "There's nothing wrong with losing as long as you tried your best. It just means you have to work harder. After all, it took me _three tries_ to win the Budoukai. And I didn't even start til I was a few years older than you are now! You've got nothing to be ashamed of." Then a grin spread across her face. "I know what you need," she said as she tapped Goten lightly on the nose. "How about we get an ice cream?"

"Yeah!" Goten cheered happily. "Ice cream!" Goku laughed and mother and daughter flew off, leaving Trunks by himself. He looked around, expecting his own father to appear and congratulate him, but he didn't. Trunks looked up slowly toward the private box and waved, his smile slightly dampened.

"Shouldn't you go down there?" Bulma asked Vegeta. "He won, after all!"

"I always knew he would win," Vegeta replied calmly despite the swell of pride in his chest. "He's my son, after all. He shouldn't need my words for validation. Besides," he added as he directed his smugness to Gohan and Suno since Kakarot wasn't around. "I think we know what this proves, don't we?"

"Yeah," Suno replied, "That your son, who doesn't do any chores, has a private education, access to state-of-the-art technology, and who can train with his dad whenever he wants because his dad doesn't really do anything–"

"I have a job!" Vegeta protested vehemently.

"Ehhhh," Bulma muttered with a little shake of her hand.

"Still _barely_ managed to beat my daughter," Suno continued, "Who _does_ have chores, _doesn't_ have a private tutor, who trained in a _field_ and whose big brother had to make time for her training along with his _own_ schoolwork, his _own_ training, and his other responsibilities." She smirked and folded her arms. "I guess that _does_ kinda prove things, doesn't it?" Vegeta's face curdled with rage as he huffed and waved a hand at her dismissively. She'd see. Once the time came for he and Kakarot to battle, they would _all_ see…

* * *

SSVC/N: Hey, guys. I'll be getting a job soon and the hours are... not great. So because of this, the upload schedule is going to be affected and, on some weeks, it's going to be uploaded on a different day. It's not the end of the world and the story will continue, I just want to give you all a heads up so no one freaks out when it inevitably doesn't get uploaded on Friday at 3 PM ET/7 PM UCT.


	115. Revisionist History!

Chapter Hundred-fifteen

Revisionist History?! The Budoukai Begins!

"Let's hear it one more time for Trunks, ladies and gentlemen!" Ken declared, even though Trunks had already left the area, and the crowd clapped and gave a cheer. "After a brief intermission, we will move on to the Twenty-fifth Tenkaichi Budoukai!" The crowd roared as Ken strutted offstage before dispersing to get concessions and go to the bathroom. The competitors in the tournament started shuffling out of Bulma's luxury box to go prepare for their matches, with Krillin and Lazuli giving their daughter each a kiss on the cheek before handing her back to Lapis.

"Uh, mom," Gohan said as he walked beside Goku in his best attempt at a hushed voice, "Can you come with me? There's somebody I think you need to meet."

"Do you mean that Videl girl Suno mentioned while we were waiting for the rest of you to qualify?" she asked innocuously. Gohan's face reddened behind his mask and he wondered why, oh why, did these conversations about his love life always happen when _he_ wasn't around?

"No," Gohan groaned. Although, now that he thought about it, Videl was definitely going to want to talk to Goku soon, what with the whole "Goku being my inspiration" thing. It would have to wait, though. "It's important, though," he assured her. "So just… come with me. Vegeta!" Gohan added as they walked. "You too!" Vegeta scowled and rolled his eyes, not enjoying being ordered or told what to do but he knew that this probably had something to do with the Kaioushin and the end of the world and all that nonsense. So that was probably important. He followed after Goku and Gohan with the others watching them curiously but not following. It was probably some Saiyan thing.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku asked as they walked, "What're you wearing?" Vegeta looked down at his outfit before looking up at Kakarot with one eyebrow raised. He was dressed in a test set of a potential new line of athletic wear his company might start selling. His fingerless gloves and runner's shoes had plenty of grip and traction and were white while his tank top and leggings (which Bulma teasingly called "yoga pants") were blue and were made of a comfortable, breathable material.

"We can't all be like you, Kakarot," Vegeta remarked with a scoff. "We don't all have the luxury of being able to train with no responsibilities until the end of time. Some of us have to make money." Goku smiled and shrugged while Vegeta frowned at himself when he realized how… _defeated_ that sentence sounded. Was he slowing down? Was he losing a step, losing perspective, because he valued certain things over constantly training and pressuring himself? ' _Of course not,'_ he assured himself. ' _I'll prove that to Kakarot when I defeat her in the finals of this tournament. I'm still the King.'_ However, he wasn't able to entirely convince himself.

Soon enough, the trio reached an isolated corner of the fighters' area where a mysterious purple woman with long, spiked, white hair stood with a tremendously tall, pink-skinned, haggard-faced man with straight, white hair. Vegeta couldn't hide his disappointment at the sight of her. So _this_ was his creator? He was expecting something more… grand. The Gods of his people had always been described to him as great, fantastic, magnificent beings. This was just… a woman. Undeniably otherworldly but not particularly impressive.

"Ah," the purple woman said with a nod of her head. "Son Goku and Vegeta. I've been hoping to finally see the two of you."

"Mom, Vegeta," Gohan began as he gestured from them to her, "This is, uh… the Kaioushin. The-" Goku shot her hand out to shake Kaioushin's hand energetically with a grin.

"It's nice to meet you!" she greeted amicably. "I heard Kaiou mention you a few times but I always wondered when I'd actually get to see you." The pink man's eyes popped out of his head and he looked like he was about to explode with rage.

"How _dare_ you put your hands on the Kaioushin witho–" he began to rave before the Kaioushin put her other hand up to quiet him.

"It's quite alright, Kibito," she assured him while still shaking Goku's hand. "I am the God of Gods, the Greatest and the Highest, the Chiefest Authority of the Heavens…" then she smiled again and shrugged. "But you can just call me Xī," she told Goku and Vegeta. "And this stuffy statue is my Attendant, Kibito." After Goku let go of her hand, she held it out for Vegeta to shake. He looked down at it and made a deliberate show of crossing his arms and _not_ shaking her hand. Xī shrugged as Kibito audibly ground his teeth at the indignity. "Now then," she continued, "There's something that I need to discuss with you all. Obviously, the fewer people know about this, the better."

OoOoOoO

Piccolo's ears twitched and he frowned, listening to the conversation intently. He'd decide later if he should tell the others what was going on but he himself didn't enjoy being left in the dark.

OoOoOoO

"So this Babidi guy is somewhere here on Earth," Goku surmised after Xī was finished explaining, "And he wants to unleash this Majin Boo guy and kill everyone?" Xī nodded. "And he's got a couple of his minions here to try and steal energy people so they can wake up Boo. It's those guys with the M's on their foreheads, right?" Xī nodded again.

"My plan–" Xī started to say before Goku interjected.

"Why don't we just punch 'em?" she asked bluntly.

"I loathe to admit it," Vegeta added as Xī groaned and slapped herself in the forehead, "But I agree with Kakarot. Let's just grab these minions and beat them until they tell us where Babidi is."

"Why?" Xī murmured to herself as she shook her head with her face in her hand. "Why did I make them so dumb?" Then she looked up at them again as she spoke. "No," she sighed, "We can't just 'beat them up'. They're under Babidi's spell, their wills belong to him completely. They'll die before revealing anything he doesn't want them to. The smart thing to do is to let them take someone's energy and then follow after them to find where Babidi's ship is."

"Yeah," Goku added with a frown, "I've been trying but I can't really sense any evil kinda energy."

"That's probably Babidi's magic," Xī explained, "Shielding himself from your being able to find him."

"I think we need to follow Xī's plan," Gohan put in. "I mean, I'm not crazy about letting Spopovich and Yamu get away with whatever their plan is but Xī's the one with the most experience dealing with Boo and Babidi and all this stuff. We should listen to her." Vegeta rolled his eyes as Xī smiled and nodded approvingly at him.

"Okay," Goku said with a smile and a shrug as she put a hand on her son's shoulder. "I trust you, Gohan."

"Thank you," Xī told them all. "Now, you'd better get back before the others start to wonder where you are. And remember," Xī added as the trio turned to leave, "The fewer people know, the better!"

OoOoOoO

"So," Piccolo remarked flippantly as the three joined back up with the others, "The end of the world again, huh?" Gohan gave Piccolo an exasperated look as the Namekian chuckled and tapped the tip of one pointed ear.

"Seriously," Gohan grumbled, "How good is your hearing?" Piccolo shrugged. "You at least haven't told any of the others, have you?" he asked. Piccolo shook his head.

"Don't worry," he assured Gohan, "I'm keeping it under my turban for now." He wasn't entirely enthused with the knowledge that he'd be fighting the Kaioushin now but he supposed there was nothing that could be done about it. Before Gohan or Piccolo could continue the conversation, Videl came charging toward them and came right up to Goku, bowing toward her eagerly.

"Hello, Mrs. Goku!" she greeted excitedly. "My name is Videl, it's an honor to meet you! You're a tremendous inspiration to me as a fighter and I want to follow your example and become the Budoukai champion someday!" Gohan smiled bashfully while Vegeta seemed to be fighting an urge to vomit.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Videl!" Goku replied while she bowed to Videl in response. "I've heard a little about you. I hope we meet in the Budoukai. I'd love to see what you're capable of!" Videl beamed and Gohan was worried he might have to catch her in case she fainted. Before that could happen, however, they were all alerted by Ken's booming voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Budoukai will begin shortly," he announced, "But before that, the tournament organizers would like to provide you with this special video for your entertainment." There was a rumble of interest that passed through the audience and the fighters, their own curiosity mildly piqued, walked toward the windows of the fighter's area to look up at the big screens. "You've heard the interviews! You've read the reports! You saw it on the news! But here now, for your viewing pleasure, is the most faithful recreation yet of what _actually_ happened at the Cell Games!"

"What," Suno muttered sarcastically under her breath, "The four-part documentary on the history channel wasn't enough?" Still, if nothing else, they could all laugh at how stupid whatever they were about to watch was. Vegeta, meanwhile, was about to reach for his phone to make sure that he could contact his lawyer as quickly as possible. However, he realized it was a pointless gesture as, just last year, he and his legal team had gone through a painstaking trial to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was _not_ the same Vegeta as the one who'd wiped out an entire city and tried to destroy the Earth. Among other things, he'd had to prove an inability to fly, that he did not possess superhuman strength or, in the most embarrassing moment of all, that he was not nearly indestructible. The smug look on Bulma's face as she put one of Trunks' cartoon bandages on the tiny pinprick of a wound Vegeta had gotten on his finger from lowering his ki drastically enough to actually be injured by a needle was more annoying than the entire legal proceedings. It wouldn't do to just undo all of that just because someone had made a ludicrously-inaccurate video without his knowledge or consent.

The video screens faded in with a short clip of waves crashing against rocks, freeze-framing and transforming into an oil painting of waves crashing on rocks with the ZTV logo plastered across it. It faded out before fading in again on a woman who… almost looked like Perfect Cell (it was very clearly a woman in a bodysuit with her face painted white) standing in the middle of what _almost_ looked like a copy of the Cell Games Arena.

"I am Perfect Cell!" Not–Perfect-Cell declared dramatically as she faced the camera. "And I will destroy this awful, rotten, _imperfect_ world! No one will be able to stop me!"

"That's where you're wrong!" A voice cried out. Not-Perfect-Cell spun around and the camera panned over her shoulder to show–

"Is that supposed to be me?!" Vegeta asked angrily as he jabbed an accusatory finger toward the giant screens, already in a murderous rage. The collection of clearly-not-the-gang was being played by a collection of B-list actors whose glory days were behind them and young unknowns who might someday make it big, in which case this whole little episode would make nothing more than an amusing fun fact at the bottom of their filmography. Vegeta, for his part, was being played by a horse-man former sitcom actor who was trying his hand at more "serious" roles who was very clearly wearing a muscle suit along with his spiked blond wig.

"Hey," Trunks asked his mother, "How come one of those guys kinda looks like he's supposed to be me?"

"I'll… uhhh… I'll tell you when you're older," Bulma lied as Trunks squinted at her inquisitively.

"Who are you?" Not-Perfect-Cell asked, no doubt echoing the questions of our heroes.

"We are the champions of this world," said the woman who had spoken earlier who was clearly _supposed_ to be Goku (and being someone that was well-known, at least _mostly_ looked like her).

"Yeah," added 'Krillin' in a high voice. "And we won't let you destroy our world!"

"Is that supposed to be _me?!"_ Krillin echoed. "Did… did they get a kid?!" He didn't think he'd ever felt more offended in his life. "They _know_ who I am! They _know_ I'm almost forty, right?!"

"Hey, at least you got a better deal than Launch," Suno pointed out. "At least your actor kinda looks like you and you're not being played by a raccoon."

"Even I, the Demon King, shall stand against your evil!" Gecko-Piccolo proclaimed with the orotund delivery of a classically-trained actor. Piccolo closed his eyes and counted to ten, over and over, until the desire to kill them all went away. The others had their own various mutterings as the "documentary" unfolded in front of them, with the exception of Goku, Suno, Lazuli, and Gohan, who actually found the whole thing pretty funny. Especially when Notku and NopeCell started 'fighting' on wires and were pushed away from one another, left to flail hopelessly in the air until they flew toward each other once again.

"Noooooo!" Not-Goku cried 'dramatically' as she and the other fighters lay defeated at Decidedly-Not-Perfect Cell's feet. "I've been… defeated! I don't have the strength to go on!" 'Cell' threw back her head and laughed ridiculously.

"The mightiest warriors of Earth have fallen!" she crowed triumphantly. "Now no one shall stand in my way!"

"That's where you're wrong!" 'Gohan' told her defiantly as he struggled to his feet. Videl actually gave a little cheer at that as he continued. "I'll keep fighting you! I'll never stop!" Not-Even-Close Cell laughed derisively.

"You?" she asked mockingly. "You can't defeat me, little boy! You're all alone!"

"That's what you think, Cell!" cried a voice from high above, full of triumphant bravado. The camera panned over to a pile of rocks conveniently shaped like a ramp before 'Hercule', played by a fairly prominent Dog–man actor (a golden retriever, specifically), came hurtling over said ramp on a winged motorcycle, the lens flare flashing like crazy across its polished exterior before Dogcule flung the bike at More-Like-Adequate Cell, knocking her away and landing at 'Gohan's' side. The audience went fucking _wild._

Videl just rolled her eyes with a smile and shook her head. ' _Oh, dad…'_

"Oh, you've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," Tenshinhan grumbled from the luxury box. He was still irritated, not that they hadn't gotten an actual triclops to play him but because the false eye they'd put on his actor's forehead was of such shoddy material. He'd seen it nearly fall off _three times._

"Gohan," Poochcule said to Nothan as he turned to him and put a paw on his shoulder. "You and I can beat Cell! But only if we work together. Whaddaya say?"

"Yeah!" Only-kinda-han replied enthusiastically as he got into his (mediocre) fighting stance. "Let's do it!" Ludicrous Cell got to her feet and Nohan and Houndcule ran at her with a cry as the audience roared. They knocked Cell under the chin with a teaming uppercut that sent her flying into the air to, for no discernible reason, explode.

"Nooooo!" Cell wailed despite the fact she was exploding. "This isn't fair! I'm perfect! I'm _Perfect!"_

"Well, at least they got that part right," Gohan muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Curse you, Hercuuuuule!"

"Aaaaand never mind." The movie ended on a freeze-frame of Hercanine standing dramatically with his back to the explosion that transformed into another oil painting of that same shot, only with the real Hercule this time as 'Fin' came across the screen in a font _far_ too fancy for the entire production.

"Ah jeez," Hercule muttered with his face in his hands, barely peeking out between his fingers out of embarrassment. He'd seen the whole thing from his private office and was now seriously considering faking a sudden bout of deathly illness just to avoid going back outside. "That was _not_ what they pitched to me."

"I'm going to kill him," Vegeta informed the others simply. "He is going to die."

"Aw, come on, you guys!" Goku protested playfully when she noticed that no one else was in a rush to say 'Don't', "Lighten up! It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah," Suno added, "It's not like anyone really bought that." Vegeta merely gestured angrily to the fans screaming Hercule's name.

"Fighters, please make your way toward the ring," came a monotone voice over the intercom that definitely didn't belong to Ken. "Fighters, please assemble in the order you drew your numbers and make your way toward the ring." Suspiciously, Hercule was nowhere to be seen as the others filed in order.

"Hey, Upa!" Goku said cheerfully as she walked behind him. "Looks like we might be fighting. That'd be pretty neat!"

"Oh, yeah," Upa replied with forced cheerfulness. "Really, _really_ … neat." He clearly was not entirely thrilled by the prospect of that encounter. The crowd cheered as the fighters walked out into the middle of the ring and, now that they were standing in the center of it, they could really appreciate just how _massive_ the audience was. Tens of thousands of people packed into the stadium, all cheering their heads off.

"Wow," Krillin muttered as he looked around and nodded approvingly. "Now _this_ is a crowd!" There were an estimated 1.3 million people watching on pay-per-view as well, which wasn't bad considering that the only previously-announced entrant was Hercule.

"Lllladiieesss aaaand Gentleman!" Ken crowed as he powerslid in front of the group before popping to his feet. "Are you ready for the Tenkaichi Budoukai?" As the crowd cheered, Suno couldn't hide her irritation in thinking that they'd been 'ready' for the past hour. "Let's hear a big round of applause for our fighters! First, the new arrivals! Pintar!" The enormous man threw up his enormous, jiggling arms to a decent amount of applause. "Xī!" She nodded her head at another respectable round of applause. "Kibito!" He didn't even blink. "Yamu!" There was a bit of applause although there were also some boos from those who knew he was the younger brother of Spopovich. "Upa!" He flexed and grinned to the cheers and whistles of the crowd. "Vegeta!" The crowd cheered loudly at this, actually knowing who he was, and Vegeta played up to it a little bit. His vanity wouldn't allow him to ignore hundreds of people cheering in his name. "Mighty Mask!" The cheers for the somewhat-local hero were almost as loud as they were for Vegeta, which gave the King no small measure of annoyance. "Lazuli!" The crowd cheered, mostly because she was a very attractive woman, and she smiled and gave them what could only be called a "sarcastic wave." "The inaugural Junior Budoukai Champion and daughter of Hercule, Videl!" The crowd roared and Videl smiled and waved, although she wished Ken had just left it at the part about her winning the Junior Budoukai. "Aaaand the Great Saiyaman!" The crowd went berserk as The Great Saiyaman laughed and posed for them and they chanted his name.

"Wow," Bulma muttered, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "I guess Gohan's hobby was more popular than I thought." She wondered if anyone else had tried to move in on the licensing rights to The Great Saiyaman yet…

"Now for our returning finalists!" Ken proclaimed. "Give it up for Krillin!" The crowd cheered and chanted "Bald Tiger!" as Krillin flashed them the peace sign like Jackie Chun used to do. "Son Suno!" The crowd cheered and whistled again, with a couple of those in attendance apparently being from their neighborhood, as they held up signs for her, all mostly in the vein of "We love you, Mrs. Suno!" One particularly bold young man's sign even declared "Blow a kiss here!" She smirked and obliged him. "Majunior!" Piccolo crossed his arms and an uncomfortable murmur passed through the crowd. Apparently, the "History" lesson had reminded them all that, yes, he _had_ tried to kill them all at some point. "Spopovich!" The crowd booed voraciously and hurled abuse at the enormous bald man, who seemed as if he were five seconds away from leaping into the crowd and eating people alive. "The 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai Champion," Ken announced, "Son Goku!" Goku smiled and waved as the crowd went wild and a chant for her actually broke out, which Vegeta frowned at indignantly. _He_ didn't get a chant… "And lastly…" Ken declared as smoke started to fill the arena. "The reigning, defending Tenkaichi Budoukai Champion, the Hero of the World…" Ken was interrupted by a rocking guitar riff that blasted over the arena speakers.

"When it comes crashin' down and hurts inside!" The singer's voice cried as Suno realized that Hercule had _another_ theme song. "You gotta take a stand, it don't help to hide! If you hurt my friends, then you hurt my pride! I gotta be a man, I can't let it slide!" Hercule emerged from the smoke with a roar as flames and pyrotechnics went off all around him, accentuated by laser lights that swept through the smoke. "I am the Great Hercule Satan! Fight for the rights of every man! I am the Great Hercule Satan! Fight for what's right, fight for your life!"

"Hercuuuuule Sataaaaan!" Ken crowed somewhat perfunctorily as the crowd went absolutely berserk, chanting and screaming Hercule's name over the screaming guitar riff as they clapped and stomped their feet. ' _At least they cut out the second verse,'_ Ken thought to himself, thankful that his sunglasses hid just how hard he was rolling his eyes. After Ken announced who would be fighting who, the fighters who weren't Krillin and Pintar left the ring as the crowd quieted down once their savior was no longer out of sight.

"Hey, Hercule," Suno asked, "Is that whole act really… I dunno, necessary?" Hercule just gave a bit of an embarrassed shrug.

"The people kinda expect it from me at this point, y'know? A little song, little dance. Doesn't really hurt anybody, right? It's just fun." Suno nodded and supposed that was true. "Plus," Hercule added, "Every time I do that kinda thing, my action figure sales _triple."_

"Action figures?" Vegeta echoed before he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe _he_ should get his own theme song…

Back in the ring, Pintar gave Krillin a smug smile as he towered over him. Krillin, for his part, just looked kind of bored. Did this guy really think he was intimidating? Even just going by his Budoukai record, Krillin had fought a dragon when he was thirteen. Pintar was just a really fat guy.

"Is daddy gonna be okay?" Marron asked worriedly from the luxury box. "That guy's really big!"

"Don't you worry," Yamcha assured her. "Your dad's one of the strongest guys I know. In fact, he's probably the strongest human in the world!" He had to add quite a few caveats onto that sentence so that he wasn't a liar.

"I'll give you one chance, little man," Pintar taunted as he waved one of his huge fingers in Krillin's face. "Just get out of the ring now and nobody has to get hurt!" Krillin looked up at him curiously, one eyebrow raised.

"Wait," Krillin asked, "Do you not know who I am?" Pintar bellowed and brought down one of his huge fists to break open Krillin's head like a walnut, which Krillin stopped with a finger to Pintar's disbelief. "Seriously," Krillin continued, "Have you not heard of me?" He was actually a little offended. Pintar screamed with rage, making his enormous belly wobble, and swung down his other fist. Krillin just rolled his eyes and flicked Pintar in the stomach with his finger, sending him flying up over the crowd and into the sky, like a beach ball that had been kicked really hard.

"Ring… out?" Ken guessed after ten seconds. "Krillin is the winner!" The crowd cheered as Krillin strutted to the back and Ken shook his head. He'd really missed these guys.


	116. The Frozen Turtle VS The Mountain!

Chapter Hundred-sixteen

The Frozen Turtle VS The Mountain! The Power of Babidi!

Lazuli eyed Yamu curiously as they circled each other in the ring, her guard up cautiously as she waited for the bald man to make his move. He didn't seem that impressive, although it was more than a little weird that Lazuli couldn't sense any ki coming from him whatsoever. Was he another kind of cyborg? She supposed it didn't really matter all that much.

The tail of Lazuli's orange longcoat dragged slightly along the ground before she launched herself at Yamu like an arrow being fired from a bow. She flew at him with one foot pointed toward his chin when, to her surprise, Yamu grabbed her by the ankle and spun her around and around before tossing her up into the air. She caught herself and floated over his head before, surprising her yet again, Yamu actually flew up to meet her!

"Huh," Bulma muttered casually as she watched the battle begin to unfold. "I didn't know anyone outside of you guys could fly." The group in the luxury box watched on their wide screens as Yamu and Lazuli exchanged punches and kicks in the air, each one blocking and deflecting a strike before it could find its home.

"Me either," Yamcha added as he rubbed his chin curiously. Something about this Yamu guy was _really_ creeping him out. Not just, well, his appearance, but the fact that Yamcha couldn't sense anything coming from him. It wasn't as if he were hiding his ki because, even then, Yamcha would be able to sense _something._ There was just a nothingness floating there, trading strikes with Lazuli. It was eery.

"Come on, mama!" Marron cheered as she shook her tiny fists in the air. "You can do it!" There was a touch of worry in her voice despite her eagerness. She'd never seen mama fight anyone but daddy before and even that was just practice-fighting.

"Don't you worry your little head," Lapis assured his niece as he bounced her on his knee. "Your mom can take on anybody."

Lazuli glared at Yamu as she tried to punch her way through his defenses, looking at him with an intense and focused gaze. What the heck _was_ he? He was completely unreadable as she tried to figure out his style. He didn't even seem that committed to the fight. Was he even _trying?!_

' _Bro,'_ Yamu thought absentmindedly as he evaded a series of jabs from Lazuli by bobbing his head to the left and the right. ' _What does the machine say about her power?'_

' _Nothing,'_ Spopovich responded brusquely, which surprised Yamu enough that it left him open to a punch to the gut from Lazuli.

' _Are you sure?'_ Yamu asked, the blow barely registering before he countered with a gut punch of his own that drove the wind out of Lazuli.

' _That's what it says,'_ Spopovich growled impatiently. ' _Hurry up! Too many people. I need to get to the Grand Final and kill Hercule!'_ Rather than waste the mental energy to remind his kid brother of their actual mission, Yamu decided that if this woman didn't have any power that the machine could detect then there was no reason to keep testing her. Taking a dive now certainly wouldn't help his master's plans any but he only cared about those plans inasmuch as he cared about living so who was he to complain for an easy out? He simply dropped his hands on Lazuli's counterattack of a roundhouse kick and let it catch him on the jaw, dropping him out of the sky like a bird that had been shot with a rifle to land hard in the grass.

"Ring out!" Ken announced. "Lazuli wins! She will go on to face Krillin in the quarterfinals!" Lazuli was more than a little confused as to what the hell just happened before she smirked and turned toward the fighter's area to blow Krillin a kiss. Despite his great fall, Yamu got back to his feet and dusted himself off as if nothing had happened.

OoOoOoO

Videl bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited in her guard. It was mostly the same stance as she always used though there were a few subtle changes from her time spent tutoring under Suno and the Odori style. As Upa tossed off his vest and got into his own fighting stance, his exposed chest muscles bulged and the sunlight caught their definition to the whistles and cheers of a decent portion of the crowd. Iris and Mai, unsurprisingly, were the most enthusiastic in their cheers for Upa, causing Shu to roll his eyes and for Mercury to groan and hide his face in his hands in embarrassment. Videl supposed that, objectively, Upa _was_ attractive, but he had nothing on Gohan. Plus, he was _way_ too old for.

Upa sprinted toward Videl like a hunter on the trail of his pray and struck with an overhand chop that Videl hopped to one side to avoid and retaliated against with a kick to Upa's thigh that caused him to cry out in pain, his leg spasming as Videl kicked him again and again in the leg, driving him back toward one corner of the ring. Videl did a few backwards handsprings to put some space between herself and Upa before she came in for the strike that would send him flying out of the ring.

' _Okay,'_ Upa thought to himself as Videl came charging at him, ' _I can't lose_ this _easily.'_ He stretched his arm back and felt his Life Energy flowing through him, gathering it into his hand. He clenched his fist as Videl got closer and closer and a white, glowing tomahawk formed in his fist which he threw at Videl with all his might. It sailed through the air, spinning violently, going right for Videl. She spun to avoid it and gawked as it sliced off three strands of her hair.

"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily as she hung in the air. "Watch it with those things! My hair's short enough as it is!" Upa could only gawk at Videl as he watched her fly above him before rolling his eyes. Of course, nothing about this tournament could be easy. He gathered life energy in both fists and hurled tomahawk after tomahawk at Videl as he sprinted across the ring, following Videl as she flew to avoid them to try and force her out of the air. Eventually, Videl _did_ come down to Upa's level and, to his surprise, came barreling straight toward him with one leg drawn back for a spinning kick. Upa let out a roar and flung one more tomahawk as hard as he could. It went straight at Videl… and straight through her as she dissolved into an afterimage.

"Ohhh crap," Upa muttered as he realized what had just happened. He didn't even have enough time to try and guess where Videl had gone before she was all too happy to inform him with a rather emphatic kick to the back, sending him sailing out of the ring before he crashed down into the grass.

"Ring out!" Ken declared as Videl dusted off her hands with a smirk. "Videl is the winner!"

OoOoOoO

"Justice Punch!" Mighty Mask cried as he leaped into the air and brought a looping overhand right down on Goku, who casually deflected it with the flat of her hand. Mighty Mask skidded away from the force of the shove but, undeterred, came running back at her and flew at her like a spiral with one foot stuck out. "Justice Kick!" Goku sidestepped Mighty Mask and grabbed him by the cape as he flew past, swinging him around and around before flinging him out of the ring to go crashing into the barrier that separated the ring from the first row of spectators.

"Ring out!" Ken declared as Mighty Mask kicked his feet from the hole he'd created in the barricade or, more accurately, that Goku had created with his body. "Goku is the winner! She will go on to face Videl in the quarterfinals!"

"Hey!" Goku called to Mighty Mask over the crowd's cheers. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the masked hero assured her groggily, his feet still kicking, "I'm okay!" There was a bit of a pause. "Can someone get me out, please?"

OoOoOoO

Piccolo looked long and hard at Xī who smirked at him from across the ring. The Namekian carefully weighed his options and considered the best and most reasonable strategy with which to tackle this particular fight.

"Screw this," Piccolo announced as he literally threw up his hands. "I forfeit." He spun around on his brown, shoe-like feet and walked right out of the ring, much to the consternation of the paying audience. Not that Piccolo really cared that much what they thought. He wasn't going to blaspheme by punching the God of Gods in the face for their amusement.

"F-forfeit?" Ken announced in bewilderment. "Xī… wins?"

"Hey, Gohan," Suno asked her son curiously, "Who _is_ that purple lady anyway? I can't really get a read on her ki and Piccolo's never been the kind of guy to just back down from a fight." Gohan started to say something before they were interrupted by the intercom.

"Spopovich and Son Suno, please come to the ring! Spopovich and Suno," it repeated, "Please come to the ring." Suno grinned and shrugged a little, giving Gohan and Goku a wave as she started walking.

"You can tell me after I take out this clown," Suno told him over her shoulder, "Since I'll be fighting her in the next round!" Gohan swallowed nervously as he watched his mother walk out to the ring, Spopovich lumbering behind her like a mountain that walked. She'd probably be able to handle him, Gohan assured himself. He couldn't really detect any ki from Spopovich or Yamu but, going by what he'd seen from Yamu, they'd probably be about on par with Lazuli. His mother could handle that.

OoOoOoO

Suno smirked up at Spopovich as the monster-man snarled down at her through his enormous, horse-like teeth. He was frothing at the mouth, wide-eyed and with his veins twitching under his skin like writhing snakes. Suno'd always had a bit of a sneaking suspicion that the Budoukai didn't do any sort of drug testing whatsoever. As she looked up at an opponent who seemed to be on _all_ of them, that only confirmed her suspicion.

' _Man,'_ Hercule thought to himself as he watched from the fighters' area, ' _What_ happened _to Spopovich?'_ The man had always been huge but this was just… freakish. To say nothing of the fact that he'd shaved his head and facial hair and apparently gotten a tattoo. Was the guy having a midlife crisis? He didn't think he was old enough.

"Fighters ready?" Ken asked as Suno got into her stance and Spopovich just… stood there. "Begin!" Suno threw a solid punch to Spopovich's stomach at about the same force with which she'd hit the Elimination Machine. Spopovich just absorbed the blow without even blinking.

"Okay," Suno muttered, "That's not what I expected." She hopped away quickly from Spopovich, who still hadn't made a move to attack her yet. Upon realizing that her larger opponent wasn't going to make a move, she charged back in again and jumped at Spopovich with a flying knee. Now, however, Spopovich retaliated, swatting Suno out of the air with one of his enormous hands with an open-handed slap that caught her in the left shoulder. The slap sent Suno spinning through the air before she caught herself and watched as Spopovich turned slowly to face her. He growled wordlessly at her and launched himself at her like a wild animal bursting from the underbrush to pounce on its prey. Suno managed to evade his lunge and snapped off a few quick kicks to his boulder-sized shoulder which only caused Spopovich to grit his teeth angrily before throwing out his own kick and catching her in the stomach. The blow once again sent Suno flying before she caught herself. Despite this, Suno didn't seem that bothered by the monolithic malcontent. Big and strong, yeah, but not that much in the brains department. Nothing she hadn't seen before.

"A careful feeling out process by both competitors," Ken narrated as Suno started moving toward Spopovich again. "One has to wonder what techniques they'll display once the match begins in earnest!" Like Hercule, Ken was more than a little disturbed by the metamorphosis that Spopovich had undergone. He _definitely_ needed to push for testing to be incorporated at the discussion for the Twenty-sixth Budoukai.

"Shinsoku Odori!" Suno cried as she dashed toward Spopovich suddenly, causing a mix of surprise to worm its way under his perpetual expression of fury as she closed the distance between them swiftly and slipped under his guard, catching him hard across the jaw with a jumping kick, pushing off of his face and backflipping through the air before diving back at the big man to drive her feet into his stomach with a sledgehammer force. She bounced off of him like a tennis ball but it _did_ make Spopovich stagger back a step. Suno decided to press her advantage and dropped down to sweep Spopovich's legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground like a felled redwood tree. She leaped into the air and came down toward him with a flipping kick that would bring her heel crashing down to cleave the tree in twain before Spopovich struck again with his alarming speed, smacking her leg away and causing Suno to pinwheel through the air before he kipped back up to his feet and drove his shoulder into Suno to send her flying. She managed to catch herself in the air and turned around to dash back toward Spopovich as he charged forward to meet her like a thundering rhino barreling forward only for Suno to leap over him in his charge and drive the point of her toe between his shoulder blades, causing him to arch his back, before kicking him in the back of the knee. Spopovich spun around in a fury and smashed Suno across the face with a backfist, knocking her to the ground.

"Mother!" Gohan cried out despite himself, secret identity be damned. He knew his mother was tough but, still, that hit looked like it could have really hurt. Goku, for her part, only watched on eagerly with a grin. She hadn't watched Suno fight in so long, it was exciting to see her in action again. Suno hopped to her feet and wiped a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth where she'd been struck, chuckling to herself.

"Y'know," she said as she cracked her knuckles, "I was hoping to bust this move out a little later. Maybe even if I faced Goku in the finals. I definitely didn't expect to need to use it against _you,"_ she admitted as she gestured cavalierly to Spopovich, who snarled and balled his fists.

"Stop talking," he demanded. "You talk too much! Fight me!" Suno grinned to herself. So he definitely had a short fuse. She could use that against him.

"What move?" Lazuli wondered aloud as she rubbed her chin. Had Suno upgraded the Shinsoku Odori again? She hadn't mentioned any sort of new techniques in their spars.

"Kaiouken!" Suno roared as a red aura erupted around her and she launched herself at Spopovich like a missile. Goku's eyebrows shot up appreciatively and her grin widened considerably. She wondered how quickly they could get through the rest of the tournament…

Suno seemed to launch herself directly at Spopovich only to pivot to the left just as he launched his knee out to where her face had been. She kicked him in his other leg to make him stagger and knock him off-balance before coming at him again from the other side and slapping him hard in the ear. To her surprise, however, this wasn't the end of the fight for Spopovich and he swung both hands under her chin with an axehandle blow, knocking Suno into the air before grabbing her by the ankle and slamming her back down. He tried to continue his assault by leaping into the air and driving the point of his elbow, which was about the size of a car tire, down into Suno's chest. Instead, his elbow went crashing down into the ring and got caught there after going through her afterimage. She charged at him from the front and kicked him in the chin, knocking him away and freeing his elbow. He bellowed with rage as he got quickly to his feet again, his veins pulsing and his eyes twitching.

"Man," Suno remarked as she circumvented one of his wild haymakers and drove a hard kick into his side, "You are just the world's angriest punching ba–" She ran right into a jab that interrupted her train of thought, followed by another and another before he drove the point of his toe up into her chest to lift her off the ground before he grabbed Suno by the throat in one hand and drove her hard into the ground. It took her a moment to recover and she looked up at Spopovich in surprise. She definitely hadn't expected this. Her hits still didn't seem to be _doing_ anything!

"No more talking!" he demanded as he raised one livestock-sized foot over Suno. "No more wasting my time! Now you die!" Despite the threat, she grinned.

"Kaiouken times three," she stated calmly. His foot went crashing down through nothing and Suno came at him from behind, her arms going around Spopovich's neck and squeezing as she drove her knees repeatedly into his billboard of a back. He bucked and writhed like a rodeo bull before flinging Suno off of him, causing her to flip through the air before landing on her feet. "Kamehameha!" she cried as she thrust out her hands, the blast catching Spopovich square in the teeth as he came charging yet, even still, he came right on through it! Her eyebrows leaped up in surprise and she had to sidestep quickly to avoid another of his wild, savage blows. So he was _really_ tough. On the bright side, Suno thought to herself as she threw a ki blast that caught Spopovich in the side of the head, he was still really stupid. He roared again and came charging toward her once more as she flew backwards, firing ki blasts at his face to keep him coming straight at her. Then, just as soon felt her back foot hovering in the air above the grass, she pushed off and launched herself upwards, sailing over Spopovich's head as he kept going straight forward, followed immediately by going straight _down_ into the ground.

"Ring out!" Ken declared as Suno touched back down and dropped out of Kaiouken. "Suno is the winner! She will go on to face Xī in the quarterfinals!" The crowd roared its approval while those in the luxury box and the other fighters (except for Vegeta and Yamu) cheered enthusiastically.

"Yeah, Suno!" Krillin cheered as Lazuli put both pinkies into her mouth and whistled.

"Yay, mama!" Goten cried from the luxury box as she clapped enthusiastically. Gohan smiled and clapped for his mother while Goku looked as if she were ready to go run out into the ring and give her wife a great big hug.

Then, ruining the good mood like a thunderstorm at an outdoor wedding, Spopovich burst out of the Earth with a heartstopping shriek of rage, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He shot towards the surprised Suno at incredible speeds and caught her square in the jaw with a powerful right hook that sent her spiraling through the air and into the wall of the fighters' building.

"Mother!" Gohan cried out as Suno pried herself from the wall and security began to poor into the ring.

"Stay back!" Suno commanded as she cut off security's path with a wave of kiai. "Leave him to me! He'll just kill you if you get too close! You too, Gohan! I've got this!" Suno launched herself from the wall and back into the ring, getting into her guard before the seething Spopovich.

"Kill you! Kill you! I'll kill you!" Spopovich said as he slowly started lumbering towards Suno. Suno couldn't help but be mildly unnerved at the ungodly amount of killing intent and some other vile thing that was radiating off of his body in waves she could almost see but she stood her ground.

"Kaiouken times three!" Suno vanished from her spot and Spopovich was suddenly surrounded by a red tornado. He glanced around madly for a moment before intensely glaring at one spot.

"KILL YOU!" Spopovich lashed out with an uppercut at a seemingly random part of the tornado and caught Suno squarely in the stomach, driving the wind from her and lifting her off her feet. "KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!" Spopovich's arms blurred as he pounded into Suno with a barrage of punches that she could barely even see, much less react to in her stunned state. With another scream of pure hatred, Spopovich hit Suno with another uppercut that connected with her jaw and sent her hurtling into the sky. He immediately gave pursuit at speeds far greater than he had displayed before, his body wreathed in a purple aura of pure malice, and caught her by the ankle. He jerked her down to his level and slammed his elbow into her side before catching her in her other side with a swift kick and following up with a headbutt to the nose. Not letting up for even a heartbeat, Spopovich grabbed Suno by the head, his hand enveloping her entire face, and began meteoring towards the ground at incredible speeds.

"I don't care what she wants! I've got to help her!" Gohan said as he started to move only to be stopped when Goku placed a hand on his shoulder. Gohan looked back in surprise at his mom only to see her shake her head, her eyes never leaving the fight even as she frowned.

Mere moments before impact, Suno managed to snap out of her daze. She quickly slammed a palm strike straight into Spopovich's elbow, forcing him to let her go. Suno succeeded in angling herself away from Spopovich but she was simply moving too fast and was too close to the ground to safely come to a stop. She bounced painfully off of the ground before managing to bring herself to a stop in the air.

Suno was seeing red. Even if she didn't have the Kaiouken active, she'd still be seeing red. Her nose was broken, she had several cracked or broken ribs, her jaw was fractured, and she probably had some serious internal bleeding but she pushed past it all. It didn't make any sense, after all. This was a nobody. A lowlife. A two-bit punk. This wasn't Zarbon or Dodoria. This wasn't a member of the Ginyu Force. This was somebody so incredibly unimportant that he'd surely be forgotten the next day. This was a Saibaman. This was one of Freeza's goons. She couldn't lose to someone like this. She could win this fight easily. She _had_ to win this fight easily. She _needed_ to be strong.

"KAIOUKEN TIMES FOUR!" With her own scream of rage, Suno launched herself at Spopovich, ignoring the screams of protest from her own body as the Kaiouken exacerbated her wounds. She and Spopovich clashed in an flurry of explosive punches, each one delivered with enough power to easily destroy half the planet, but the exchange was painfully onesidded. Even though Suno was landing five blows for everyone one of Spopovich's, Spopovich seemed to recover almost instantly from each one while each of Spopovich's blows were breaking more and more of Suno's battered body.

Over in the fighters', Goku's scowl deepened as Gohan's anger rose, his power rising along with it. "This has gone on long enough! We _need_ to put an end to this! We need to make that monster _pay_!" Gohan's hair flickered between black and gold as his anger started to push him into Super Saiyan, the force of both the transformation and the wind messing up his hair and forcing off his mask.

"Not yet," Goku said calmly even as her body radiated tenseness. "Your mother said that she can handle this so we'll-"

"KAIOUKEN TIMES FIVE!"

"Suno, no!"

With her muscles bulging obscenely, Suno jammed her fist into Spopovich's stomach, actually managing to lift him off his feet and cough up spittle, before following up with a left cross to his jaw that sent him staggering away. Suno quickly brought her hands to her side, gritting her teeth as she forced her rapidly decaying body to obey, and started gathering her ki.

"KAAAA…."

Suno forced her raging power between her hands. It was like trying to direct the flow of the ocean with a broom but she had done it so many times that it was second nature. She could feel her ki starting to condense and take shape but it wasn't enough. Not yet. Spopovich was starting to regain his footing so she pushed her broken body even further.

"MEEEE…."

She forced every bit of her power into the space between her hands but it still wasn't enough to be certain. She needed to blow this nobody away. Reduce him to nothingness. Anything less than an absolute victory would be total failure.

"HAAAA…."

Ignoring the scream of her body, Suno began drawing even more power into the attack. Using this much of her life energy was certainly dangerous but it didn't matter. If she continued down this route, she would certainly die the moment the attack was launched but it didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that she absolutely could not afford to lose this fight. She had to win no matter what it cost her. The price for her defeat here would simply be more than she could handle.

"MEEEE…."

She was so far beyond her limit that her body was breaking even faster. Her hearing was gone. She couldn't feel anything. The scent of blood was gone. Even her vision was tunneled to the point that she could only see her target. Most of her bones were fractured or broken. Her spleen had ruptured and she could feel blood pouring into one of her lungs. Her heart felt as if it would burst, breathing was becoming a Herculean task, and it took every ounce of her willpower to remaining standing.

Things shouldn't have gotten this far to begin with. Even if she won, she'd still lose. At least she'd have this one last victory to cling to, no matter how small.

With agonizing slowness, Suno begun to bring her arms forward. This was it. This was the end. This was everything she had left. Even if this was her last act, she was confident that it would be enough.

Mere moments before the attack launched, Suno's body finally gave out. The light of the Kamehameha vanished and the aura of the Kaiouken dissipated into the ether. Suno stood frozen in place, her eyes empty and lifeless as she stared ahead. It hadn't been enough. She hadn't been strong enough. She couldn't do what was needed of her.

As her body finally gave out and she began to topple forward, Suno could see that missile from so long ago heading towards her. She had managed to rise above her lot once in life but it seemed that miracles truly don't happen twice. That had been the highest she had ever risen and now she could do nothing but accept the inevitable. She had strived to touch the sun and now she was burned.

With a sad smile and a single tear, Suno hit the ground.


	117. Gohan Boils Over! The Truth of the Heart

Chapter Hundred-seventeen

Gohan Boils Over! The Truth of the Heart!

"Suno!" Goku cried out. Goten couldn't take any more of this. She flew straight through one of the windows of the luxury box, not caring about the glass ripping her clothes as she charged down to her mama's aid, powering up to Super Saiyan. Spopovich looked down at Suno's unconscious body with his head cocked to one side in bestial confusion before his face twisted up into a malevolent smile and he raised one boot over her head–

Before he was immediately knocked back by an invisible blow that sent him hurtling away to crash painfully into a wall. Goku, Gohan, and Goten stood in front of him to guard Suno, Goku's fist sticking out from the punch she'd thrown at him. Spopovich glared at them and Goku glared right back unwaveringly.

"Stay away from her," she demanded, her voice icy calm but full of barely-restrained rage. "It's over." She was angry at herself almost as much as she was at Spopovich. She should have moved in sooner. She shouldn't have let Suno put herself in danger like this. Spopovich took one lumbering step toward them and she would have killed him right there if Yamu hadn't stepped in front of his brother.

"Remember the mission," Yamu whispered as he grabbed Spopovich by the arm, leading him away like a stable hand with an ornery horse. "Remember the mission." Then he turned to the arena security that were rushing toward them. "I'm very sorry about my brother," he told them in a tone that sounded almost genuine. "Please, leave him to me, I'll get him out of here." Though by this point, the Son family had tuned everything out. Goku knelt down and scooped Suno's battered body up into her arms even as the medical staff rushed toward them.

"I can carry her," she told them firmly. "Just take me to the hospital wing." She cradled Suno in her arms as she carried her away, Gohan and Goten following quickly behind her and Videl quickly joining the procession.

"Just a… just a momentary break in the action ladies and gentlemen!" Ken assured the audience, trying to soothe their fears and screams of panic before turning away from the microphone so he could cough after his voice broke from his nerves. "We'll reconvene and continue the Budoukai after a… after a short break." He took out his pocket square and dabbed his forehead after letting out a long, weary exhale. That was probably the most… _disturbing_ scene he'd ever seen. Even when compared to when Piccolo had been torturing Goku back at the 23rd Budoukai, this was somehow worse. He ran off quickly to check on Keri, making sure her nerves weren't too shaken. His poor daughter, having to see something like that…

"Mama's gonna be okay, right?" Goten asked in a trembling voice as she tugged at Gohan's cape. "The doctors are gonna make her all better, right, big bro?"

"Yeah, Goten," Gohan assured his little sister as he opened and closed his fists, trying to rein in his boiling rage. "E-everything's gonna be just fine."

OoOoOoO

Hercule stood off in a corner of the fighters' area and looked down at his trembling hands. Why had he let that happen? _How_ could he have let that happen? How could he have just stood there? How could he have been so… afraid? He should have run in, yelled at Spopovich, thrown his boot at him, done _something_ to get the bastard's attention off of Suno and onto him. It could have given her the opening to fight back or to kill him or to run. Anything! Anything other than… nothing. Which was what he'd done. Some hero of the world.

OoOoOoO

"We can keep her stable," one of the field medics was explaining to Goku as she looked down at Suno in the bed that she was laying in with tubes connected to IV drips that went into her arm and monitors tracking her pulse, "But we don't have the equipment to give her the medical treatment that she needs. She has several torn ligaments, broken bones, possible internal bleeding. She might even need a blood transfusion. She needs to get to a hospital. Now, we can airlift her to one but that will take a few minutes to get author–"

"Don't worry," Goku responded with a shake of her head before she closed her eyes. "I've just gotta get a fix on–"

"Hold up!" Goku heard Bulma shout, the interruption snapping her out of her concentration as Bulma shoved herself through the cluster of Gohan, Videl, Lazuli, Krillin, and Goten, who were all hovering outside but were not allowed in the room.

"Bulma?" Goku asked curiously as her friend fished a hand through her purse, looking for something and ignoring the medic's furrowed brow.

"Hang on, don't go anywhere!" Bulma emphasized as she pulled a capsule out of her purse. "Always carry one of these for emergencies," she said to no one in particular with a satisfied smile. She pushed down on the capsule's trigger and, in a puff of smoke, she was triumphantly holding up a syringe full of a swirling blue liquid.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the medic told Bulma, catching her attention _and_ her ire as she glared at him venomously. "You can't be in here. This is a medical emergenc–"

"Excuse _you_ ," Bulma interrupted indignantly as she jabbed him in the chest with the pointer finger of her syringeless hand. "Do you know who I am? I'm _Bulma,_ do you understand? As in 'President of Capsule Corp' Bulma. I own half this goddamn planet. Now get outta my way before I buy this whooooole island," she gesticulated wildly as she said this, swinging her hand in a wide circle over her head to indicate the island they were standing on, "Just to fire _you._ Got it?" The medic awkwardly shuffled out of Bulma's way and out of the room as she rushed toward Suno and got on her knees beside the other woman, flicking her middle finger against the needle of the syringe a few times and then tapping the side of Suno's neck. "Just stay with me, Suno," she murmured worriedly to the unconscious woman. "This is gonna feel funny and I apologize in advance." Then she pushed the needle into Suno's skin and pressed down on the plunger, injecting whatever the strange liquid was into the other woman's body.

Seconds seemed to tick by like hours as they waited before Suno suddenly sat up in the bed with a shot, the IV needles popping out of her arm like they'd been squeezed out and the small injection holes even sealing themselves as the redhead gasped for air, gulping it down, her eyes wide and frantic as she took in her renewed consciousness and, carefully patting herself down, her bewildering lack of injuries.

"What the heck _was_ that stuff, Bulma?" Gohan asked curiously as Goku and Goten dove toward Suno with hug-based attacks. Bulma smiled as she turned to him, as relieved as she was proud.

"Some new fast-repair nanite technology I'm still working on. The ones we developed for commercial use would have fixed all of Suno's damage in about an hour but these puppies can do the trick in…" she looked at her wristwatch. "Twelve seconds, wow. They also degrade quickly and harmlessly. They'll remove themselves from Suno's system the next time she goes to the bathroom. Now," she continued, "I only packed the one with me so don't think this is an excuse to let yourselves get bludgeoned half to death. Plus, while I know how to repair _physical_ damage easily enough, I still don't know how to deal with ki so it'll take Suno a little while to recover her strength. If I were you," she went on as she turned back to the recovering redhead, "I'd take it easy for a little while." Goku smiled and pulled Bulma in for a hug, patting her on the back.

"Thank you, Bulma," she said sincerely before her face got serious. "Now, I need all of you to leave. I need to talk to Suno. Alone." There was something in Goku's tone and in her expression that left no room for argument and the quintet awkwardly shuffled out of the room and down the hall while Goku took a stool from the corner of the room and pulled it over to Suno's bedside with her psychokinesis, never leaving Suno's side as she set the stool down and took a seat, looking directly into Suno's face.

"I know," Suno sighed wearily as she leaned back against the wall. "I know. You're proud of me for mastering Kaiouken on my own but it was reckless and I need to learn how to control it better and that if I just keep training–"

"No," Goku interrupted her bluntly. Suno blinked and stared at Goku, surprised by the sternness in her wife's voice and the worry on her face. "Suno… why did you do that? Why didn't you let us help you?"

"This coming from the lady who wouldn't let any of _us_ help her when Piccolo was actively crippling her?" Suno asked wryly, trying to hide behind a playful smile.

"That was different," Goku replied. "Your fight was already over. You'd won. You wouldn't get disqualified if we helped you and you didn't have anything else to prove. You could have been killed, Suno!"

"Is that really _that_ big of a setback?" Suno piped up again, though the sarcasm in her voice faltered slightly with an edge of self-loathing. "I mean… I'd have been dead for, what? Two hours?" Goku's brow furrowed and her mouth screwed up in consternation.

"This isn't funny," she told Suno in a firm tone that took her aback. "Goten was watching you! How do you think she would have handled seeing you _die?_ What's going on, Suno? What's this really about?" Suno's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her lap, letting out a long and exhausted breath. "Tell me," Goku asked gently as the softness returned to her voice, taking Suno's hands in hers. "Please." Suno was silent for almost a minute, a war going on behind her eyes as she fought with the desire to be honest with her wife while not wanting to admit… something.

"You're wrong," Suno finally said slowly. "I _did_ still have to prove something. I… I had to prove that I mattered. That I could still fight, that I was still _worth_ something. After you were gone, Gohan needed me. Then Goten needed me. They needed me to be strong for them, to watch over them and protect them. _You_ needed me to take care of them. I just… I couldn't let you all down but I have, Goku." Tears began to roll slowly down her cheeks and she pulled her hands out of Goku's reach to ball them into fists, as if she were about to try and beat the weakness out of herself. "Tomorrow I'm going to wake up and you're going to be gone again." The reality of that statement sat in Suno's stomach with a cold, painful ache that spread swiftly through her and made her whole body tremble. "I couldn't even beat this stupid _freakshow._ How am I supposed to be strong enough to take care of my children? _Our_ children?" She shook her head as the tears flowed more freely now, no matter how hard she bit down on her lip to try and make herself stop. "I'm a _failure,_ Goku. I'm a failure of a fighter, of a mother, of a–" But Goku's arms were around Suno and she pulled her close, silencing Suno's self-defamation as she pressed her face into her chest.

"Don't say that," Goku told her gently as she rubbed her back in slow circles. "Please, Suno, don't say that. It's not true." She heard Suno begin some muffled protestation and shook her head. "Shhh. It's not. You're not a failure. You're not weak. You're the strongest person I know, Suno. You have such a strong spirit and a strong heart. They're part of why I love you." She let Suno away from her chest so Suno could breathe and also so that she could put a hand under Suno's chin and held her face so she could look into her eyes. "Gohan and Goten _need_ you. Not because of your physical power," she explained, "That was never what I meant when I told you and Gohan to take care of each other. They need your wisdom and your guidance, your tenderness and your support. More than they need me. I could teach them how to throw a punch, sure, but you teach them so much more. I'm…" Goku stopped and chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I'm not great at this… mom stuff," she admitted slowly, "I know I'm not. But you _are._ You can be here for them when they need you, to answer their questions and quiet their fears. You teach them about the world, you help them grow and figure out who they _are._ That's why I can go back to Otherworld tomorrow without any worries or fear. Because I _know_ that you'll be here for our children, to watch over them and to guide them. I know that they're _safe_ with you. I know that you can protect them." She wiped away the few stray tears still rolling down Suno's cheek with her thumbs and smiled. "You're so much more than you give yourself credit for, Suno. Trust me."

Suno smiled weakly and even giggled as she put her arms around Goku's neck, pulling her close and resting her forehead against Goku's.

"J-jeez," she sniffled as her smile grew, "When'd you get so thoughtful and stuff?" Goku just grinned and shrugged. Suno laughed softly again and leaned forward to kiss Goku tenderly on the lips as Goku put her arms around her again and held her in a warm embrace. Hearing Goku say all of that, knowing how earnest Goku was and knowing in her heart that she'd meant every word, took a weight off of Suno's shoulders that she hadn't even realized was there. It was like she could breathe again. ' _My Goku,'_ Suno thought adoringly, ' _Back in the world for an hour and a half and she saves the day again.'_

OoOoOoO

"Idiot," Vegeta scoffed as he watched Gohan, Goten, the bald one (with two eyes), the cyborg, and the human girl rejoin the rest of them in the fighters' area. "Should've let one of us handle it once it was clear she was outmatched. Instead, she almost lets her pride get her killed." As ever, Vegeta was astonishingly blind to hypocrisy. Gohan turned on him, that ridiculously red cape buffeting behind him, and started to advance. Vegeta smirked and had a remark prepared before the words were suddenly caught in his throat, as well as the air. All of this, he realized, was because Kakarot's hand was _on_ his throat, squeezing and holding those things in.

"Don't," Kakarot warned him sternly. "I know that's your thing, Vegeta, I know it's what you do, but not now. Just don't. Not now." Then she lowered Vegeta back to the ground and left him to rub at his throat in ragged frustration and bewildered disarray. It wasn't just that she'd had the audacity to do that, to _touch him_ without his leave, to presume to tell Vegeta, her _King,_ what to do… but that he had been completely unable to stop her. He hadn't even _seen_ her! She was just _there!_ He hadn't even blinked! Had the gap between them widened even more? Despite all of his training?!

' _No,'_ he thought to himself, ' _No. Impossible. She had simply caught me off guard. In an actual battle, she would have never gotten that close. She would have never had the chance. When we_ truly _fight, I will_ destroy _her!'_ Yet even as he insisted these things to himself and actually began to believe them, he heard his father's words echo in his head, swimming up out of the dim and distant past to mock him.

' _A King should always be on his guard,'_ his father had told him. It had been a sparring session, not unlike the one Vegeta himself had partaken with Trunks. Only, rather than tending to Vegeta or helping him to his feet, his father had kicked him while he was down. Vegeta shook his head to bury the memory deeply down again. It was nothing. He would win.

OoOoOoO

"Great Saiyaman and Kibito, please come to the ring!" the intercom instructed. "Great Saiyaman and Kibito, please come to the ring!" Gohan started to walking when he suddenly felt the air on his naked face and realized that something _very_ important was missing.

"Where's my mask?" Gohan asked as he touched his face. "Where's my mask?!" Kibito rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Xī as he made his way to the ring while Videl helped a frantic Gohan search around the fighters' area.

"It must've been blown off when you got pissed off and started to power up," Videl suggested.

"Well, did you see where it went?!"

"No! I was kinda distracted with your mom getting the crap beaten out of her!"

"Ohhh, great!" Gohan moaned as he kept looking, fighting the urge to pull at his hair. The last thing he needed was to pull out the black gel Yamcha had worked into it and show everyone Son Gohan's red hair. "Now what am I gonna do?"

"Great Saiyaman, you have ten seconds to get to the ring," the intercom interjected as the color drained from Gohan's face. "Great Saiyaman, you have ten seconds to get to the ring."

"Oh, just go out there!" Videl ordered Gohan aggressively as she put her hands to his back and shoved. "Erasa and Shapna's seats suck and they're the only people who'd recognize you, you'll be fine!" Gohan tried to put his game face back on as he walked out toward the ring, the crowd roaring when they saw him. He puffed out his chest and flexed his muscles, posing and laughing a laugh that only seemed a _little_ forced.

OoOoOoO

Up in the stands, Erasa's eyes drifted up from the ring toward one of the giant screens above the stands. Originally, she'd only looked up to get a better look at that _dreamboat_ Great Saiyaman but as she looked at his face…

"Hey," Erasa said to Shapna, elbowing him in the ribs to get his attention over the roar of the crowd. "Hey!"

"Ow! What?!" Shapna asked irritably. Erasa pointed at the screen and he rolled his eyes. "What? I get it, you think he's hot, why'd you have to hit me?"

"Doesn't he look familiar?" Erasa asked. Shapna squinted at the screen and shrugged. "I think that's Gohan!"

"What?" Shapna asked incredulously with a laugh. "The Great Saiyaman isn't Gohan! Gohan's got red hair!" Erasa frowned, tapping her chin. It sure _looked_ like Gohan…

OoOoOoO

"Fighters ready?" Ken asked. Gohan nodded and Kibito moved his hands from behind his back to his sides which was… almost a stance? "Begin!"

"Just so you know, _boy,"_ Kibito informed Gohan in a tone so witheringly dry that it seemed to suck all of the moisture out of the air, "I thought it was a fool's game for the Kaioushin to enlist your help. Not only are you a mortal," he explained as Gohan looked at him suspiciously, "But a _child_ as well. Look at you, dressed up and playing your games. What help could you _possibly_ be to us? I know that the Kaioushin says that you have some sort of great power but I find that _highly_ suspect. If you want my honest opinion?" Kibito smirked. "I believe that the only reason the Kaioushin has let you in on this matter at all is because she has a type."

That was it. That was the absolute last straw. Gohan had spent the last twenty minutes trying to keep his anger from bursting out of him. He had hoped that this would be a good outlet to calm and control himself, maybe even take his mind off of things for a minute or two. After all, he and Kibito were _supposed_ to be on the same side, right? But now… but _now…_

"You wanna see how much power I've got?" Gohan seethed as he balled his fists, his ki flickering and crackling around him like a living, writhing thing. "Okay!" He threw his head back and roared, his cape instantly being ripped from his shoulders by the wind his ki had created and flying out into the sky. His black hair gel burst off a second later, his red spikes standing free and clear again.

"Look!" Erasa exclaimed from the stands, grabbing Shapna's face in both of her hands and making him stare at the screen. "I told you! I _told_ you!"

Gohan's red hair flashed to gold and his eyes turned teal as he kept roaring and his power kept right on swelling. His spikes of hair grew even higher and lighting began to crackle and course along his muscles as he powered straight on through to Super Saiyan 2. Videl decided that after this fight, she needed to speak with Gohan. Alone. To… appraise his fighting skill. Yeah.

Lingering just outside of the arena, Yamu and Spopovich looked down at the Power Meter that Lord Babidi had given them to measure Kilis… whatever the hell those were. The device was trembling in Yamu's hands and pointing back at the stadium as the needle leaned sharply to the right, quivering from the speed at which it had reached that point. The two brothers shared a look and nodded. _This_ would please their master.

"Incredible," Xī murmured appreciatively as she stroked her chin in thought. "Simply incredible!" She had sensed Gohan's power once, years before, but to actually be this close to it was even more impressive! She wasn't exactly _thrilled_ at the way Kibito had gone about getting Gohan to display this power and she would definitely have to have a serious talk with her attendant later about what the hell he meant by "type" but this was still _incredible!_

"Eh," Goku said with an offhanded shrug. "I dunno. I think Gohan's slacked off in his training."

"Indeed," Vegeta agreed. "The boy was far more powerful years ago. His power's quite literally dropped in half." Xī looked at them in astonishment. He had actually been _stronger_ than this?! Either way, Xī told herself, this would be too great a power to resist. Everything was moving according to plan.

"So," Gohan growled at Kibito as he got into his guard, "Was _this_ what you were hoping for?" The pink-skinned attendant was as startled as Xī though he was far better at masking his emotions.

"Yes," he assured Gohan in a calm and measured voice. "I believe that will do." Gohan smirked and balled his fists, leaning his body forward as he prepared to spring into action. Just wait until Kibito saw what he could actually _do_ with all of this power.

Then Gohan heard the audience's horrorstruck screams just before he felt something sharp being driven into the small of his back. His eyes went wide and he arched his back with a gurgled gasp of pain and started to thrash before two enormous arms wrapped around his throat, squeezing his neck and holding him in place as the thing pushed deeper into his spine. Pain shot through him like lightning, a burning pain that made his head pound so badly that he couldn't hear anything, a pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Then the white-hot suffering was gone and it was replaced by a cold, dull ache that spread through his body. It felt as if something were being sucked out of him, something vitally important that had always been a part of him that was crippling in its absence. He could feel his aura dim and his hair return to its natural red color as his eyes went white and his head slowly rolled forward. Then, everything went black.


	118. The Hunt is On! Babidi's Game of Death!

Chapter Hundred-eighteen

The Hunt is On! Babidi's Game of Death!

Goku had no idea what had just happened. One moment it looked like Gohan and the Kaioushin's Popo guy were gonna start fighting and then the next the big guy who'd attacked Suno and his brother had suddenly appeared and had stabbed Gohan in the back with a large, strange-looking stone or clay pointed weapon with the same M on it that they had on their foreheads. She didn't know what was stranger: The fact that Gohan wasn't able to shake them off or that Kibito wasn't lifting a finger to help.

"H-hey!" Ken cried in shock at this sudden intrusion. "Uh… K-Kibito is disqualified for outside assistance!" Then he turned away from his microphone to look at the judges irritably. "Can we get some security out here?! Why are these guys even still on the island?!"

"I don't get it," Goku muttered with a shake of her head. "Why isn't Gohan able to get them off of him?"

"I'm using my powers to keep him from struggling," Xī explained calmly. Goku wheeled on her as Gohan's hair faded from gold to red and he went limp in Spopovich's arms as Yamu pulled the strange weapon out of Gohan's back.

"What?!" Goku demanded furiously. "Why would you do that?!" Spopovich dropped Gohan to the ground as the audience screamed, threatening to devolve into a full-on panic. Spopovich stared down at Gohan malevolently, no doubt still stinging from the embarrassment he'd suffered at the rest of the Son Family's hands when he'd tried to get his revenge on Suno.

"Come on, come on, let's get out of here!" Yamu uttered hurriedly, trying to keep his brother on task. Spopovich grunted and the two brothers took off into the sky, quickly vanishing from sight.

"It was all part of my plan," Xī assured Goku, still calm right up until the moment Goku grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her off of her feet. _This_ made Kibito leave the ring and sprint toward them as Goku held the God of Gods up roughly.

"You couldn't have told Gohan that _earlier?!"_ she asked hotly. First one of these Babidi guy's minions beats up her wife and now Xī was letting them attack her son?

"Take your hands off of me," Xī instructed Goku firmly. Goku just glared up at her and Xī glared right back, a vein pulsing in her purple forehead before Goku was forcibly shoved away from Xī, who floated gently back to the ground. She looked sternly at Goku as she wiped a trail of glowing, iridescent white blood from her nose. Even that small shove had clearly taken a bit of energy from the Kaioushin. Goku started to advance on Xī again before Vegeta smacked her in the back of the head.

"We don't have time for this, Kakarot," he pointed out brusquely. "They're getting away. Just get Gohan a damned senzu."

"Oh yeah," Goku muttered with a nod and a bit of an embarrassed smile. "Right. Senzu." Then she was gone. Then she was back with a small brown bag tucked into her belt.

OoOoOoO

Korin looked up from his Sudoku puzzle, fairly certain that he had just sensed Goku's ki. But that didn't make any sense. Not that he could really say for sure, though.

"Nobody tells me anything anymore," he muttered as he went back to his puzzle. He really needed to get some kind of internet connection up here or something. Or maybe he'd just move down to the ground. Not a lot of demand for a cup of pain-in-the-ass rainwater these days.

OoOoOoO

"What is a senzu?" Kibito asked curiously.

"Magical bean that can heal anything," Vegeta explained with a shrug. Kibito huffed.

" _I_ could heal him," he offered, "And I assure you that my powers are far greater than any… _bean,"_ his face curdled as he said the word as if it personally offended him.

"Hey, wait a second," Krillin interjected as he and Piccolo ran over to Xī while Goku fed Gohan the senzu. "Who are you, really? What's going on here? Who _were_ those guys?" Xī rolled her eyes.

"Ohhh, I don't have time to explain all of this again," she muttered as she jabbed her thumbs onto Krillin and Piccolo's foreheads. "Here!" The pair were hit with a sudden burst of knowledge and information and their eyes rolled back as they processed the information. "Up to speed?" she asked brusquely, expecting the mortals to flee.

"Yeah," Krillin replied with a cavalier shrug. "I've been in every other adventure so far. What's one more?" That caught Xī by surprise. "Hey, babe!" Krillin called over his shoulder as he turned to look back at Lazuli. "I'm gonna go with these guys, see if I can stop some evil wizard from unleashing an awful demon or whatever. Wanna come with?"

"Nah," Lazuli said with a bit of a dismissive wave. "I'm sure you'll be fine. If you're gonna back out of the tournament, one of us has to stick around to make the money, right? I'll know if you're in trouble." Krillin grinned as Piccolo cracked his knuckles.

"I've been worrying that I'm getting rusty," he said with a grin. "I need to see how I still hold up. Count me in." Surprises and surprises, Xī thought to herself as Gohan hopped to his feet, which startled Kibito.

"Alright," Gohan said emphatically as he rolled his shoulder back a few times to stretch it out. "I'm back. Let's go!"

"Hey, Gohan!" Videl shouted as she dashed onto the field, stopping him before he could take off. "So I guess you're gonna go deal with that whole Majin Boo thing now, huh?" Gohan nodded.

"I know you probably want to come," he told her, "But this is going to be dangerous."

"Oh, yeah," Videl responded dryly with a roll of her eyes, "Me with my ability to fly that I learned a month ago, I'd be a _big_ help against an ancient, God-killing evil and a demonic warlock." She smirked and leaned up to kiss Gohan on the cheek, patting him on the arm. "Just be careful, okay? We still haven't even gone on our first date!" Gohan was left red-faced and stammering like an idiot, Videl giggling and pointing behind him. Gohan turned over his shoulder and saw that the other five had already left him behind.

"H-hey!" he called as he flew after them. "Wait for me, guys!" The sextet took off into the sky, following the trail of Gohan's stolen energy. Goku realized that she'd forgotten to tell Suno what had happened and where they were going. She couldn't turn around so she decided she'd just leave her a message.

OoOoOoO

Suno was sitting on her cot and calmly meditating, her legs folded and one hand flat and with her thumb pressed to her chest, the other hand balled into a fist and held under it, the wrist of her bottom hand turned up to touch the wrist of the top hand. Her eyes were closed and her breaths slow and deliberate. It was a meditative stance Goku had taught her once when they'd first been living together that she said she'd learned from Kami and that was useful in recharging your ki faster.

' _Hey, Suno!'_ Goku's voice said in her head, startling her out of her meditation and nearly making her fall off of the cot. ' _Me, Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, and that purple lady and the pink guy are gonna go chase after that big guy who beat you up and his brother, so I guess we're gonna miss the tournament.'_

' _I… uh…'_ Suno stammered in her thoughts, still startled. ' _I'm flattered, Goku, but I don't think all of you are needed just to beat up the two of them–'_

' _Oh, it's not that,'_ Goku explained. ' _Apparently, they work for some evil wizard guy named Babidi and they stole Gohan's ki to give to this Babidi guy who's gonna use it to try and summon a monster called Majin Boo who's gonna… I dunno, eat the universe or something. I kinda missed that last part.'_ Well… Suno had definitely never heard _that_ before. ' _Shouldn't be more than a couple hours! Good luck with the Budoukai! I'll see you later!'_

"Uh… b-bye?" Suno said aloud to no one, terribly confused. Still, she supposed it couldn't _just_ have been as nice and straightforward and normal as Goku coming back for the Budoukai, could it? Suno shook her head with a sigh and got back into her meditative stance. With so many people leaving the tournament, she wouldn't have as much time to recover as she'd thought. She didn't want to continue the tournament at anything less than her full strength.

OoOoOoO

"U-uh, please stay calm, everyone!" Ken implored the panicked and rowdy audience. "J-just give me a moment to discuss this with the judges and we'll be able to continue the tournament in a timely fashion!" He wiped his forehead with his pocket square again and shook his head, letting out a long and exasperated breath. Just what the hell was going on today? As he talked with the judges, Trunks and Goten ran onto the grass, pouting and having _just_ missed the others.

"Hey!" Trunks shouted with a huff as he watched his dad and all the others fly off, angrily stomping his foot. "Why didn't they ask _us_ to go? We're way stronger than those other two!" He crossed his arms and pouted, a grumpy look on his face.

"Yeah," Goten whined, sadder that she didn't get to spend more time with her mom and hang out with her big brother. "It's not fair! They coulda waited!"

"Hey," Videl said from behind them, "I'm sure your parents were just looking out for you. Gohan told me what they're going to go do and it sounds pretty serious. Evil sorcerers and monsters and the end of the world and stuff." Trunks and Goten's eyes lit up with excitement at that and Videl realized that maybe that wasn't the best approach. "You're both very powerful," Videl assured them, "But you're also inexperienced. They probably just didn't want you guys getting hurt if this Babidi guy is stronger than you. I'm sure you'll be able to go on the next adventure though." Trunks and Goten nodded at Videl but, as soon as her back was turned, they exchanged knowing nods. As soon as they had a chance, they were going to go after the others.

OoOoOoOoO

"This Majin Boo business had better not interfere with our battle, Kakarot," Vegeta grumbled as their group flew in pursuit of Spopovich and Yamu. Goku grinned and even chuckled.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I don't even think I've been on Earth for two hours. We've got plenty of time!" Xī could barely believe what she was hearing. These fools were _supposed_ to be focusing on stopping Babidi from releasing Majin Boo, the greatest and most terrible evil that the universe had ever seen… and they were worried about how it would impact _their schedule?_ Saiyans truly were odd beasts.

"So, uh, Kaioushin?" Krillin asked somewhat awkwardly. "I know you kinda dumped all that info into me and Piccolo's brains but I still have a couple questions. Just how bad _is_ Majin Boo?"

"Worse than 'bad'," Kibito stated, either unable or simply not caring to hide the condescension in his voice. "Majin Boo is destruction incarnate. He could wipe out an entire system's worth of planets in minutes."

"Doesn't sound that tough," Vegeta muttered with a scoff. " _Freeza_ could blow up planets easily as well and I don't think I have anything to fear from him anymore."

"Majin Boo could have killed Freeza with a particularly labored breath," Xī retorted bluntly.

"Pretty sure I could, too," Vegeta shot back. Xī merely shook her head in disappointment. "What?" Vegeta demanded hotly, knowing when he was being insulted.

"You just could have been so much more than what you are," Xī sighed sadly. His brow furrowed in consternation and he balled his fists.

"What in the nine hells is that supposed to mean?" He demanded. "I am a _King!"_

"A king of nothing," Xī reminded him, "And before that, you were a slave." Veins pulsed in Vegeta's head and he glared at the Kaioushin, tension rising in his neck. "I had such hopes for your race when I created you. You could have been something great. My protectors of the rest of the universe," she maligned. Vegeta opened his mouth to say something before Kibito cut him off.

"I see them," he announced. "We should land before we are spotted, exalted Kaioushin." Xī nodded and they all began to make their descent, drastically lowering their ki so as not to be spotted as they stood upon a mountain overlooking the desert, hidden from sight. They watched Yamu and Spopovich walk toward a small, vaguely-conical white and red structure that poked out of the ground.

"That must be Babidi's spaceship," Xī whispered with a furrowed brow as the front of the structure opened slowly and Spopovich and Yamu went down on their knees.

"That little thing?" Goku whispered curiously. "Must be pretty cramped in there."

"No, no," Xī replied with a shake of her head, "Babidi's ship is enormous. The majority of it must be buried underground." That meant that Babidi probably knew that Xī and Kibito were here which was… troubling.

"Hey," Krillin pointed out, "Someone's coming outta that thing!" Or more accurately, _two_ someones. The first was a small, shriveled little brown-green creature in a blue robe and an orange cape that hovered three feet off the ground with spindly little arms, enormous bug eyes, and an evil little grin on his face. The second was a tall and imposing-looking pink man with enormous ears and horns. He wore a blue bodysuit that was ruffled at the shoulders and had white boots and a scalloped white cape. He carried himself with dignity and poise and had an elegantly trimmed black goatee. His eyes were yellow and full of malice. Like Spopovich and Yamu, he had a large black M on his forehead, matching the M on the buckle of his huge white belt.

"Ohhh no," Xī whispered, "That… that's gonna be a problem." This just made things _significantly_ more troublesome.

"Why?" Gohan asked. "Who's the big guy?"

"Dabura," Xī answered, "The Demon King."

"I'm sorry," Piccolo asked in a consternated tone, "The _what?"_

"As in the actual King of the Demon Realm," Kibito assured him. "Not a slug with delusions of grandeur." Piccolo had his reservations about attacking the Kaioushin but he was about _this_ close to smacking the shit out of her attendant.

"There are very few beings in the universe whose power matches Dabura's," Xī explained. "And if his power has been boosted by being in Babidi's thrall, it could make today _very_ difficult." Like Spopovich and Yamu, the rest couldn't sense Dabura's ki so they had to take Xī's word for it.

OoOoOoO

"We have done as you asked, Lord Babidi," Spopovich growled as Yamu held up the Energy Drainer toward his master. "We have collected the energy you require." Babidi held out his hand and the Drainer flew into his open palm. He looked down at the indicator to see how many Kilis it had absorbed and nodded approvingly.

"Very good," he told his minions appreciatively in a high, nasally tone. "Very good, indeed. I'm surprised you worked so quickly. It must have taken a great many beings' life forces to gather this many Kilis."

"No, my lord," Yamu explained. "Just one." One? Babidi blinked his huge eyes, both sets of eyelids flickering. That didn't make any sense. How could _one_ being have this kind of power?

"I believe it might be those that think they are hidden from us," Dabura offered, whose deep voice was as dark as his black soul. Babidi nodded, stroking his chin as his eyes flicked over to a mountain for just a moment. He could sense the Kaioushin's hypocrisy radiating off of the damn thing.

"You two have performed well," Babidi informed his slaves. "You have accomplished your tasks…" his eyes narrowed as he held out a hand. "Meaning that there is no more use for you." He closed his hand into a fist and Spopovich suddenly went rigid, his jaw clenching painfully and his eyes bugging out. A scream went out from between his teeth that were shut so hard they started to break before Spopovich suddenly… inverted. One second, he began leaning forward, his head pointed toward his stomach. In the next, there was only a horrible wet ripping sound and in Spopovich's place, there was only a mangled ball of blood, meat, bones, and entrails. Yamu's face turned even paler than it already was and he looked at Babidi in horror for a moment before he started to fly off in a panic as fast as he possibly could. Babidi looked at Dabura and nodded at him and the Demon King turned his eyes to Yamu. He moved in a flicker of blue and white and Yamu fell to the ground. Or, more accurately, Yamu fell to the ground _bit_ by _bit_ as, in the blink of an eye, Yamu had been reduced to nothing more than a mass of bloody cubes that splattered onto the dry desert floor.

OoOoOoO

"Holy shit," Gohan muttered, aghast. He didn't feel particularly _sorry_ for the two brothers— for his money, it couldn't have happened to two nicer guys— but he still felt a little queasy. Those were, undoubtedly, the two most awful ways he had ever seen anyone die. Even Piccolo looked a little queasy. It was hard to tell since he was already green, but you could see it if you knew what to look for. Vegeta, on the other hand… was intrigued.

OoOoOoO

"Now then," Babidi said to his servant, "Go deal with them. Don't kill all of them," he explained. "I want the Kaioushin to live long enough to see my ultimate triumph as I resurrect Majin Boo. Kill the riffraff," he went on, "And lure the strong ones in here so that I can use their power to resurrect Boo."

"Your will is my action," Dabura assured his master with a slight bow as Babidi returned to the ship. Then he turned his eyes to the mountain with a smirk.

OoOoOoO

"I don't get it," Goku muttered. "Why's Debra staying outside the ship after Babidi just went back in?"

"It's _Dabura,"_ Xī corrected her with a clear tone of frustration in her voice, "And it's because–"

"Because he sees us!" Vegeta announced as Dabura suddenly charged toward them. He made up the difference in no time at all, on top of the assembled heroes in the blink of an eye with his palm raised to Kibito's face. A deadly red ball blasted from Dabura's hand vaporized Kibito before Xī even had a chance to blink. Then Dabura started… spitting at them.

"Watch out!" Xī warned the _extremely_ confused warriors. "Even Dabura's spit is a weapon!" Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku moved out of the way but Piccolo and Krillin weren't fast enough. A globule of spit landed on each of their shirts and before either one had a chance to react, they cried out in pain and were turned to stone.

"Krillin!" Goku screamed in horror.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan cried in dismay. Dabura chuckled as he swept his cape back dramatically.

"If you want to have any hope of saving your friends," he taunted, "You'll have to follow me!" Then he flew back to the ship and was gone from sight, leaving them stunned.

"He's right," Xī announced. "The only way to break Dabura's spell is to kill him."

"Not gonna be a problem," Gohan and Goku said in unison with gritted teeth. Vegeta rolled his eyes at mother and son, shaking his head.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked irritably before flying off toward the ship. Gohan and Goku nodded before flying after him, leaving only Xī behind.

"No, wait!" she called after them. "Don't fall for such an obvious trap, you…" She groaned and ran a hand over her face, sighing and shaking her head before following them. "Should have made them smarter," she chided herself. "Should have made them _much_ smarter." If they'd just interbred with the Tuffles a few hundred years ago, she might have been saved a headache.

OoOoOoO

Once the quartet was inside the ship, the door immediately slammed shut behind them, sealing them inside.

"Oh, look at that," Xī remarked sardonically, "It was a trap." Vegeta crossed his arms and huffed, not dignifying that with a response.

"Greetings, my friends," Babidi's voice suddenly filled the room, "And welcome to my humble abode. I know it's not much but I hope that my servants shall be able to… entertain you!" Then he cackled with malevolent mellifluousness before the room went silent again.

"The heck did he mean by that?" Goku wondered aloud.

"The only way out of here is to fight our way out," Xī explained. "Each level of the ship will contain one of Babidi's warriors until we reach the bottom."

"Or," Vegeta offered dryly, "And just hear me out: We blow the whole damn thing up."

"We can't risk destroying Majin Boo's egg and releasing him," Xī shot back. "Honestly, do you use that space between your ears to do something other than hold up your widow's peak?" Vegeta closed his eyes and breathed slowly, counting to ten.

"If you're all quite finished?" A new voice announced with a voice that could only be truly described as… greasy. They all looked toward the center of the room where a strange man had just appeared. He had brown skin, yellow lips, green eyes, and he was dressed in a black bodysuit with white armor, though it was difficult to tell where the armor stopped and his body began as he had a long, white bony protrusion on top of his head that reminded Gohan vaguely of Freeza's third form. The protrusion had a black M on it in the spot where his forehead would probably be so at least they knew Babidi's style now.

"And just who the hell are you?" Vegeta asked. The strange man put a hand to his chest proudly and grinned at them.

"You can call me Pocus," he announced. "I am one of Babidi's mighty warriors!" Even Xī snickered a little at that. "Now which one of you will be the first to die at my hand?" Pocus asked, doing his best to ignore the Kaioushin. Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku turned to each other and nodded.

OoOoOoO

Deep down below in the bowels of the ship, Babidi drove the injector point of the Energy Drainer into Majin Boo's shell, his eyes lighting up as the brown, veined orb drank in the Kilis and began to glow softly.

"Excellent, excellent!" The Dark Wizard hummed. "Just one injection and I already have half the power I need to resurrect Majin Boo!" He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he put the Drainer aside. "Perhaps I was a bit hasty in executing those two fools."

"Nonsense," Dabura assured him. "With these remaining warriors battling the other two and me, we should have all the power we require to free Majin Boo."

"That reminds me," Babidi murmured, "I should see how Pocus is doing." He held out a hand and his viewing globe floated into his hands, grinning as he turned its focus to Pocus' level on the ship. "...What?"

OoOoOoO

"Ro! Sham! Bo!" Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta cried as they pumped their fists and threw out their hands. Pocus and Xī were just as confused as Babidi.

"Ha!" Vegeta laughed as he threw up an open hand in triumph. "Paper covers rock! I have bested you both! I am the King of Roshambo _and_ of the Saiyans!" He threw his head back and laughed as Goku gave Gohan a wink behind Vegeta's back before he turned his attention to Pocus. "Now you have to deal with _me,_ little man."

"...But I'm taller than you," Pocus pointed out. Vegeta's expression soured and Gohan snickered. "Anyway," Pocus continued, "Here's how this works. Every time you guys get hurt, that gives energy to Majin Boo's resurrection."

"So if we don't get hurt," Vegeta observed, "Boo gets nothing."

"I guess," Pocus admitted with a smirk. "But I don't see that happening." Vegeta smirked right back and beckoned Pocus to attack him.

"Come and find out then," he challenged. Pocus grinned and charged at Vegeta, throwing out a kick that Vegeta easily avoided by moving his head to one side. Honestly, though, the creature had moved so slowly that Vegeta had run the risk of falling asleep by the time Pocus' foot got to him. Pocus stared at Vegeta in shock, his movements so belabored and protracted from Vegeta's perspective that they seemed deliberately overdone, before Vegeta slapped Pocus in the face and sent him crashing into the wall. Despite this overwhelming and obviously assured victory, it was _Vegeta_ who cried out in dismay. "Damn it!" he groaned. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! I got the weakest one! Kakarot!" He snapped as he wheeled around to look at her. "Was this your scheme all along?!" Goku only giggled. Pocus charged at Vegeta and punched him in the back of the head, breaking his own wrist.

"You're persistent," Vegeta admitted. "Good for you." Then he swung his arm around and slapped Pocus in the face again. Pocus hit the wall hard again with a groan and slid slowly, squeakily, to the floor.

OoOoOoO

"All right," Babidi muttered, "Clearly this is going to be a problem." He held out his hands and used his magic to give Pocus an edge, transforming his level into the terrain of his homeworld of Zoon to give the poor bastard some kind of a chance.

OoOoOoO

Pocus grinned as the room around them transformed into his harsh and desolate homeworld, the ground under their feet red and crater-filled, the air sulfurous and arid. Only the strong could survive here. These fools would have no chance!

"You had your fun," Pocus admitted as he dusted himself off, "But now it's my turn! Here on Zoon, the gravity is ten times greater than it is on your planet! You won't stand a chance against me here!" For whatever reason, he didn't seem to notice that the gravity change hadn't affected any of the other four in the slightest.

"First off," Vegeta began, "If the gravity was going to make _that_ much of a difference, you would already be faster than me on a planet where the gravity was lighter."

"That _is_ science," Gohan chimed in.

"Secondly," Vegeta continued, "...Ten times? That's it? That's the gravity of _my_ home planet, you doddering jackass!" Pocus stared at Vegeta in horror as the King advanced on him.

"Yeah," Goku agreed, "Ten times really isn't that big of a deal. I was already doing ten times _that_ like eleven years ago."

"So," Vegeta finished as he put a fist on either side of Pocus' head, "I think we're done here." Then he brought his fists together, crumpling Pocus' head and making his brains pop out of the back of his skull like a bursting zit. Pocus' dead body crumpled to the ground and the room returned to normal. Xī laughed and threw up her pinkies, pointing them toward the ceiling.

"Yeah!" she taunted. "You like that, Babidi? My guys are awesome! We're coming to get you!" Gohan turned to her curiously.

"Why are you pointing your pinkies up?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

"It's a rude gesture," Xī explained, "One that's basically universally-recognized." Gohan nodded slowly with understanding, not wanting to throw up the Earth example for comparison on the off-chance she might recognize it. Still, he thought, good to know not to stick up his pinkies if he ever went to another planet again. A hole opened up in the floor and Goku and Vegeta quickly hopped down, leaving Gohan and Xī to follow down after them… into complete darkness.


	119. A Taste of Goku's Power!

Chapter Hundred-nineteen

The Beast of Shadows! A Taste of Goku's Power!

In the dark dimension of shadows which he called home, Yakon lurked and sought out his prey. It was a world where light was a foreign concept, an unheard of anomaly, and all because of him. Yakon feasted on the light, gobbling it up in his great, slavering maw. He had drunk deeply of every fire, every lightning bolt, every flash and flicker. From the smallest candle flame to the very sun itself, he had consumed it all. For centuries, Yakon had sat in shadows. Then, in his despair, the Wizard Babidi had found him, promising him a never-ending supply of light in exchange for Yakon's immortal soul.

To be honest, Yakon didn't really know what a soul _was_ so he was happy to accept the deal.

"Yakon," Babidi's voice whispered, echoing in the infinite shadows of Yakon's home. "I am summoning you, my loyal beast. Pocus is dead. I must call on _your_ power to kill our enemies and take their power for Majin Boo."

"Yes, my master," Yakon growled obediently, bowing his enormous head.

"These warriors are quite powerful," Babidi warned, "So I shall use my magic to give you an advantage. You shall be able to do things… _your_ way."

"Oh good, my way. Thank you, Master," Yakon nodded slowly, perhaps even dumbly. Then he blinked, unquestionably dumbly. "...What _is_ my way?" he asked.

"I'm going to turn the level they're on into your dimension of darkness," Babidi explained with irritation clear in his face. "Wait for them to arrive. Once they do, strike from the shadows and _kill them!"_ Then there was silence before Yakon was transported to the second level of Babidi's ship which was swiftly plunged into darkness.

"...My way's not very sportsmanlike," Yakon observed. His wide, frog-like face morphed into a hideous, fanged grin. Good. He never _did_ like playing fair.

OoOoOoO

"Jeez," Goku observed as she, Gohan, Vegeta, and Xī all landed in shadows. "It sure is dark in here. What happened," she asked, "Did Babidi just turn off the lights or something?"

"I expect it's far more sinister than that," Xī guessed. "I think he's using another one of his minions. He's saving Dabura for last and, given the conditions of the room, I suspect he's using the monster known as Yakon. He can see in complete darkness and he feasts on light."

"So, a raccoon," Vegeta pointed out dryly. "You're telling us Kakarot has to fight a raccoon. Ow!" he exclaimed as someone walked backward onto his foot. "Watch it!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Gohan apologized quickly. "It's just kinda hard to figure out where anything is."

"Well, _I'm_ back here!" Vegeta said while shoving Gohan hard in the back. Xī gave an "Oof!" as he was shoved into her. "Oh for crying out loud!" Vegeta groaned in exasperation. "Why are we so bunched up?! There's plenty of space!" There was the sound of footsteps and, wordlessly, everyone stuck their arms out and spun in a circle to make sure they all had enough room.

"There," Xī sighed, "Are we all better now?" There were various mutterances of agreement and Xī rolled her eyes, although no one could see it. " _Super._ Now, can we stay on–"

"Hey," Goku interjected, "Did you guys hear that?" There was a "Whoosh" of air as something rushed right over their heads. Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta ducked, and Xī was simply short enough that whatever it was missed her. They heard a scraping sound like something with claws skidded across the ground in front of them to a stop. "Hey," Goku called out into the darkness, the unsettling sound of heavy breathing and something… dripping, "Are you that Yakko guy?"

"I am Yakon," a deep and bestial voice corrected. "The shadows belong to me. You shall all die here for my Master!" Yakon lunged suddenly, Goku hearing the sounds of claws digging into the earth and pushing off and the rush of air as a very large figure lunged at them. Goku hopped to the side and dodged him again causing the beast to make a very confused noise before this was followed by a rather painful-sounding crash. Perhaps he'd gone head-first into a rock or something.

"You know, even though I can't see you or sense your ki, I can still hear you!" Goku explained to the brute before waving a hand in front of her face and frowning. "Also, you stink!" She dodged a few more swipes from Yakon, throwing out a few light strikes of her own, trying to figure out the size and shape of her enemy so she'd know where to hit. "It still kinda sucks not knowing where you are, though," she muttered thoughtfully before she was suddenly struck with an idea. Like the proverbial light bulb going off, her hair flashed gold and filled the darkened area with bright light as she turned Super Saiyan. "Hey, Vegeta!" she called to the Saiyan King. "Looks like I got a _bright_ idea, huh? Huh?" Goku flashed Vegeta a cheeky grin and he groaned, seething between his teeth.

Yakon stared at Goku's glowing golden hair in wonder, salivating at the sight of that glorious, bright light. Now that Goku and the others could actually _see_ her enemy, they all took a step back, visibly repulsed by the creature.

"Way worse than a racoon," Gohan muttered as he scrunched up his face. "Way, _way_ worse…" Yakon was a truly monstrous creature. His studded skin was a dark green, with spikes bursting out of his enormous shoulders and running down along his back like spines. His bulging yellow eyes were fixated on Goku's aura, drool dripping from his hideous fangs. His arms, nearly as long as his entire body, ended in gigantic hands as large as Goku's torso, with strange growths coming from his wrists and deadly claws on each fingertip. Unlike everyone else, presumably because there wasn't enough space on his squashed little head, the Majin Symbol was in the center of his chest.

"Such glorious light," Yakon snarled rapturously. "So grossly incandescent! I shall feast on you like I feasted upon the sun!" Goku made a disgusted face.

"Yeah, no," she told him bluntly. "Kamehameha!" She threw her hands out and fired the blue-white beam straight at the monster. He jumped backward on his strange, bent-back frog legs, his mouth opening unnaturally wide. The blast went directly into his mouth and his stomach bulged as he, in no uncertain terms, swallowed the Kamehameha. "...Huh?" Goku asked in confusion.

"Sooo…" Gohan guessed as he turned to Xī, "You weren't kidding about that whole 'feasts on light' thing, huh?"

"What," Xī asked witheringly, "Did you think I was being metaphorical?" Meanwhile, Goku was thinking, even as enormous blades burst out of the growths on Yakon's arms and she dodged his wild, feral swipes. He made her think of that weird, pink rubber guy that she and Suno had fought when they were little. But she couldn't really break open the wall since they were underground _and_ in the desert. But if he swelled up like a balloon from eating light… there _was_ always something you could do to a balloon.

"Hey, ugly!" Goku taunted as she drove her feet into Yakon's chest to send him flying. "Let's see you snack on this!" Then she let out a roar and started to power up, her aura growing larger and brighter as her power rose higher and higher. Yakon practically giggled as he opened his mouth wide and started sucking down her aura, the golden fire disappearing into his gullet.

"What the hells is Kakarot doing?" Vegeta muttered, one eyebrow raising in confusion. What sort of strategy involved, literally, giving your opponent exactly what they wanted? However, as Yakon's stomach continued to distend, Vegeta started to get an inkling. Yakon's eyes went wider than ever and his expression changed to panic as his stomach continued to grow and grow. Vegeta was almost impressed that Kakarot was actually showing something that resembled a _strategy._ However, whatever he might have been felt quickly changed to disbelief and anger as Kakarot's power continued to climb. This was… this was just _absurd!_ It was… it was…

OoOoOoO

"Inconceivable!" Babidi cried as he watched Yakon explode rather violently. Where the hell had the Kaioushin gotten these freaks from?! What even _were_ they? How could they have such power?! He'd barely gotten _anything_ to resurrect Majin Boo with other than what Spopovich and Yamu had already given him. It was all up to Dabura now…

OoOoOoO

' _Dabura!'_ Babidi's voice snapped in the Demon King's mind, disturbing him from his meditation on the third and final level. While most beings meditated in silence, The Lord of the Demon Realm found serene calm in the screaming and wailing of the damned, the sounds of war and destruction. It was a sweet and sonorous serenade to his sinister senses. In this tranquility, he would sometimes find his thoughts returning to home. To his sister and to his father, now dead these ten thousand years. Dabura had sold his soul to Babidi on the promise of the power to slay his father and assume the throne as Demon King. His father had been proud of Dabura's resourcefulness and sheer underhandedness. Treachery was their way, after all.

' _Yes, Oh my master?'_ Dabura asked as he slowly opened his eyes. He could guess why Babidi had summoned him. No doubt Yakon had failed just as spectacularly as Pocus before him. These creatures the Kaioushin had brought together, there was something _different_ about them. He found it most… intriguing.

' _Yakon has also fallen,'_ Babidi announced, as Dabura had expected. ' _It all falls on you now, my greatest and most powerful servant.'_ Dabura unfolded his legs and let his feet drift down onto the ground as he listened to his master.

' _I shall lead with my left hand,'_ Dabura decided as he stretched, flexing his fingers and rolling his neck. He heard Babidi's exasperated scoff and chuckled. ' _If I lead with the right, it will be over too quickly. You will not have the energy you require.'_

' _Fine, fine,'_ Babidi muttered, the roll of his eyes almost audible. ' _Have it your way. But make sure they're dead!'_ Dabura bowed his head dutifully.

' _As you will, it shall be done,'_ Dabura thought as a hole opened in the ceiling above him.

OoOoOoO

Before the floor opened up, Xī continued to hoot and holler and make obscene gestures toward the ceiling at Babidi. Meanwhile, Gohan was left… perplexed. _This_ was what he'd been dreading for the last month?! This had been a cakewalk so far! For a second, he started to set himself up for disappointment, since it was his turn to fight Dabura next. Almost immediately, though, he realized how stupid that was. He wanted to kill the guy so that Krillin and Mr. Piccolo could turn back to normal, why should he want him to be strong? Still, though, this all felt like a lot of worry and panic for nothing. Cell had been worse than this!

OoOoOoO

"Lllladies and Gentlemen!" Ken announced over the intercom, a tone of relief to his voice now that the proceedings were finally… proceeding, again. "The judges have come to a decision! Due to the rather extraordinary circumstances, we shall be proceeding straight to the semifinals!" The crowd cheered at this, no doubt thankful to get the show back on the proverbial road. "It will be Lazuli taking on Videl Satan," he declared, "And Son Suno taking on the reigning, defending Budoukai Champion and Hero of the World, Hercule Satan!" The crowd's cheers grew even louder as they anticipated a father/daughter final in a grand passing of the torch. It would only be appropriate, wouldn't it?

The announcement pulled Suno out of her meditation, though by now she was more or less back to full strength anyway. She got up off the cot and stretched, preparing to face Lazuli in the finals. Unless Videl had made a _lot_ of improvements in the last two days or tried something really clever, anyway. It would be kind of fun, actually, fighting Lazuli. Just a fight between friends, nothing serious, no major stakes. Just a couple million zeni.

"Hey," Trunks muttered, nudging Goten with his elbow. "Are we going or what? Everyone's gonna be staring at the tournament, they won't even know we're gone!" Goten chewed her lip indecisively and looked back and forth between the ring and the bright, blue sky. If she went, there'd be adventure! But if she stayed…

"I gotta stay and watch Mama win!" she whined. Trunks groaned and rolled his eyes, burying his face in his hand. Why were girls so _emotional?_

Videl watched Lazuli walk past her with a concerned look, chewing her lip thoughtfully as she got in some last-minute stretches. She saw Suno walking toward her and gave a bitter little smirk.

"I'm going to get my ass kicked, aren't I?" she asked. Suno gave her student a bit of a shrug and patted her on the shoulder.

"Just give it your best shot," she told Suno encouragingly. "That's all you can really ever do." Videl rolled her eyes and walked out to the ring, doing her best to soak in the cheers of the crowd. She figured she could last a couple of minutes, though it was hard to gauge exactly how strong Lazuli was. Something to do with her nanites or something, as Gohan had explained it to her.

"Come on, Videl!" Erasa cheered, cupping her hands around her mouth and doing her best to be heard over the rest of the crowd. Shapna put two fingers into his mouth and whistled encouragement. Videl got into her guard as Lazuli did the same, rolling her shoulders as she waited for the battle to begin.

"Go, mama, go!" Marron cheered from the luxury box, pumping her little fists eagerly from her uncle's lap. Lapis grinned as he watched, figuring that his sis had this in the bag.

"Fighters ready?" Ken asked.

' _Ready as I'm gonna be,'_ Videl thought, giving Ken a nod.

"Begin!" Ken declared. Videl got an intense look in her eyes and decided that she'd have to go straight for the jugular if she wanted to make any kind of impact in this fight.

"Shinsoku Odori!" Videl cried out. A blue ki aura surrounded her and her hair was whipped up in a chill breeze as she launched herself at Lazuli with the speed and sharpness of an arctic wind. Suno gave a surprised whoop from the fighters' area, frankly astonished at Videl's progress. She'd thought that her pupil had only progressed enough to use the Fubuki Odori! Videl came at Lazuli with a tornado kick, doing three full revolutions before driving her foot into the side of the blonde cyborg's head. Or, rather, she was _aiming_ for her head. Her foot just went into Lazuli's forearm to block the strike.

"Not bad," Lazuli admitted with a bit of a smirk. "You almost got me by surprise there." She pushed Videl's foot back and grinned. "Gonna have to be a little faster, though." Videl glared at Lazuli and threw a few more punches and kicks to try and gauge the other woman's defenses and Lazuli at least had the courtesy to pivot her body this way and that with her blocks, when she could have easily deflected Videl's blows by standing still. Videl flew at the blonde cyborg from her sides and behind, trying to strike through any sort of opening in Lazuli's defenses. Frustratingly, she didn't seem to have any.

"Videl attacks with incredible speed," Ken narrated, "But the newcomer Lazuli seems to have an impregnable defense!" Lazuli only chuckled and fought the inclination to roll her eyes at being labeled a "newcomer." Well, she supposed that on the _world_ stage, sure, whatever. Videl threw another roundhouse kick at her, throwing her whole body weight into the blow.

"Come on," Lazuli taunted Videl as she caught her foot in one hand. "You know you can't beat me. I know you wanna give a good fight but you're gonna make me feel…" Slowly, almost comically, Lazuli realized that Videl's foot seemed to be twisted at an unnatural angle. And also, it suddenly carried a lot less weight behind it. She turned her head and realized that she was holding an empty shoe with its straps undone. When had the girl even had the time to take off her shoe? She turned back to Videl and stared open-mouthed, still confused by everything that had just happened, as Videl held a large ki ball over her head. Videl threw it with all her might but, _again_ surprising Lazuli, Videl threw it straight at the ground, sending up the dust and grit to block Lazuli's field of view.

' _Dad always says,'_ Videl thought to herself as she came at Lazuli through the smoke, ' _If you can't hit harder than them, you gotta hit_ smarter _than them!'_ She hit Lazuli triumphantly in the face with a knee, bringing them both out of the smoke as she pushed into the air with all her strength, the pair of them flying into the sky.

"Yeah!" Hercule cheered thunderously. "That's my little girl! Go on, get her! Show her what you're made of!" He couldn't believe it! His little girl could fly! ' _I guess I really_ do _need to train harder,'_ he thought to himself. Maybe _he_ could learn about this "key" stuff.

The two fighters hovered in the air, Videl panting and lacking a shoe, Lazuli rubbing at the spot on her lip where Videl's knee had hit her, actually impressed. She nodded slowly, sizing Videl up and deciding to take her just a little bit more seriously.

"Not bad," Lazuli admitted as Videl dropped out of the Odori state and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "If you were a little stronger… okay, a _lot_ stronger, that would have actually stung." Videl rolled her eyes. "But I think you're all out of tricks," Lazuli continued, "So I'm about to wrap this up." Then, surprisingly, Videl smirked. "Come on, kid, you're barely keeping yourself in the air. I think you're all out of tricks."

"You'll find I'm _full_ of surprises!" Videl taunted as she brought her hands forward. Lazuli watched her, more curious than anything, which worked out pretty well for Videl as she'd never actually _done_ this before. She hadn't even attempted it yet. But, still, if you were gonna go for broke… "Kaaaameee…" Lazuli actually gawked at that, as did the vast majority of those in the luxury box.

"She's bluffing, right?" Launch asked with one eyebrow raised while Kani continued sketching furiously.

"She's _gotta_ be," Yamcha affirmed. "I mean, Suno said it took her the better part of a month just to learn how to _fly._ Before that, she didn't even know what ki _was."_

"Haaaameeee…" Videl continued, the tell-tale blue-white light glowing in her hands.

"Sure doesn't _look_ like she's bluffing," Lapis pointed out with a chuckle. Suno, for her part, was utterly bewildered. She'd shown Videl how to create ki blasts but this was something else! How much extracurricular work had the girl been doing?

' _No wonder Gohan's crazy about her,'_ she thought approvingly, positively beaming. Lazuli waited tensely, prepared to at least give Videl the courtesy of actually blocking the blast to absorb it rather than just slapping it aside or teleporting out of the way. Then, Videl spun around so that she was facing away from Lazuli, tilting the angle of her hands slightly.

"Haaaa!" Videl cried, blasting herself into Lazuli shoulder-first. The change in attack plan caught the blonde bombshell by surprise and Videl slammed into her, knocking both of them out of the air and toward the grass outside the ring.

"What ingenuity by Videl," Ken crowed, "What incredible leaps and bounds of progress she's made in the last four years! Will she be able to do it? Can she overcome her more powerful opponent?"

"Come on, Videl!" Hercule cheered. "You can get her! Get her outta there!"

As it happened, she could not. Videl's Kamehameha petered out in her hands, and with it went all of the force she could muster to actually put Lazuli out of the ring. Using the Shinsoku Odori for as long as she had, plus the Kamehameha, with both techniques being used for the first time, was more than Videl's body could handle and she had burned through her ki. Lazuli, holding Videl carefully so that she didn't drop the girl, floated down and put her on the grass, her own feet still not touching.

"Ring out!" Ken declared. "Lazuli is the winner! She will go on to face the winner between Son Suno and reigning champion Hercule Satan in the grand final!" It was as if all of the air had been let out of the arena as Lazuli walked matter-of-factly back to the fighters' area with her hands stuffed in her pockets. "But what a tremendous effort by Videl Satan, folks!" Ken added as Videl pulled herself up to her feet, staggering as she refused any help. The crowd cheered and clapped for her and she waved to acknowledge them unenthusiastically as she walked out of the fighters' area.

"Hey," Suno told her student, giving her a pat on the arm. "You did great. You've come along _really_ far for only a few weeks of training! You've got a lot of potential if you keep going!"

"Thanks, Master Suno," Videl muttered with a lopsided smile as she put her hand on top of Suno's before slipping away from her. Yeah, she _could_ keep going but… what was the point? She'd fought as hard as she could and she hadn't even been able to _scratch_ Lazuli. If what Gohan had told her in all of his stories was true, Lazuli still wasn't anywhere near as strong as some of the others. Suno, Krillin, Tenshinhan… they'd been training with ki their whole _lives_ and they still weren't as powerful. Even if she trained her hardest for years and years and became the strongest human alive… that seemed so small now.

Until her father rushed toward her, his eyes welling up with pride as he grinned from ear to ear. "You were incredible!" Hercule boomed approvingly, grabbing Videl by the shoulders before pulling her into a hug. "You were really somethin' else!"

"You really think so?" Videl asked as she hugged him back. He _had_ seen the fight, right?

"Yeah!" Hercule assured her with an enthusiastic nod, still beaming as he pulled away from the hug. "I'm so proud of you! You really showed what you were made of! My little girl can fly!"

"But I still lost," Videl pointed out. "It wasn't even close!" Hercule grinned and patted Videl on the shoulder.

"I know," he told her, "I know. Losin's rough. Believe me, it took me more than a decade to even get to the finals! But you gotta stick to it! Ya can't measure your success by anyone's movement or power but your own! As long as you keep improvin', you've got nothin' to be ashamed of!" Videl smiled at her father and hugged him again.

"Thanks, daddy," she murmured gratefully. He was right, she told herself. This was only her first time making it to the finals. Even Goku had needed three tries!

"Calling Son Suno and Hercule to the ring," a voice over the intercom announced. "Calling Son Suno and Hercule to the ring." Videl smiled at her father and pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back.

"Go out there," she told him encouragingly. "Show them what the world champ is made of!" Hercule grinned at her and puffed out his chest as he walked out toward the ring, making Videl grin and shake her head. She just hoped Suno would let her dad look good for a little bit before she won.

OoOoOoO

Hercule actually went out first with all of his music and pomp and circumstance to the usual rabid reaction from the audience. When Suno came out, the crowd was stunned for a moment to see her actually walk out. After a moment of silence, they went absolutely _wild_ for her, whistling and cheering and screaming. It was, all in all, far more attention than the teacher was used to, and she gave a bashful smile as she waved to the audience while climbing into the ring.

"Fighters ready?" Ken asked as Hercule and Suno stood across from one another in their fighting stances. "Begin!" Hercule let Suno come to him, even if it would probably mean he got eliminated. It wouldn't look good for the world champion to make the first attack against a woman who had nearly been taken out of the arena on a stretcher less than an hour beforehand. Suno came dashing toward him before leaping with a flying kick and he knew something was up for two reasons. The first: he could actually see the kick coming; The second: the kick didn't kill him. It sent Hercule flying but he managed to roll and land on his feet before he came in with his counter-attack, striking Suno with rights and lefts. Once again, he knew something was wrong; He was actually making contact. Suno mostly blocked his punches, but a couple of them actually got through and checked Suno on the chin and under the jaw.

"Incredible fortitude by Suno," Ken declared as she sidestepped one of Hercule's punches and threw a forearm strike to the side of his head, which Hercule deflected with a palm and spun away before coming at her with a jumping knee to the side of the head. "So soon after her brutal encounter with Spopovich, she's in there, slugging with the Champion of the World! And the skill on display by Hercule, truly proving why he is one of the world's best!" Hercule caught a kick from Suno as Ken narrated, flipping her backward through the air and lunging forward to uppercut her under the chin as soon as she landed on her feet.

That was when Hercule saw it. It was just barely something. Maybe so little that he could have ignored it if he wanted to. But he caught it and he focused on it. Suno hit the ground, looked up, and looked _directly at him_ before his fist came under her jaw and she took the blow. But even "took" the blow was generous. She rolled with the impact, letting it lift her off her feet. She was mocking him. Toying with him. Trying to make him feel better about himself. It was the greatest insult to his ability or to his manhood that he'd ever been dealt. She was treating him like a _child._ He couldn't remember ever being so angry, so mindbendingly furious. He seethed between his teeth, grinding them as his eyes went wide and bloodshot before charging at her with a roar. Hercule leaped at Suno with a spin kick with all of the anger and fury in his body. It was a blow that would have taken a normal person's head clean off. It would have shattered concrete, wrent steel, it would have–

"-Ine! Ten!" Ken shouted as Hercule realized he was staring up at the afternoon sky. Somewhere between throwing the kick and now, he'd been rendered unconscious. "Suno is the winner!" The audience cheered wildly for Suno and she smiled at them, waving again, a little more energetically this time. Then Hercule stood up slowly, rubbing the back of his head, and a hush came over the crowd.

Suno shifted a little uncomfortably on her feet as Hercule walked toward her. She would have kept the fight going for a little longer, just to make Hercule look better, but she'd seen something in his eyes after that uppercut. A murderous level of anger she'd only seen a handful of times in her life. Considering the kinds of mass-murdering megalomaniacs she'd confronted in that life, it said something. She'd never feared for her own safety, of course, but she didn't want Hercule to hurt himself in his anger. So she'd dodged his strike and then caught him in the solar plexus with one quick punch, knocking him out and putting him on his back for the necessary ten seconds. She figured he still looked okay, though.

Hercule grabbed Suno's wrist and, putting on a smile for the people, raised her hand high and gestured to her with his other hand. He laughed as the crowd cheered louder than ever. Then, his goodwill gesture complete, Hercule walked off to let Suno have her moment. He got as far as the fighters' area before the smile melted off of his face and he kicked furiously at the wall until concrete and brick crumbled before he stormed off, leaving the arena. Videl watched her father in concern and contemplated following after him. She'd never seen him take a loss badly before. It was a little worrying.

"Goten," Trunks groaned as he tugged on his friend's sleeve, "Come on! Your mom can totally beat that blonde lady." Or maybe she couldn't. He didn't really care. All the cool grown-ups were off fighting the bad guys! Well, his dad, anyway. He didn't know how cool Goten's dead mom was. Or Piccolo or Krillin. But they were all friends with Gohan, so they were _probably_ lame. The point was, there was action going on and he was missing it!

"No!" Goten said firmly as she pushed Trunks' hand away. "I gotta stay! I wanna cheer on mama if she wins or make her feel better if she loses. Big bro, my mom, and your dad will be fine! We can go see them after."

"You're such a mama's girl," Trunks grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah!" Goten agreed eagerly and with an emphatic nod. "I love my mama! Don't you?" she asked. Trunks' face turned red with embarrassment at the accusation.

"I am _not_ a mama's boy!" he growled through clenched teeth. Goten was confused as to why Trunks was so upset about it but she didn't have a chance to ask. The match was starting!

OoOoOoO

Lazuli smirked as she stripped off her long coat, stretching in her regular gi, a pair of dark blue pants, black shoes, and an orange gi top with the turtle symbol on the breast and the back. Suno smirked right back at her and waited for her to finish her stretches before bowing to her, which her friend returned gladly.

"What a monumental event, ladies and gentlemen!" Ken declared ecstatically. "This is the first-ever Grand Final in Tenkaichi Budoukai history where both fighters are women. We are _guaranteed_ a female Budoukai champion for the second time ever! What a historic event!"

' _I dunno about all_ that,' Suno thought to herself with a grin as she got into her fighting stance, ' _But it'll be fun!'_ Lazuli's chuckle and eye roll at Ken's diatribe made it clear she shared the redhead's sentiment.

"And with that, ladies and gentlemen," Ken continued once he'd regained his composure, "There's only one thing I can think of to say. It's a good day for a swell battle!" He swung his arm down dramatically between the two warriors. "And begin!" Lazuli flashed Suno a grin before bolting toward her like a rocket, the audience at large only able to see what had happened after Lazuli stopped, her foot swinging over Suno's head with a roundhouse kick and Suno having crouched down to avoid the kick. Suno kept down in her low crouch and zipped out under Lazuli's leg to come at her from behind with a straight right. The punch went right through Lazuli's afterimage and Suno grinned, sidestepping a trio of afterimage strikes from her opponent, one from the left, the right, and from above.

"Gonna have to try harder than that," Suno taunted her friend playfully. "I married the woman who pretty much _perfected_ the afterimage!" It was that vast experience with the move that had allowed her to avoid those tricks and not much else. If she had to guess, she and Lazuli were equal in power now. If anything, Lazuli might have the slight edge. While she was contemplating this, she caught a flicker of blonde from the corner of her eye and threw out a feint punch, figuring it was another afterimage and not wanting to commit to it. So it was _quite_ the surprise when Lazuli's real, physical hand gripped her wrist and the other took Suno's elbow, swinging her around by the arm and tossing her out of the ring to the audience. It surely would have been enough to eliminate her… if Suno couldn't fly. As it was, Suno launched herself upward, over the audience's heads, before flying back down to the ring knees-first, planning to smash those knees into Lazuli's face. Now it was Lazuli's turn to jump, sailing over Suno's head and causing her to power-slide nearly the entire distance of the ring, skidding to a stop before she could be ringed out by her own momentum.

"Come on, sis!" Lapis cheered from the box. "You've nearly beat her twice now and the match has barely started! Go get her!" With the others cheering for Suno, it was clear that he, Amy, their children, and Marron were in enemy territory, even if they were among friends.

"You can do it, mama!" Goten called out encouragingly. "You just gotta focus, like you always tell me!" Suno hopped to her feet and turned back to Lazuli as the other woman floated to the ground again, the pair changing their fighting stances slightly. Despite nearly losing twice in a span of ten seconds, Suno couldn't help but grin. She was having _fun!_ For the first time in a long time, maybe for the first time _ever,_ a fight was just _fun._

' _God,'_ Suno wondered, ' _Is this what Goku feels like_ all the time?' It was exciting and even thrilling, fighting just for the sake of a fight. It made her body buzz with energy. She gave a cry of excitement and challenge as she attacked Lazuli again, the other fighter answering her call as they clashed in the center of the ring, throwing punches and kicks at one another at a breakneck speed, the air filling with the whip-crack sound of their blows breaking the sound barrier. Suno jumped up and drove her feet hard into Lazuli's chest, using the woman as a push-off point to send herself further into the air, firing ki blasts down at her. The blonde cyborg bombshell thrust out her arms to stop the momentum from being shoved back and spun around rapidly in a circle, turning herself into a cyclone that sucked the ki blasts up before launching them harmlessly into the air where they exploded like fireworks. She was grinning from ear to ear as she came flying up out of the cyclone with a left hook that was aimed for Suno's jaw. Suno deflected it off a forearm and grabbed Lazuli's neck in a headscissors, spinning around and around before hurling her toward the grass. Lazuli caught herself inches before impact and launched back into the air, her opponent giving chase as their battle took to the air.

Much like Suno, Lazuli was relishing the experience of a fight that was just for fun. She'd only been in a handful of proper fights since she and her brother had been turned into cyborgs. There was the battle against Cell, which was terrifying, and her spar which her brother, which had just been another level to their sibling rivalry. Krillin and her had sparred plenty of times but he had never been able to really challenger her. Plus, they tended to get… sidetracked. This was different, though. This was a proper fight with her best friend, and God, she just felt so… free! For what felt like the first time in her life, Lazuli was able to properly flex and enjoy her powers, testing herself and pushing her abilities to the limit.

As the battle raged on, Suno realized their strengths and weaknesses and how she'd need the battle to go if she wanted to win. Lazuli had the edge over Suno in raw power, as well as inexhaustible energy. However, Suno's advantage was in experience and the extra flexibility and speed afforded to her by the Odori style. That speed, unfortunately, was best utilized on the ground, where she had something solid to push off of. Master Frost had never considered using the Odori style while _flying,_ after all, and Suno'd been spending the last several years still trying to adapt it. So she had to get Lazuli back to the ground and fast. ...Fast.

' _Sunnuvabitch,'_ she thought to herself, ' _Why didn't I use this already?'_ Then, aloud, she cried, "Shinsoku Odori!" The arctic blue aura flared around her as she snapped out with a kick that caught Lazuli right on the top of her head, beating her attempt to catch it in her forearms and send the cyborg hurtling down to Earth. Lazuli caught herself as she hit the ring but still wasn't prepared for Suno's doubled speed as she pressed the attack, her strikes swift and artful as they poked through her defenses, driving her toward the edge of the ring. Feeling a victorious surge of energy, Suno spun through the air with a flourish to deliver the winning heel kick.

That was when Lazuli drove her palm into her collarbone, sending her rocketing back. Suno had just enough time to look back over her shoulder and see the fighters' area wall rushing toward her before she crashed into it, thankfully not counting as being eliminated before she pulled herself out, rubbing her head with a groan. Lazuli smirked and tapped two fingers to her temple playfully.

"You forget," she taunted, "I was forced to spend a _lot_ of time watching you fight and use the Odori style, and that was even _before_ spending the last four or five years being your best friend. Plus, Krillin spent plenty of time teaching me the momentum-redirecting ways of the Orin Temple. I just modified those into my own style. You might be faster than me," she admitted, "But as long as I know how to make it so the only thing you're running into is my _fist,_ I think I'll be fine."

"We'll just see about that," Suno shot back as she got into her fighting stance again. "Shinsoku Odori!" Her speed doubled again as she went around behind Lazuli, trying to drive both hands down onto her shoulders with knife hand chops. Her hands went through empty air as Lazuli rolled forward and then sprung back, shoving her feet violently into Suno's stomach. Suno recovered and continued to press her attack, trying to come at her opponent from a dozen different angles, each one being rewarded with a few landing blows before she ran full-force into Lazuli's fist, foot, elbow, knee, and in a few cases, forehead. Suno tried to compensate for this by not going full-force into her attacks so that they wouldn't be carrying so much momentum if Lazuli tried to use it against her, but that just led to Lazuli deflecting her attacks and counter-attacking anyway.

"This looks bad, folks!" Ken narrated as Suno was forced to stagger back, gasping and wiping a trickle of blood from her lip. "It looks like Lazuli has an answer for everything Suno can throw at her! If Suno can't come up with some trick out of her bag soon, this one is as good as done!"

"He's got ya there," Lazuli agreed with a smirk as she hopped lightly on the balls of her feet, making a show of being pretty much daisy-fresh. "Look, Suno, I don't want you to hurt yourself again. How about you just forfeit? I'll even split half the prize money with you. It's more than enough for me to take Krillin and Marron on a vacation." Suno thought about that for a few long seconds. She _could_ just forfeit, yeah. There were no big stakes here. It was just a fight between friends. Just a fight… that she really wanted to win!

"I'm not done yet," Suno told Lazuli as a resolute grin spread across her face. She'd been really hoping to save this one for Goku, or at the very least, she'd hoped that Goku could be around to watch her use it. She would have been very… _impressed._ "Shinsoku Odori!" she cried defiantly. Lazuli smirked, getting into her guard and waiting for her attack. Instead of attacking, though, Suno spoke again as her eyes narrowed in determination. "Kaiouken!" The blonde's bright blue eyes widened as Suno's aura flared to a bright and blazing purple before she rocketed forward suddenly at _four times_ her top speed, closing the gap in the blink of an eye as she hammered away with double-strength punches. Her attacks didn't slip but rather _barreled through_ Lazuli's defenses and her bolstered strength and speed allowed her to effortlessly outmaneuver and deflect Lazuli's counterattacks as she battered her closer and closer to the edge of the ring, taking back ground at a blistering pace, tearing up the ring under her feet. With one final, tremendous cry, she slammed Lazuli across the jaw with a left hook that sent her spiraling out of the ring like a top to crash into the barrier separating her from the spectators before she slid to the ground, touching the grass with an expression on her face that could only be described as stunned.

"Ring out!" Ken cried exultantly as Suno powered down. "Son Suno is the winner! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a 25th Tenkaichi Budoukai champion in _spectacular_ fashion!" The experience had taken a lot of energy out of Suno and she collapsed to her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. Goten came flying gleefully out of the fighters' area and into her mother's arms as the arena went wild, the ground shaking under Suno's feet as everyone cheered, stomped their feet, and otherwise made a ruckus.

"You did it, mama!" Goten cheered, Suno barely able to hear her daughter over the roar of the crowd, even though she was right beside her head. Suno looked around at the thousands of people cheering, pumping their fists and chanting her name. She _had_ done it, hadn't she? She'd won! She grinned and put Goten up onto her shoulder as she got to her feet, waving enthusiastically to the audience, blowing them kisses and playing up to the crowd. She wished her parents could have been here to see this. This was one of the best moments of her whole life!

That was when Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and that strange purple woman suddenly appeared in the ring, not twelve feet away from Suno. The audience's cheers quickly died down and Suno looked at her wife with a smile. For a moment, she figured that the incident with the evil wizard Goku had mentioned was already done with. That seemed a bit anticlimactic. For once, _she'd_ had the big adventure. Of course, Gohan at least looked like he'd gotten his exercise for the day. His Great Saiyaman costume was torn to hell and he had a fair amount of scrapes and bruises. That, however, was before she noticed all of the pieces that didn't quite fit…

The stern expressions on Gohan and Goku's faces. The look of terror in the purple woman's eyes. Where were Krillin and Piccolo? She only had more questions as she focused on Vegeta. He was the only one of the three who was Super Saiyan. Not only that but by that lightning aura, he was a Super Saiyan _2,_ which Bulma had said he'd never been able to accomplish. Veins were bulging out unnaturally across his body and face was twisted into a manic, savage grin. His eyes held that same cold, malevolent hatred that she'd first seen… when he'd tried to kill her. That was when her eyes locked onto _it_ and her blood went cold. There, emblazoned in the center of Vegeta's forehead, was that same strange M tattoo that had adorned Spopovich's flesh. If that kind of magic had turned a normal person like Spopovich into such a monster… what had it done to _Vegeta?_

* * *

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry that it's been so much of a wait for this chapter. Life picked the perfect time to wallop me right in the balls and it took a little bit to recover. I hope everybody who celebrates it had a happy Halloween and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I plan to make next week's chapter extra long to make up for the absence! It's good to be back.


	120. The King of Hell Strikes!

Chapter Hundred-twenty

The King of Hell Strikes! The Last Temptation of Vegeta!

The quartet descended down into the third level of Babidi's ship, the final level before, presumably, they could reach Babidi and stop him from freeing Majin Boo. Dabura was already waiting for them, already prepared for the fight. His fighting stance was not unlike a fencer's, his body pivoted so that he led with his left hand.

"Well then," Gohan remarked as he walked ahead of the other three, "Looks like you're mi–" Dabura moved in a blur of blue and white, crashing into Gohan and sending the half-Saiyan slamming into the wall. "Oh, wow," Gohan muttered in surprise, "This guy can actually hit." He powered up to Super Saiyan and flew toward his enemy in a golden flash, advancing on him and colliding with him forearm to forearm in the center of the room. "Not bad," he admitted as they pushed against one another, each one trying to gain ground, "But you won't surprise me again!" He swept Dabura's legs out from under him and pushed forward when his feet were taken out, driving his forearm into Dabura's chest to send him flying. Dabura growled and dug his nails into the floor to stop his momentum, dragging along before coming to a stop.

"Interesting," Dabura mused as he returned to his neutral stance. He opened his left fist and fired a series of ki blasts at Gohan to test his defenses and reflexes.

Gohan was startled by Dabura's ki blasts, if only for how strange they looked. They were… black with red lightning crackling around them. Even that red lighting was unnaturally dark. There was an absence of light to them that was unsettling. He slapped the first few out of the way easily enough before catching the rest and gathering them in his hands, almost as if he were juggling them before hurling them all back at Dabura. The Demon King's smirk never faltered and he grabbed the edge of his cape in one hand, casting it forward like the wing of some great bat, pulling the ki back into himself where it vanished harmlessly.

' _Interesting,'_ Gohan thought to himself. 'Very _interesting. This guy might have some tricks up his sleeve.'_ He flew at Dabura again and his foe met his advance, clashing in the center of the room once more in an exchange of punches and kicks. The clash slowly caused them to raise up into the air until they were nearly touching the ceiling, Dabura's strikes coming as swift and as malevolent as the snapping of a viper's jaws while Gohan met him strength for strength.

"Wait," Goku asked Xī as the other three watched the battle from about twenty feet below, "Why were you so worried? This guy doesn't seem that tough."

"Don't let your guard down," Xī warned her, "Dabura is clearly holding back. I only hope Gohan can tell that much as well."

"I should hope so," Vegeta scoffed, "I could have killed him by now." As Vegeta was saying this, Gohan and Dabura's battle came to a halt in the air as they came to a knuckle lock, floating in the air as they pushed against one another.

"I admit," Dabura growled with an unflappable smirk, "You are my physical match."

"Then why are you still smiling?" Gohan asked, his voice strained with the effort.

"Oh, that's quite simple," Dabura explained as he wrenched his right hand free of Gohan's grip. "I'm not left-handed." With that, he punched Gohan across the jaw, sending him flying before appearing above him in a blink and driving his foot down into Gohan's chest. Gohan hit the floor hard and bounced up to meet another of Dabura's punches, smashing him into the wall. Gohan pulled himself out of the wall and rubbed at his jaw with, to Dabura's bemusement, a smirk of his own. "Now what are _you_ smiling about?" he asked.

"Oh, it's quite simple," Gohan echoed. His hair spiked higher and lightning flared around his aura as his power doubled. "I'm not 'left-handed' either." He moved in while Dabura was astounded by his leap in power and crashed a spinning roundhouse kick into the side of his head, sending him flying across the room before interrupting his momentum with a backhand, sending him off in the other direction before spiking him down to the ground with both fists. Dabura pulled himself out of the ground with a groan and threw himself at Gohan, his smirk replaced by a snarl as they clashed again, this time seemingly matched before Gohan began to gain ground, his blows finding homes more often than Dabura's.

OoOoOoO

"Nope," Babidi muttered with a shake of his head as he flexed his fingers. "Nope, nope, nope. Not happening. This is _not_ happening."

OoOoOoO

The large room the combatants were in transformed almost instantly into a world of fire and brimstone, where continents of black obsidian were broken by oceans of lava, geysers and torrents of which intermittently burst and boiled high into the sky. At first, the change seemed to do little more than provide window dressing before Dabura started to regain the advantage, equaling Gohan's power again.

"Ohhh, this is bad," Xī muttered as she surveyed their surroundings, the trio now standing on a small island and forced to bunch up together. "This could definitely be a problem."

"Why?" Vegeta asked. "Where did the trickster send us now?"

"We've been sent to Dabura's demon realm," she explained. "Here, Dabura's powers are strongest. He and Gohan are completely matched now." Even as she said that, however, Gohan raised his hands over his head.

"Masenko!" he cried as he blasted Dabura, sending the Demon King hurtling down into the red sea. "Had enough yet?" Gohan called down into the waves. He was a little banged up and bruised but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. In fact, this was… actually starting to get fun! He hadn't had a real fight in a long, long time! Of course, he had to remind himself, a real fight was _bad_ because the longer this went on and the more Dabura was able to damage him, the more power would go to Majin Boo getting resurrected which they were explicitly there to _stop! 'Might be time to bust out the Ryuuhameha,'_ he told himself.

"Not to worry, _boy,"_ Dabura taunted as he rose from the lava in a twisting red cyclone before coming to a stop, sending it flying everywhere. "I'm just getting warmed up!" Then he opened his mouth and a great jet of flame shot out toward Gohan, trying to engulf him. Gohan threw out his right hand and created a ki barrier in an attempt to shield himself from the flames but, to his shock, the fire actually ate through the shield, destroying it and blackening the arm of his suit, turning it to ash before Gohan was forced to pull away… directly into the path of a sword that seemed to have materialized from nowhere in Dabura's left hand as he swung at Gohan's neck. Gohan just barely managed to spin away to avoid the blade's edge, staring at it in surprise.

"Huh," he remarked, "I see your point." Then he held out his right hand as the grin returned to his face. "And here's my _counterpoint!"_ He swung his hand forward and, in the instant before contact could be made, a blade of ki formed around his hand and clashed against Dabura's enchanted steel.

"Yeah, Gohan!" Goku cheered from below before giving Xī a light nudge with her elbow. " _I_ taught him that," she told her proudly. Their blades met with a crackle and a clang, then backed away before colliding again, and a third time, and soon enough the Demon King and the Chosen One were fencing in mid-air. "I still don't see what you were worried about," Goku told Xī with a shrug. "This guy seems to be about as strong as Cell. Can you not beat him?" she asked.

"I'm a creator god," Xī responded with a bit of a huff. "I _make_ things. You want someone who's really good at blowing stuff up? Get the destroyer god."

"You said that like it's a thing," Goku observed curiously.

"Ohhhh, it is," Vegeta grumbled with a shudder. Meanwhile, Gohan caught Dabura's blade in his and moved it around counterclockwise, forcibly disarming Dabura and catching the sword with his other hand, holding both toward him. Dabura looked back and forth between his empty hand in surprise before Gohan attacked, barely managing to dodge a few swipes before snapping his fingers and causing his sword to vanish from Gohan's hand. Gohan was surprised for a moment by the sudden absence of weight in his hand, leaving him open to a right hook from Dabura. He recovered from the blow and drove a hard kick into Dabura's ribs, driving the wind out of him and raising both hands to blast him in the chest. The blast sent Dabura hurtling toward the horizon before he came back at Gohan like a bat out of hell, firing his strange dark ki blasts again. Gohan wove through the air to avoid the attacks, charging ki into his left fist to crack Dabura across the jaw. The Demon King took advantage, however, and spit on Gohan's forearm in the split-second before contact. It was only Gohan's superhuman reaction time that allowed him to realize he'd been spit on as his sleeve started to turn to stone. He ripped the material away before the spit could seep into his clothes, leaving him un-stoned but slightly more undressed. He had been extremely fortunate that Dabura's spit had not landed on one of the small cuts that had been created by Dabura's sword.

"You seem a very interesting creature," Dabura remarked as they hovered and regrouped, each one planning their next attack. "I hate to kill you." Gohan chuckled at that and shook his head.

"Wish I could say the same," Gohan shot back with a shrug. "But you seem like a real piece of crap. So I can't wait to see you die." Dabura nodded and they went at each other again, their punches and kicks filling the air, each one striking, blocking, and counter-striking.

OoOoOoO

"Inconceivable!" Babidi wailed again as he watched the battle unfold from his crystal ball. How could this be happening? How could this no-name boy that the Kaioushin had picked out from the middle of nowhere be a match for his servant Dabura, King of the Demon Realm?! It wasn't fair! Where did the Kaioushin find these frustrating mortals? How was he supposed to resurrect Boo when his opponents were so…

OoOoOoO

"This is ridiculous," Vegeta groaned with a roll of his eyes. "Just let _me_ go in there and kill Dabura, we don't have time for this!"

"Nah, come on, Vegeta!" Goku implored. "You had your turn, let Gohan have his! He's got this!" Vegeta's irritation, which had been growing by the minute almost as soon as they had left the tournament, was near to the boiling point.

"This is idiotic!" he exclaimed vehemently. "The more time we waste with this Majin Boo _nonsense,_ the less time there will be for you and I to have our final battle, Kakarot!" Xī had almost found herself agreeing with Vegeta up until that point. _That_ was his priority? Was he _serious?!_

"Don't worry about it!" Goku assured him with a dismissive wave and a pat on the arm. "I don't even think it's been, like, three hours. We've got plenty of time!"

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?!" Vegeta asked hotly. "That you don't think I can provide a suitable enough challenge to take up your time?"

"What?" Goku asked in confusion. "No! I'm just saying it won't take that long. I mean, the first time we fought, where you were trying to kill me and stuff, that took… jeez, what, two hours? Maybe three?" Vegeta fumed and opened his mouth again to let loose another stream of haughty, offended insults.

OoOoOoO

"Waaait a minute," Babidi mused as he tugged at his snout. "That's it!" He snapped his fingers and waved his hands in an intricate pattern in the air. "Paparapapa!"

OoOoOoO

Gohan knocked Dabura to the ground and came hurtling down toward him with a fist, aiming right for his expose chest… and drove his fist straight through the floor of Babidi's ship, which they had been returned to, with Dabura nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?" Gohan muttered as he pulled his fist out of the ground, looking around in confusion. Where had Dabura gone? Why was everything changed back so suddenly? "So… did he forfeit?" Gohan asked as he tore the last scraps of his shirt off and tossed them over his shoulder, stripped to the waist. "Did I win?" Gohan didn't quite _look_ like the winner. He was covered in bruises and small cuts and scrapes, a few of which were still bleeding. Granted, Dabura hadn't looked in much better shape when Gohan had gone in for the killing blow, either.

"I guess?" Goku wondered with a shrug as she tossed him a senzu. "You did really well, though, Gohan. Although," she admitted while clearly not trying to sound disappointed in him, "You _have_ been slacking off in your training."

"I know, I know," Gohan sighed as his injuries were healed by the strange magic bean. "I've been trying to make up the ground I lost but I guess it was just inevitable that after four years of training as hard as I could, I was always gonna lose the power I gained after seven more years of taking it easy." Goku shrugged and gave Gohan an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"Still," she told him, "You did really well for your first real fight in a long time. Nice work!" Gohan grinned and Vegeta cleared his throat rather obnoxiously to get their attention.

"Not that this isn't nice," he said in a tone _drenched_ in sarcasm, "But what are we supposed to do now? We've defeated all of Babidi's minions and yet we are no closer to him than we were before." He gave Xī a sidelong glance as he continued, "It's almost as if we should have listened to me and _blown the damn thing up in the first place."_

"Babidi's planning something," Xī remarked as she looked shiftily around the room. "Keep on your guard for any attack either physical or mental," she instructed them."

OoOoOoO

"All right," Babidi mused as he ran his fingertips over the crystal ball, "Let's see what I have to work with here." While Dabura sat in a meditative position and let Babidi's magic heal his injuries, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being replaced. He was not a fan of this feeling.

OoOoOoO

' _...You're kidding, right?'_ Xī asked, a tone of disgust in her voice as she felt Babidi's fingers flickering across her mind.

' _Just figured I'd check…'_

OoOoOoO

' _...Wow,'_ Babidi remarked as he looked inside Goku's mind. ' _There is… there is just nothing for me to work with here. You don't have any real anger issues or vices? Seriously?'_

' _Nah,'_ Goku assured him with a mental shrug, ' _I'm pretty happy. You wanna get out of my head, though? That's rude.'_

OoOoOoO

' _Ah, now_ here's _something,'_ Babidi observed as he looked into Gohan's mind. ' _You've got quite a bit of anger, haven't you? What's the matter, eh? Childhood trauma? Parental abandonment? All this pressure just too much to handle?'_

' _Not interested,'_ Gohan told him flatly. ' _My moms are great. If I_ do _have an anger problem, it's directed at people like you.'_

OoOoOoO

"Be careful," Xī warned the others. "I sensed Babidi's magic trying to invade my mind. No doubt since you were so much more powerful than all of his other warriors, he intends to turn one or more of you against the others to give Buu the power he needs to be revived."

"He already tried that with me," Gohan put in. "He didn't have much luck, obviously."

"Yeah, same here," Goku added. "I think we're okay. Right, Vegeta?" She turned to look at the Saiyan King, who hadn't said a word. "Vegeta?"

OoOoOoO

' _You can't beat her, you know.'_

' _Get out of my head,'_ Vegeta warned Babidi. ' _It's not a nice place to be. Besides,'_ he added, ' _You're wasting your time. I told myself quite some time ago that I would never be a slave again. You have nothing to bargain with.'_

' _Oh but I do,'_ Babidi assured him, his voice as tempting and soothing as a cold glass of water on a hot summer day. ' _I have the one thing you need more than anything else in this world. Victory._ Validation.'

' _Validation?'_ Vegeta echoed incredulously. ' _Don't be ridiculous. There is nothing I need to validate myself with.'_

' _Isn't there?'_ Babidi asked in a tone that was almost coy. ' _Let's see here…'_ Vegeta shuddered, feeling Babidi peel back the layers of his mind no matter how he tried to fight it. ' _This 'Freeza' character… killed your entire race and then, when it was finally your turn to fight him, you failed_ miserably. _You didn't become this 'Super Saiyan', whatever that is,_ she _did. Now, yes, your son killed Freeza in the end but he was trained by that 'Gohan' boy far more than he ever was by you so was it really_ your _victory?'_ He wondered.

' _Stop that,'_ Vegeta warned him. Babidi only chuckled before continuing.

' _A failure to protect or preserve your species,'_ Babidi mused. ' _You are the last of your kind, Vegeta. Only you and Goku remain, plus… those other two, whoever they are. In a few more decades, you'll all be dead, and in a few centuries after that, the universe's greatest warriors will have been bred out of existence. Nothing you can do about that, I'm afraid. And with Freeza dead and gone, there's nothing you can do to truly get your_ vengeance, _either.'_

OoOoOoO

"Vegeta?" Goku asked a third time. Vegeta just seemed to be staring out into space. Goku poked him a few times in the cheek, to no reaction. It was as if he wasn't even aware they existed.

"Kill him," Xī ordered them, a sharp edge of worry to her voice. "Kill him now while he's defenseless before Babidi gets his hooks into him!"

"What?!" Gohan asked, aghast. "What are you talking about? I'm not gonna kill Vegeta!" A sentence he could never have imagined himself saying a decade ago, to be fair.

"There is no way to break Babidi's spell," Xī explained, never taking her eyes off of Vegeta. "If he falls under Babidi's control, you'll have to kill him anyway! It'll be a kindness to kill him now before any damage can be done and he can be turned against you to revive Majin Boo!"

"That's crazy talk," Goku told Xī sternly before looking back at Vegeta. "Come on, Vegeta! Snap out of it!"

OoOoOoO

' _I'll fight her anyway after we've killed you and stopped your monster,'_ Vegeta thought dismissively. ' _You won't tempt my soul just with a battle.'_

' _You'll fight her, yes,'_ Babidi agreed. ' _But will you_ win?' Vegeta bristled and Babidi chuckled again.

' _The one and only time we fought, she never would have defeated me on her own!'_ Vegeta remarked indignantly. ' _That won't change now!'_

' _Won't it?'_ Babidi wondered. ' _Once upon a time, yes, you were her superior. Yet ever since that day, no matter how hard you have struggled and fought, no matter how much you trained, she has always exceeded you. For a moment, for the briefest_ instant, _you can be more powerful. Yet she always closes the gap before too long, then takes off ahead again, leaving you behind. This is your last chance,'_ Babidi reminded him. ' _Can you really leave the battle up to chance?'_

' _I don't have to listen to this!'_ Vegeta snapped. ' _I shall never be a slave again!'_ Babidi's persistent chuckle and relentless digging continued.

' _You have failed,_ King _Vegeta,'_ he narrated, his tone heavy with patronizing mockery as he went on. ' _It's not your fault, of course, there's nobody to blame for your enemies being hopelessly out of your league. So you let that inability to do anything become an excuse to save yourself from having to do anything. You have become soft and complacent. But you_ have _failed. You did not avenge your people. You cannot continue their legacy. And so you wrap yourself in luxury and wealth and power, you distract yourself with a 'loving' family, you affix yourself with all the trappings of success to hide from the fact that you_ are _a failure. But,'_ Babidi continued, ' _There is_ one thing left _for you to succeed at. One small victory you can actually obtain.'_

' _Stop it,'_ Vegeta insisted, though his resistance was breaking. ' _I have trained seven years for this day! I can defeat her under my own power!'_

' _Can you?'_ Babidi wondered. ' _Do you know that for sure? Yes, you have trained all this time, but so has she. She was stronger before. She will be stronger now. Think of what I did to Spopovich,'_ he reminded Vegeta. ' _I took an ordinary, mortal man with malice and rage in his heart and I raised him up far beyond his limits. You have_ such _a rage inside of you, Vegeta, such darkness and hatred. Imagine what I could do for you. The power I could bring to you. I could make you into your old self again. Ruthless. Relentless. The ultimate warrior. Swear your soul to me and you_ will _have your victory.'_

' _I… I…'_

OoOoOoO

"Come on, Vegeta!" Goku urged as she shook him by the shoulders. "Get it together!" Vegeta shoved her away and looked at them again. For the moment, it seemed as if he was his normal self and the moment of uncertainty had passed. The apology was almost on Xī's lips before his face contorted with rage, his eyes going wild and bloodshot. "...Vegeta?"

OoOoOoO

' _I will_ never _be a slave again!'_ Vegeta insisted, over and over, as Babidi's words chipped at his mind.

' _You can't beat her,'_ the mellifluous, tempting, tantalizing words echoed again and again. ' _You_ need _me.'_

' _I will never…'_

' _You can't…'_

' _I will never…'_

' _You_ need…'

' _Never…'_

' _Can't…'_

' _Never…'_

'Need…'

' _...I will.'_

OoOoOoO

Vegeta lurched forward as a painful scream ripped forth from his chest, grabbing his head in both hands as it throbbed painfully. He felt as though his head were about to explode.

"Vegeta!" Gohan and Goku cried, moving toward him before his aura flared wildly around him, the force of it knocking both of them back as Vegeta toppled to his knees. Vegeta had never felt anything like this before, had never experienced such a breathtaking pain. It was devouring him, consuming him, driving him insane! He fell onto his back and writhed in pain, his back arching and his muscles moving unnaturally as his veins bulged and rippled across his skin. He underwent a completely involuntary transformation into Super Saiyan then his hair spiked wildly and lightning danced malevolently around his body in wild, jagged movements as he was forcibly ascended into Super Saiyan 2. Every movement was uncontrolled as if some other force was taking hold of his body. It was agony, it was killing him! His screams grew louder and he felt his forehead burning as if his face were being shoved into the surface of the sun. He couldn't breathe. Was this some sort of a trick? Was he dying?!

Then, as suddenly as the pain had come, it left. Vegeta slowly rose to his feet with his eyes transfixed on his shaking hands as he took wild, ragged breaths in through his mouth. He could feel it. The darkness in his heart had been brought to the forefront again. He could see with complete clarity again. His business, his family, the feeble attachments he had been gathering into himself, none of it mattered. All that mattered was power. He _was_ power. All that mattered was conquest. He was a conqueror. All that mattered was the fight in front of him. He was… he was…

"Free…" Vegeta breathed, stretching the word out before it dissolved into a chuckle. Even that sounded different. It was low, guttural, bestial. His eyes were transfixed on Goku as he balled his hands into fists. "Master Babidi," he snarled. That in and of itself made the others take a step back. Had Vegeta actually _said_ that? How could that have happened? What _was_ happening? "This arena is far too small for me. Take us somewhere else. I know where I want to have my fight." Then, they were gone.

OoOoOoO

They reappeared in the middle of the ring at the Tenkaichi Budoukai, the crowd's roaring cheers dying instantly as the quartet materialized, the air instantly filled with tension and apprehension.

"Goku?" Suno asked as she advanced toward them, Goten in her arms. "What happened? What's going on?" Goku held up a hand toward Suno, never taking her eyes off of Vegeta.

"Suno," she warned, "Get out of here. This isn't safe right now." Vegeta chuckled in that savage tone again.

"Yes," he muttered, "You did always care for the sheep, didn't you?" He fixed his manic eyes on Goku as his malevolent grin grew even wider. "Fight me," he challenged her. "Fight me or I will kill every last one of them."

' _Kill them all anyway!'_ Babidi ordered Vegeta. ' _The spectators, the boy, Goku, and_ especially _the Kaioushin!'_ Vegeta ignored him, his focus solely on Goku.

"I demand an answer, Kakarot," he insisted. "Will you fight me?" Goku hesitated for half a second and that instant was all Vegeta needed. He threw out his hand to one side and, faster than anyone could react, blasted a hole right through the stadium, killing thousands of people in the stands. The audience shrieked in terror and began to flee as those in the luxury box watched on in horror.

"Vegeta…" Bulma whimpered, worry on her face and in her eyes as she looked at her husband on one of the giant screens, his face twisted up in malice and hatred with that strange M burned onto his forehead. What had happened to him? How could he have turned into this monster? ' _Or more appropriately,'_ she was forced to remind herself, ' _How could he turn_ back?'

"...Dad?" Trunks wondered in a small voice as he stared at his father, the man who had just slaughtered innocents without even looking at them. Then, seemingly just because he could, he blasted another chunk of the stadium, killing thousands more.

'"Fight me, Kakarot!" Vegeta demanded. "Only you and I! Tomorrow you return to the dead but I am not finished with you!" Goku scowled, her anger tinged with disappointment as she powered up to Super Saiyan 2 to meet his challenge.

"No!" Xī said firmly as she stood between Goku and Vegeta, fanning her arms out. "Absolutely not! This is _insane!_ You will _not_ fight him, Goku! Every single injury he inflicts on you will be power that Babidi gives to Majin Boo! Which, hey, in case you forgot, is _exactly what we are trying to stop."_ She glared at Goku, who was looking over her shoulder, her eyes fixated on Vegeta. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" she ordered. "You, Gohan, and I will fight Vegeta _together._ We will kill him and then we will go back to Babidi's ship, kill _him,_ and stop this whole mess before it gets any wo–" Goku held a hand up in front of Xī's face to silence her. Her palm glowed and a ball of blue-white ki hovered less than an inch from Xī's face.

"Move," Goku told Xī sternly, her eyes never leaving Vegeta. Xī stared at the ki ball in her face with a hint of nervous apprehension and, reluctantly, she moved to one side. Goku dropped her arm and advanced toward Vegeta, glaring at him. "I'll fight you," she conceded, "But not here. You've killed too many innocent people already. I won't have you hurting anyone else."

"There's no one I want to hurt but you," Vegeta assured her with a sickening smirk. "Babidi," Vegeta announced, already having dropped the use of the word 'Master', "Take us somewhere remote. This battle shall give you all the energy you require." Goku and Vegeta were gone in a flash and Xī and Gohan were alone, Xī standing in open-mouthed shock and dismay. This was… how could they…

"IDIOTS!" Xī screamed at the top of her lungs, the purple color in her face turning even darker with rage. "AN ENTIRE FUCKING RACE OF IDIOTS, THAT'S WHAT I MADE!" She couldn't believe that the fate of the entire universe was now in jeopardy because of the dick-measuring contest of a couple of punch-happy fight-monkeys, _one of whom was a woman._ "Come on, Gohan," she growled irritably. "I guess _we_ have to go save the universe while Goku and Vegeta fuck around." She grabbed Gohan by the arm and the pair disappeared, returning to the desert outside Babidi's ship with Xī's power of Instantaneous Movement. Goten squirmed out of Suno's arms and started to fly off into the air before Suno grabbed her by the tail.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going, young lady?" she asked sternly.

"Big bro has to go save the universe!" Goten reminded her. "He needs my help!"

"Absolutely _not!"_ Suno scolded her as she started pulling her back down to the ground. "Goten, this is _serious!_ This isn't a game! You could get killed out there! What Gohan _needs_ is for you to stay safe! What if something happened to you while he was fighting? He couldn't focus on what he needed to do if he had to worry about protecting you!"

"But–"

"No buts!" Then they noticed Trunks starting to fly off as well. "What are _you_ doing?" Suno asked.

"I gotta go find my dad and Goten's… other mom," he explained. "I gotta try and talk to him! I gotta see what's wrong!"

"No, you won't!" Suno told him in a tone so severe one would be forgiven for thinking she was _his_ mother. "Your father isn't himself right now, Trunks! He's _dangerous!_ He might not even recognize you as his son!"

"But he's my dad!" Trunks insisted. "If something's wrong, if he's in trouble or he's mad or whatever, I gotta help him!" He powered up to Super Saiyan and flew off, which caused Goten to power up as well.

"Goten!" Suno snapped. "What did I _just_ tell you?!"

"Trunks is my friend!" She whined. "I-I can't let him go by himself! Like you said, it could be dangerous!" Before Suno could argue with that logic, which she most assuredly _would,_ Goten pulled out of her grip and flew off, moving far faster than Suno would be able to catch her. Suno could only groan and run her hands through her hair. What was she going to do with these hero-babies?

OoOoOoo

It was pretty fitting, Goku observed, that she and Vegeta would be fighting out in the desert again. It was a different desert, she knew, but it was still miles upon miles of sunbaked earth and mountains.

"I just can't believe it," she remarked as she got into her fighting stance. "How could _you_ get controlled like this? You've always been so prideful, so headstrong. Is Babidi's magic really that powerful? Or…" she stopped as the pieces clicked in her head and her eyes went wide with realization. "You _let_ Babidi control you, didn't you?" Vegeta nodded grimly. "But why?" she asked. "Why throw your pride away like this and become a slave again?"

"Because I _had_ to," Vegeta growled, "For _this."_ He gestured back and forth between them. "This battle. This moment. This _destiny._ I needed Babidi to restore me, to remind me of my true purpose. All so that I could rectify the cosmic injustices done to me. When you surpassed me. When you stole my birthright. When you _dared_ to defy me! His eyes narrowed and he looked at Goku with unrestrained hatred. "So that I, Vegeta, the King of All Saiyans, could put you, Kakarot, back in your natural place: on your knees, in the dirt, before your superior." Goku scoffed.

"Well then," she taunted him, "After all that, you better win. It sure would be a shame if you threw away your soul and then I beat you _again."_ Vegeta let out a primal roar of fury and lunged for Goku, who let out a battle cry of her own and flew at him in response. And the Earth and the Heavens alike trembled at their fury.

* * *

A/N: Hey, everyone! We have a works page on TV Tropes now! I can't upload the link because FF kinda sucks a butt about that sort of thing, but you can definitely search for "Tales of the Monkey Queen" on TV Tropes. We'd also like to give a shout out and a big thanks to tropes Hello101, fsdfsdfsd, and acg452. Keep up the great work, guys! And for any other tropers reading this, feel free to add onto the page yourselves!


	121. The Rematch at Last! Vegeta's Madness!

Chapter Hundred-twenty-one

The Rematch At Last! Vegeta's Madness!

Their blows came swiftly and with unmatched ferocity, each strike carrying truly terrifying force, delivered with nothing less than the killing intent. He was a whirlwind of malice in his attacks. He was trained precision combined with feral rage. He would defeat her. He would _destroy_ her, as he always knew he would. She pierced that whirlwind like a knife, straight, true, and completely focused. Behind her anger at the slaughter, there lay a heavy weight of disappointment to see him fall so far. She really thought he could be better than this. The battle continued to rage and the earth shook with each attack. For never was there a battle of hatred so true, as that of King Vegeta and Son Goku.

A bestial roar ripped out of Vegeta's throat as he drove a knee into Goku's face, sending her flying before she caught herself, pushing off of a pillar of stone and flying back at Vegeta. He met her charge with a snarl, swiping at her like his hand was a claw. She caught his wrist and elbow and spun him around and around, hurling him to the ground. Vegeta landed hard on his feet and barely ducked a kick that whizzed past his head as Goku was upon him in an instant. She pivoted to regain her balance and pressed the attack, firing rapid jabs at his face and chest. He blocked them all before grabbing her fists and yanking her forward, ramming his feet into Goku's chest before slamming her into the ground. Vegeta raised a hand high overhead and created a blade of ki, driving it down into Goku's heart, passing right through her afterimage. Goku threw out a palm strike into small of Vegeta's back, going through his own afterimage. She just managed to move her head in time to avoid another slash with his ki blade before grabbing the third swipe with her own ki-charged hand at the wrist and smashing her elbow up under his jaw, snapping his head back and making his teeth crash together. Vegeta spat the blood into Goku's eye, making her cry out and try to rub away the blinding red. His opening found, Vegeta kneed her in the stomach as hard as he possibly could, sending her hurtling away and crashing into mountains.

' _Damn,'_ Goku thought with a wince as she blasted the rubble off of herself with her aura, ' _He's_ really _good. I guess I shouldn't be surprised if all he's been doing is training for seven years.'_ He was fighting differently as well, Goku noted. Not only had his style changed in the twelve years since they'd had their first encounter but there was a savagery to his technique as well that Goku couldn't really remember encountering against any opponent. It was dangerous, she knew, both for her _and_ for him. Before she could formulate a strategy, however, Vegeta came screaming in with a flying roundhouse kick, throwing his entire body into it. Goku barely had a chance to bring up her forearm to block it and the momentum of his blow made it carry through and he swung around her forearm, hitting her in the back of the head with his toes. The blow made Goku stagger forward and Vegeta grabbed a fistful of her golden hair, smashing his fist into her kidney area, over and over again. Goku had a feeling that the only reason that these blows, while still _very_ painful, weren't as debilitating as they should have been, was because she was dead. She threw her leg back when Vegeta pulled back a fist for another blow, jamming her foot into his knee. Vegeta cried out in pain as his leg buckled and she swung her elbow around to smash him in the nose. The King of All Saiyans wiped the blood from his nose and snorted the rest of it out before looking down at the blood on his glove. Then he looked back at Goku and fixed that horrible grin on his face again before lunging at Goku once more. This, Goku thought to herself as she deflected a haymaker punch and countered with an uppercut, was _not_ how she'd wanted to spend her day. ' _Nope,'_ she thought to herself as Vegeta weaved out of the uppercut's path and headbutted Goku under the chin. ' _Definitely not.'_

"Finally," Vegeta snarled as he grabbed Goku by the front of her gi with one hand, his other hand smashing her across the face with hooking blows. "I'm finally free! Back to the way I was before! There's finally nothing getting in the way of our battle, of _my_ triumph! I can put the universe back the way it was meant to be!" Goku ducked under a hook and smashed her fist hard into Vegeta's side, making him crumple around the blow and drop his hand from her gi. She followed this with a roundhouse heel kick to the side of Vegeta's head, sending him away before he caught himself in the air and flew up high, raining ki blasts down on her. He laughed madly as Goku evaded and deflected the blasts, madness in his eyes. "How my blood races again! How my heart pounds! You could never understand how this feels, Kakarot! Unfettered and wild, living only for the battle, fighting for the sake of fighting! Destroying because it was in your power to destroy!" Goku used her Instant Transmission to appear above Vegeta, driving her knee into his back and appearing in front of him again when the blow sent him hurtling to drive an axehandle blow into his sternum.

"So is this the strategy you've developed in the last seven years?" Goku asked as Vegeta hung limply around her fists. "Talking me to death?" she allowed herself a bitter chuckle. "Because I hate to tell ya, that's gonna be a pro–" her words were transformed into a sputtering gasp of pain as Vegeta drove his fist into her gut.

"Actually, Kakarot," he snarled as he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed, "I thought I'd _beat_ you to death." He drove his fist into Goku's stomach a few more times before she kicked his hand away.

"Good luck with that," she spat and wrapped her arms and legs around the arm choking her. Vegeta let out a bark of pain as Goku wrenched back, trying to snap his arm at the elbow. Vegeta dove back toward the ground, smashing himself and Goku into the earth with a tremendous explosion.

' _Man,'_ Goku thought as she bounced off the ground and spun through the air a few times, ' _I hope Gohan and Xī are having better luck than me.'_ Vegeta rocketed toward her out of the smoke as debris rained down on them, swinging a punch like a maniac with a meat cleaver. Goku grabbed his fist and threw a punch of her own, which Vegeta countered by catching it, leaving them to smash their knees into one another, only to block _those_ attacks with their other knees. With a unanimously frustrated snarl, they headbutted each other, the shockwave of that impact sending them flying away from one another.

OoOoOoO

Babidi watched Goku and Vegeta's battle with glee, rubbing his hands together and cackling madly as the two clubbed each other half to death. It was everything that he'd hoped for and more!

"This is perfect!" Babidi crowed triumphantly as he danced exuberantly from foot to tiny foot. "Look at the power these two have and the hatred that they're fighting with! I'll be able to resurrect Majin Boo in no time at all!" Sure enough, the needle of the dial on Boo's egg was climbing higher and higher, moving swiftly closer to completely full. "Time to take this outside," he decided, waving his hands in the air to bring himself, Dabura, and the egg out into the open air, quite a distance away from the ship, just in case Boo got a little rowdy upon being free. The raw, destructive force of Boo's evil was too great for him to be released in the ship or even near it. Babidi's magic wouldn't be able to contain it and the ship would be destroyed. "Closer," he whispered eagerly as he looked back at the dial again, "Closeeeeer…"

"Master," Dabura informed him, "It appears we have company." Babidi turned back around to see Gohan and Xī flying toward them and his smile faltered. Of course. In all of his excitement, he'd forgotten that– for whatever reason– Vegeta had elected _not_ to kill the Kaioushin and her pet. Well, he told himself, it was nothing that Dabura couldn't handle. Especially since they wouldn't be able to fight him to their fullest without giving more power to… what was that thing on the boy's chest?

 _A few moments earlier…_

"So what's this thing you're putting on my chest?" Gohan asked as they flew from Babidi's ship's location, having not found any sign of Babidi or Dabura's energies. Xī made quick, intricate movements with her hands as she spoke.

"It's a counterspell to Babidi's magic," she explained. "It should shield you temporarily from the effects of the Majin Spell so that you won't give any energy to Boo's resurrection from fighting Dabura."

"Why couldn't you have done this before?" Gohan wondered as the glowing white symbol appeared on his chest. It looked a little bit like the character for 'West', actually.

"I needed a close enough exposure to Babidi's magic to figure out its properties and the magic that would counterbalance it," Xī told him. "Ironically enough, I wouldn't have been able to get the proper reading without Vegeta getting possessed right in front of us." Gohan frowned, trying not to think about those events too much. They'd have to deal with that later. Maybe Vegeta would be freed once Babidi was dead.

"So how long's this last?" he asked as he shot up to Super Saiyan 2.

"Well it's a rush job," Xī admitted with a shrug, "So probably not more than a few minutes. Make it count!"

OoOoOoO

Gohan barreled into Dabura like a freight train, sending the both of them hurtling away as he rained punches down on the Demon King's face. "That last one was a draw!" he shouted as Dabura shoved him away, the pair flying across the desert, locked in a twirling deadly double-helix. "Time for the rematch!" He threw his fist into Dabura's face, who parried the blow with the back of a hand.

"That's the only sort of match you'll be for me!" Dabura declared arrogantly as he aimed a spear strike at Gohan's heart. As Gohan kicked his hand away and drove an ax kick down toward Dabura, a small part of him almost maligned the fact that he had to kill Dabura.

' _He looks like_ such _a villain and we've got a great repartee,'_ he thought. ' _He'd make a_ great _archenemy!'_ The battle carried them well away from Babidi, who was defenseless as Xī loomed over him.

"Well, well, well," Xī drawled with a rare moment of vindictive malevolence as she held a hand over her head. "Isn't this _familiar?"_ The shuang go appeared in that hand and Babidi could only let out an airless squawk of terror as she swung for the fences, directly at his head.

Babidi's head was sent flying away from the blow. As was the rest of his body, as he'd managed to throw up a magical barrier around himself in the split-second before his head should have come off. Babidi bounced and rolled along the ground in his purple bubble of protection, scrabbling and kicking desperately to try and right himself as Xī came hurtling down at him again like a comet, smashing down on the bubble and causing an enormous crack to appear at the point of impact. This, Babidi realized as his already bulbous eyes bugged out even further, was bad. He looked frantically up into the sky to see that Dabura's attention was still focused on the Kaioushin's champion and, when Babidi tried to summon him away from the fight, the boy grabbed Dabura's cape and wrapped it around his head, blinding the Demon King as he wrapped his legs around him from behind in a bodyscissors and started raining punches down on Dabura's head. Xī swung a third time, the crack growing larger as Babidi tried frantically to hold the bubble together.

' _Vegeta!'_ he called frantically. ' _Vegeta, Vegeta! Get over here!'_

OoOoOoO

The voice in his head made Vegeta flinch for half a second, stopping him from driving a palm into Goku's knee after she'd caught a kick in his underarm. His guard dropping just long enough for Goku to rip her leg free and slam it into his face, sending him smashing into a rock wall.

' _Vegeta!'_ Babidi echoed again frantically as Vegeta fell down from the wall onto his knees, blood dripping from wounds on his arms and down his forehead from where he and Kakarot had headbutted each other, seeping into the fabrics covering his chest and legs. ' _Stop your silly battling and get over here at once! Kill the Kaioushin before she kills me! I_ command _you!'_

"Be quiet," Vegeta demanded as he got to his feet. "I don't care about whatever grievance you have with the Kaioushin! My battle is _here!_ I will not be denied!"

' _That's adorable, Vegeta,'_ Babidi told him in a terrified voice, ' _But seriously, enough is enough! I command you to come here at once! I am the master, you are the servant! You shall be what I say you are and do as I tell you to do!'_

"Shut up!" Vegeta growled as he grabbed the sides of his head, the freakishly-engorged veins twitching. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Goku took a moment to catch her breath as Vegeta argued with Babidi in his head. Like Vegeta, she was pretty banged up already. On top of the cut on her forehead and a few other cuts here and there, she had bruising all along her ribs and most of her left shin. Chunks had been torn out of her gi again but that had never really bothered her. There was no excitement from this battle like she'd been hoping for when they were at the Budoukai. There was only grim resolution. She _had_ to beat him. She had to stop this _mess._

' _Enough of this!'_ Then Vegeta was down in the dirt, screaming in agony as his body seemed to course with electricity. ' _You_ will _obey me! You are_ mine _to command! By every fiber of your body, by the blood running through your veins, by the_ soul _squirming in my grasp, I_ command you!' Vegeta howled in pain as he scrabbled in the dirt, one hand clutching his stomach as his blood burned like acid and the mark on his forehead felt as if it were branding itself into his flesh.

"Get out of my head!" Vegeta bellowed as he got back onto his feet. "I will not be distracted! You will not keep me from _my_ destiny! Your words may invade my mind and you may hold my soul in your hand, but there is one thing that you shall _never_ lay claim to! The one thing a true Saiyan warrior always keeps!" His body tensed and he grit his teeth, calling on all his strength. "HIS PRIDE!" He cried, stretching out the word and turning it into a roar as his aura flared like a raging inferno, driving Babidi out of his mind like poison being drawn from a wound.

OoOoOoO

The backlash from Vegeta's refusal sent a shockwave through the shield Babidi had created, causing it to explode just as Xī made her downward swing, sending her flying back and driving Babidi even further down into the ground. He crawled out of the dirt as quickly as his spindly arms could pull him, his hands trembling as he struggled to understand what had just happened.

"That shouldn't be possible," Babidi whispered to himself in disbelief with a shake of his enormous head. "No one can resist my powers! No one can tell me _no!_ Once they are under my control, they belong to me! He shouldn't even be able to breathe without my express permission!" Even so, he noticed the needle moving closer and closer to Boo's release and decided that it wasn't important. All that mattered was that soon his triumph would be at hand! Yet he couldn't let it go. He couldn't wrap his brain around it, couldn't understand it. It was… it was… "Inconceiva–" Babidi started to cry before he found himself staring up at Xī again, her blade pointed right between his eyes.

"Babidi," she told him coldly, "Scion of the mad sorcerer Bibidi. You share the burden of his crimes, on top of your own atrocities in the pursuit of his power. You sought to resurrect Majin Boo and bring untold destruction to the universe. So by my supreme and sole authority as Kaioushin, protector and creator," she raised the shuang go above her head. "I do sentence you to–"

"Paparapapa!" Babidi screamed desperately as he flung his hands forward. There was a starburst of darkness and Xī dropped her weapon, clutching at her eyes in pain as she fell to her knees. Babidi tried fruitlessly for a moment to pick up the blade while the Kaioushin was defenseless and slay her with her own weapon in the name of poetic justice but he was far too weak to lift it from the ground. Instead, he contented himself with hiding behind a rock and recovering, holding a hand to his heaving chest. His body wasn't meant for this kind of exertion. It was fine, he told himself, Dabura would kill her when he had an opening. In the meantime, she'd be stuck in her own little hell while he waited.

OoOoOoO

Xī stood in complete darkness and, for a moment, she thought Babidi had struck her blind. However, she soon discovered that he'd done something far, _far_ worse to her.

"Xiiiii," the voices whispered hauntingly, echoing off of nothingness. Out of the darkness, they came. Shengda, Bei, Nan, and Dong.

"Oh no," Xī whispered as she took a step back away from them, shaking her head frantically as they moved to circle her. "No, no, no!"

"Why didn't you help me?" Nan asked her. His deep, soothing voice had been turned hard and brusque. "Why didn't you join the battle sooner? Why didn't you try to pull me to safety? How could you let me be consumed by the beast?"

"I-I didn't…" Xī stammered weakly, "I tried to–"

"Why didn't you listen to me?" Bei demanded. His warm, fatherly face was contorted into a miserable scowl as he looked at her accusingly. "Why didn't you heed my council? How dare you use my weapon in my stead? You do not honor me!"

"I was trying to carry you on," Xī insisted, "My weapons were destroyed, I needed to… I-I wanted to live by your teachings…" her words were weak and hollow. What could she do? What could she say?

"Why weren't you faster?" Shengda wondered, his friendly, jovial voice turned into a mocking song. "Why didn't you come to me sooner? I could have called on the Hakaishin! I would not have had to sacrifice myself for you! And what have you done with that sacrifice, hmm?"

"Nothing," Dong interjected before Xī could even defend herself. His eyes, that had so often looked at her with such warmth and gentleness, were icy cold and full of contempt. "The same that she did with _my_ sacrifice! Always so arrogant, always so headstrong, and look where it has gotten us!" Every word that he said was a dagger driving into her.

"You have led the universe to ruin! You have failed! Because of you, death and chaos have spread like a cancer upon _our_ creation!" Their words all came at once and Xī shook her head frantically, covering her ears to try and block it out. It was no use, however she fought it, the words simply burrowed into her brain. "It is all your fault! All your fault!" Xī crumpled to her knees and huddled into a ball as luminescent tears streamed down her face.

"My fault…" she whispered with a nod, "My fault…"

OoOoOoO

A snarl passed through Goku's lips as she rolled with a right hook from Vegeta, using the momentum to plant a spinning knee viciously into the side of his head. "I have to ask," she taunted him as flipped backward and caught him under the chin with a kick. "If your pride's so important to you, why did you let yourself become Babidi's slave?" Vegeta slowly lowered his head and spat blood out onto the desert dirt far below them, their battle having carried them high into the sky.

"You would _dare_ ask me that?" he asked her coldly. "You, of _all_ creatures?!" He lunged forward, tackling Goku and cinching his arms around her waist, driving them both hard into the ground, burrowing through the earth until they came to a sudden stop. He climbed onto her chest, pinning her arms down with his knees and driving hammering blows onto her unprotected face. "Because I needed to return to my former self! My _true_ self! A warrior without equal, living only for bloodshed and violence!" Goku fired a ki blast out of her mouth into his chest to knock Vegeta off of her, but he came right back before she could even finish getting to her feet, driving his knee into her stomach. " _You_ drove me to this, Kakarot!" He snarled, grabbing her by the remains of her shirt and hauling her up to her feet.

"What the hell did I do?!" Goku asked in frustration, causing Vegeta to hurl her away in fury. Goku collided painfully with an enormous boulder, her back spasming from the impact and making her drop to a knee, panting for breath.

"For seven years, I trained," Vegeta explained as he advanced on her. "For seven years, I kept improving. I never accepted my limits, I never stopped pushing even after you were dead and gone. Or so I thought," he remarked bitterly. "I couldn't even see it at the time but I was slowly being poisoned by this damnable, disgusting planet, much like you had. In time I had a… _family,"_ the word passed through his lips like bile, "And had even grown to care for them! I had contented myself with 'excellence' in other aspects of life as I silently accepted my fate. My mind no longer raced with thoughts of destruction and battlelust no longer made my heart beat within my chest. Instead, I was remembering _birthdays_ and attending _boardroom meetings,_ attending _school plays_ and going on family _picnics!_ And the worst part was that I was growing to _like it!"_ Vegeta's rage bubbled forth again as he glared murderously at Goku. "I couldn't even _see_ that I was dying!"

OoOoOoO

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Goten asked as she and Trunks flew side-by-side.

"Yeah," Trunks told her, "I can feel my dad's ki!" But it felt _wrong._ His dad's ki was so… violent, evil, and awful. What had happened to him? Trunks just couldn't understand.

"What are we gonna do when we get to your dad and my mom?" Goten asked, fighting every instinct that told her to pull away. Not because she was scared as they drew closer and closer to the growing power, but because she could sense Gohan's energy and couldn't shake the feeling that her big bro needed her.

"I… I dunno," Trunks admitted with his eyes downcast. He'd never been unsure of anything before but this was… it was just crazy! Their parents were so much stronger than them! What _could_ they do? "But we've gotta try something! We've gotta make them stop fighting!"

OoOoOoO

"I remained happily ignorant of my failures, Kakarot," Vegeta continued as they circled each other slowly, Goku back on her feet. "I was content and self-assured in _mediocrity._ Until _you_ returned!" He lunged at Goku with a diving kick that she bent backward to avoid before standing up again, swinging a backfist at the back of Vegeta's head that he brought up a forearm to block. "You appeared out of the ether and made a mockery of everything I am, once again!" He balled up his fists so hard that his nails bit into his palms and made them bleed. "You had surpassed me _yet again,_ even more than before!" He swung a bloody fist at Goku, catching her on the shoulder before she retaliated with a chop aimed at his collarbone that he pivoted to avoid, her fingertips grazing his flesh. "It's ridiculous! It's disgusting! You and your… innate ability to grow stronger, that damnable gift that the gods granted you to make a mockery of me! I saw that today and was forced to confront the miserable truth that no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, the King of All Saiyans would forever live in the shadow of a low-class _cow._ Can you even _imagine_ my rage, Kakarot, my shock at the undeniable truth that you were simply better than me? What else could I do but sell my soul?" He asked as they parried and deflected one another's blows, attacks so ferociously powerful that even the grazing impacts would have wiped out entire continents. "When you were so clearly favored by the gods to stand above me, what other recourse did I have than to make a deal with the devil?" He charged a ki ball in his palm and drove it into her chest, making Goku cry out in pain as it burned her skin. "Now that the gap has closed between us, I can finally break free of this unending nightmare and crush you under my heel, as I should have done twelve years ago!"

To all of Vegeta's diatribes, Goku only had a single answer.

"You're pathetic," she spat at him. The words caught Vegeta so completely off-guard that he was wide open as she drove her palms into his chest. "Kamehameha!" The beam sent Vegeta hurtling away, his chest red and burning as he careened through a cliffside before Goku was behind him, kicking him high into the air, only to knock him back down again with an almighty axehandle blow, causing him to hit the ground with tectonic force. Goku had a moment to catch her breath before she noticed the ground down below starting to turn red. She drifted closer and realized that not only was it reddening, it was becoming much less solid. That was when Vegeta dragged himself up out of the boiling earth, hatred in his eyes like no other living creature had ever known. His power was so great, his _rage_ so white-hot, that the ground around him had begun to melt and turn into lava. A wordless, animalistic bellow of fury ripped out of his chest as he threw himself into Goku with all his might, punching her in the face as hard as he could.

OoOoOoO

"Come on," Babidi muttered, his face pressed up against the dial. "Almost there, almost there! Just a little bit more!" The Kaioushin continued to shiver and shake in her little ball, bringing him no small measure of pleasure. He almost wished that he could see inside her mind to see what was agonizing her so. No doubt it was delicious.

Gohan allowed himself a moment to look away from Dabura after he'd sent the Demon King flying off with another Masenko, wondering what was going on with Xī. She should've been able to kill Babidi by now! That was when he saw her, curled into a ball. He had never expected to see her like this, a figure so confident and intelligent, always in control.

' _Babidi must have cast some kind of spell on her!'_ he realized. ' _I've got to snap her out of it!'_ That distraction was enough for Dabura's hands to find their way around Gohan's throat and his black nails dug into the flesh, drawing blood.

"I would keep your focus on me," Dabura warned him. "I've gotten your measure, boy, and you're all out of tricks." He chuckled as his hands squeezed like a vice and Gohan's face started to turn blue. "It's not your fault," Dabura assured him, "You simply don't have the arsenal at your disposal I have."

"Maybe…" Gohan croaked out. "But I've got _one_ move that always helps out in a jam," he slowly started to bring up his hands. "And I learned it from one of the guys you turned to stone!" He flung up his hands in front of his face, his palms practically in Dabura's eyes. "Taiyoken!" The bright blast blinded the salmon-colored sadist, causing him to let go of Gohan's throat to clutch at his eyes in pain. It gave Gohan a moment to gulp down air gratefully before he was at Xī's side with Instant Transmission, his hands grasping her shoulders and shaking her gently. "Xī!" he called to her. "Xī, it's Gohan! Whatever spell Babidi has you under, you've got to break out of it! You're stronger than that creep! You can–" Gohan's motivation was cut off by Dabura flying in and kicking him in the head, sending him sprawling.

"I'd concern yourself with the task at hand, boy!" Dabura taunted him before he turned his attention to Xī thoughtfully. He knew that Master Babidi had wanted the Kaioushin to see Boo resurrected first but, well… he raised his hand overhead and a sword flashed into his grip. "Why take chances, eh?" He asked as he took the sword in both hands and turned it downward, aiming to drive the point down through her spine. Gohan smashed into Dabura with all his strength, roaring in defiance as he sent them both hurtling away.

OoOoOoO

Xī was still huddled up in the darkness, her long-dead friends still hurling abuse at her for all her failings, all of them true, all of them things that she had told herself time and time again. That she wasn't good enough, she wasn't wise enough. That as hard as she tried, she could never do the work of _five_ Kaioushin. She could never hold the universe in balance. It was all her fault.

Then, like a pinprick of light, she realized what she'd been thinking. Her _friends._ Only these were not her friends. This was nothing more than a trick of Babidi's, making her see some black vision, her darkest fear, to try and destroy her. His magic had reached into her mind and drew out all of her doubts, all of her self-loathing, and used the memories of those she held dearest, warping and perverting their images to try and break her. They were nothing. They weren't real. She found her strength in that understanding and fought her way back to her feet, no longer weeping or covering her ears.

"My friends," she breathed out as the specters continued to circle her and scream their hatreds. "I have mourned you for five million years. I have loved you all so much and I have held you deep in my heart." She smiled at them fondly. "You would never say such things to me. Because I know this, you have no power over me. Today, I let you free." She put her arms around Shengda's great frame as best she could and his warm smile returned before he dissolved into a hundred thousand scattered white petals, faintly illuminating the darkness. She turned to look up at Nan and stroked his face gently. He, too, smiled at her again and turned into petals, the light growing brighter. She held the back of Bei's head and pressed her forehead against his. When she looked at him again, he nodded approvingly and was gone as well, the darkness was nearly driven back. All that was left was Dong. He no longer spoke, but he still glared at her with hatred beyond measure. She kissed him gently and when she pulled away, he was blushing before he fluttered away. Xī was left alone, standing freely in the light.

OoOoOoO

Xī got to her feet with a grin as she stood straight and proud, breathing in deeply. She was free. Today, she would avenge her friends once and for all. She dusted the dirt off of herself before turning to look at Babidi, who was pressed up against the egg and staring at her in shock.

"Now then," she said easily as she advanced on him. "Where were we?" Babidi summoned up his magic and threw out his hands, creating a wall of force with all his power that pushed the Kaioushin back. Her feet stomped into the dirt and she pushed forward, advancing on him ever-so-slowly. He looked frantically back and forth between Xī and the dial, his face growing pale.

' _Please, Vegeta!'_ he begged despite knowing that his messages would no longer reach his maverick servant. ' _Please! Just hit her a few more times!'_

OoOoOoO

A fist burst up out of cooled magma as Goku clawed her way back up onto the surface, gasping for air as she pulled herself out and flew into the air, rubbing at her neck.

"Jeez," she muttered as she looked around. "He really wasn't kidding about hating me." She still knew that Vegeta hadn't quite closed the gap but she also didn't want to use her trump card just yet. She knew it would burn through most of the time she had left and there was still more work to do. "Now where the hell is–" Vegeta came dropping out of the sky like a meteor, driving his elbow into Goku's back, making her cry out in pain as he drove her forcefully back into the ground.

"What's the matter?" Vegeta asked as he stood over Goku, watching her get up onto her hands and knees with a smirk of sick satisfaction. "Am I still _pathetic?!"_ he drove his foot into her stomach, knocking her to the ground. She did her best to roll with the impact and got to her feet again, bringing up her fists. "Is this battle not as easily won as you _thought?!"_ He was on top of her in an instant, going for a looping hook, only for Kakarot to slip under the blow and catch him straight in the face with a jab.

"I never said it would be easy," she shot back. "The first time I beat you wasn't easy, either!" Vegeta chuckled at that, despite the seething rage underneath his smile even as he recovered from the blow. He staggered back and wiped the blood from his mouth before raising his hand to Goku and she got into her guard, expecting a beam or a blast of some kind. Instead, five rings shot out of his fingertips, ensnaring her wrists, ankles, and throat. The rings tightened and with a flick of his wrist, Vegeta sent her careening off into a mountainside, dragging her along and laughing in her face.

"You won't be winning at _all!"_ he taunted her, raising her up and slamming her down a few times before slamming her into the wall again. Goku's breaths were ragged as she fought and struggled against her restraints. Vegeta chuckled, slapping her across both sides of her face with his free hand. "What's the matter, clown?" He asked. "Are you feeling angry?" He wondered. "Are you feeling _humiliated?"_ His laughter turned into a bitter bark and his face curdled with a scowl. "You don't even know the _meaning_ of the word!" He told her as he drove his knee into her groin. "You couldn't even begin to _imagine_ it! But I will teach you," he promised her, "My lesson will be long and arduous, but it is still _nothing_ compared to the teachings I took from _you!"_ He battered her face and chest with his free hand, his grip making the rings tighten over and over as Goku cried out in pain. "I was a _King!_ Unchallenged in my knowledge of my own supremacy! The universe once trembled at the very mention of my name! In my veins runs the sole great bloodline of our people, the bloodline of kings! It was _my_ burden to avenge our people! _My_ destiny to become the Super Saiyan! You stole that from me! You stole _everything_ from me, Kakarot! You ripped it away with your filthy, common hands when you _dared_ to challenge me! You handed me my first true defeat! I actually owed you my _life!_ My world began to crumble around me, my honor forsaken and my pride questioned by your every waking _breath!_ Well, no more! You will be cut down inch by inch, the way _you_ have stripped away everything that mattered to me!" He grabbed Gokus' face in his hand as he leaned in, closer and closer. "I shall have my victory," she told him as his voice dropped to a malevolent whisper. "I shall have _everything_ that I deserve!" His face was less than an inch away from hers now.

"Oh, will you _shut up?!"_ Goku demanded as she finally ripped free from the restraint around her throat, headbutting Vegeta across the bridge of the nose. He staggered back and she brought her arms forward one after the other, tearing chunks out of the mountain with her and smashing Vegeta in the sides of the head with them. She broke one leg free to pay Vegeta back for the low blow, then kicked him in the face with the other foot as he doubled over. "I'm so sick of this!" she told him as she punched him across the face with rights and lefts, sending him staggering back, "All you ever talk about is your Saiyan pride! How you were _meant_ to be the strongest, how you were _meant_ to be better than me!" She kicked Vegeta hard in the chest, sending him flying. "That's the craziest thing, Vegeta, you _were_ stronger than me!" she reminded him as she appeared from behind him, grabbing the back of his head and slamming him down into the dirt. "I had to multiply my strength _four times_ to be stronger than you, and I still needed Gohan, Krillin, and Suno's help to beat you! But I didn't let it bother me! You wanna know why?" Vegeta snarled as he rolled over and sprang to his feet, right into a Goku uppercut. "Because I never took anything for granted! I never just _assumed_ that I was the best! I'm _glad_ Freeza blew up our stupid planet!" she told him as she sent him flying with a spinning backhand. "Because otherwise, I might have grown up to be a _coward_ like you!"

"A coward?" Vegeta echoed as he stood there in shock before it immediately gave way to his seemingly-infinite fury. "A COWARD?!"

"What else would you call it?" Goku demanded. "What would you call it when the second life goes any way other than exactly how you think it's _supposed_ to, you start to have a crisis? What do you call it when your life is validated by being strong enough to do whatever you want and falling apart when suddenly that changes?" She narrowed her eyes, pointing at his forehead. "What do you call taking the easy way out when things got hard?"

"Get over here," Vegeta demanded as he bared his teeth like fangs and bent forward in a predatory crouch, "And I'll show you just how much of a coward I am!"

"Do you want to know why I let you live?" Goku asked. "Not just because you were strong. Not just because I wanted to fight you again so that I could prove I could beat you on my own. But because somewhere, deep down, I _knew_ that you could have been _more_ than what you were. That there wasn't that much separating what I could have been from what you were. I wanted to give you the chance to better yourself, to prove me right." She scowled in disgust. "But if _this_ is all you are… I should've just let Krillin kill you." Vegeta exploded out of his crouch, pouncing for her with both hands outstretched like a lunging beast. Goku flew at him in response, throwing her leg out for a flying kick.

OoOoOoO

Babidi strained desperately as his arms trembled, beads of blue sweat running down his forehead. He just had to hold out a little longer… Then the dial flashed and a chime sounded. It was like a chorus of angels to Babidi's ears. He let out a maniacal laugh as steam escaped from the seams of the egg and it slowly began to open.

"You're too late!" he taunted the Kaioushin, his spell keeping her fingertips just out of reach. "You're just _too late!"_ Her eyes went wide as the egg began to open and she whipped her head around to look for Gohan. She couldn't let this happen. She could _not_ have come all this way just to fail! Millions of years of ruling and centuries of searching could not have been for nothing!

"Gohan!" she called out to him once her eyes finally found him. "You've got to do something! Anything! Do it now!" Gohan grabbed Dabura by the cape and swung him around and around as hard as he could before letting him fly, sending the Demon King hurtling off into the sky until he disappeared from sight. There was only one thing for Gohan _to_ do. He pivoted his body to one side and reached down deep inside himself to draw upon that power, the one he'd used to defeat Cell seven years ago. It had vanquished an ultimate evil once. He hoped it would be enough to do it a second time.

"Ryyuuuuu…" a red light gathered in Gohan's' hands as red lightning arced and snaked over his body, like a dragon wrapping itself around him. "Haaameee…" Gohan's spiked hair grew even higher and even started growing longer, slowly running down his back. "HAAAAAAAAA!" He screamed with all the power in his body and thrust his hands forward as the enormous red dragon flew from his hands, roaring as it went straight for the egg. Xī dove out of the way and Babidi could only gawk in horror as the great beast of ki smashed into the egg, wrapping around it and ensnaring it until the whole thing was engulfed in an enormous explosion of flame and there was a blinding white light.

When the light faded, there was nothing. No egg and… barely a Babidi, the lower half of his body having been blown apart as he let out weak, rasping, wheezing gasps. There was only scorched earth and smoke.

"You… you did it," Xī gasped in amazement. The egg was gone. Everything was gone! There was no way Boo could have possibly have survived!

"I did it?" Gohan echoed as he floated back down to the ground, panting as his hair returned to its normal shade of red and its normal length. He knew that Dabura would be back here in a few minutes but… had he done it?

"You did it!" Xī exclaimed with a cheer. She laughed joyously and jumped into Gohan's arms, her arms encircling her neck. Gohan was stunned silent for a moment before he joined in her laughter and joy. Majin Boo was gone! Not to mention, with Babidi very clearly on the verge of death, his spell on Vegeta would soon be broken. They'd won the day!

However, the pair were so lost in their revelry that, unbeknownst to them…

The smoke…

Had begun to turn pink.


	122. The End Has Come! A King's Sacrifice!

Chapter Hundred-twenty-two

The End Has Come! A King's Sacrifice!

Babidi couldn't believe this had happened to him. Centuries upon centuries searching, planning, regrowing his power and gathering his minions. Had it really come to this? Dying on some backwater planet, his triumph just beyond his fingertips while the damnable Kaioushin and her champion stood over him, laughing? His vision began to blur as his breaths came shorter and shorter. This was it; this was the end. Yet somehow, just barely, his glassy bug eyes caught a flicker of… _pink._ His eyes locked onto that color and his vision began to clear. He focused on it with all of his strength, calling on his magic to keep himself alive, even if he lacked the strength to heal himself. Then, he began to laugh. A high, wicked, awful sound that brought an end to Gohan and Xī's joy and made them look up as pink smoke began to coalesce into a humanoid form.

"No," Xī whispered as her eyes went wide with fright. "No, no, no!" She threw her hands forward and fired blast after blast of Qi into the smoke, blowing holes into it that were quickly sealed as the smoke continued to form, taking on a solid shape. Gohan, still recovering from firing the Ryuuhameha, could only watch. His first thought wasn't of his failure, or of the battle he knew was to come, or of the fate of his planet and the universe itself. All he could focus on was the shape the smoke was taking. He hadn't expected the destroyer of worlds to be so… round?

OoOoOoO

Goku cried out in frustration as she threw a kick to the side of Vegeta's head, making him stagger away. They had both foregone any attempts at blocking or technique and were both just slugging each other as hard as they possibly could.

"Ohhh, _great,"_ she muttered when she noticed the shockingly powerful and incredibly evil ki that had suddenly appeared from nowhere. It could only be Majin Boo. Even _Freeza's_ ki hadn't been anywhere close to this level of pure evil. "You sensed that, too, right?" she asked Vegeta as he snorted out blood onto the rocky ground. "We've got to stop, Vegeta! I was stupid to let this go on this long!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Vegeta snarled as he shot his hands forward, grabbing Goku by the halo and yanking her face down into an upraised knee. "Nothing will distract me from this battle!" He roared as he drove a fist into Goku's stomach. "I _will_ have my victory!" He went for another gut punch and Goku countered with a left hook that made him spin around.

"Enough already!" she snapped at him as she drove an elbow into his kidney. "Majin Boo is free now! Don't you get it? If we don't stop now, it's going to kill everyone on Earth, including Bulma and Trunks!"

"I don't care about them! I don't care about anything!" Vegeta insisted bitterly as he threw back a kick into Goku's chest, nearly hitting her in the throat. "This is my only shot to defeat you, Kakarot, and I won't throw it away!" He thrust his hand forward and let out a roar. "Big Bang Attack!" Goku brought her forearms to absorb the blow with a grunt, letting it drive her back.

' _Damn it!'_ she snapped at herself as she threw out her arms, making the blast explode before answering back with a ki volley of her own. ' _I have to finish this soon but I don't know if I can risk burning up that much of the time I have left on Earth!'_ On the other hand, if Majin Boo couldn't be stopped, it didn't matter how much time she had left. ' _Just hold on, guys,'_ she thought to Gohan and Xī. ' _I'll figure something out!'_ She couldn't stop thinking about that ki, though. She couldn't even begin to imagine the horrible monster that would produce that sort of ki. It must look like something out of a nightmare!

OoOoOoO

"Boooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooooo!" The rotund, caped being in baggy pants with yellow boots and matching oven mitts laughed in a high, cheerful voice. Gohan just _gawked_ at it. What the hell was he even looking at? He would have laughed if he hadn't been able to sense his ki. His awful, monstrous, nightmarish ki. Gohan took a step back instinctively as Majin Boo continued to laugh, bouncing from one foot to the other.

Xī, meanwhile, was fighting every inclination to collapse to her knees in despair. How had she allowed this to happen? Why was this happening to her? Was there… nothing she could do to stop it? Was it just _fate_ for Majin Boo to destroy everything? No. No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't let it. Not as long as she was still breathing. This wasn't over yet.

Speaking of breathing, Babidi was doing less and less of that, having expended precious air on his undeniably well-earned maniacal laugh. "U-uh, Majin Boo," he wheezed, snapping his fingers to get his creature's attention. "N-not that I'm not happy that you're back and all, b-but could you heal me? I'm sort of… dying."

Majin Boo cocked his head to one side curiously, studying Babidi. Why did he look so familiar to Boo? And where, Boo wondered, was the rest of him? "Who you?" Boo asked.

"Oh for…" Babidi groaned before he felt one of his hearts stop and forced himself to smile. "I-I am Babidi," he explained. "I-I am your master! Y-you remember Bibidi, don't you? I'm his… s-son, yes! So you have to do what I say?"

Majin Boo's mouth puckered up in thought and he let out a contemplative "Hmmmm…" Then, after a few moments' contemplation, he came to his decision. "Boo want cake!"

"Y-yes, yes!" Babidi promised profusely. "Once you've healed me, I promise there will be cake!" Boo grinned from cylindrical ear to cylindrical ear.

"Okay!" Boo agreed cheerfully, holding a hand out toward Babidi. His hand sparkled like it was covered in pink glitter, which he rained down on Babidi by shaking his hand. It was… _unpleasant,_ watching Majin Boo's healing magic, and it seemed to be just as unpleasant to experience it. Babidi cried out in pain as new bones, organs, sinew, skin, and blood burst out of the burned lower half of his body, contorting and twisting before assuming their natural shape. It was clear that a creature who existed for the sole purpose of destruction was not the most capable or gentle of healers. Babidi struggled weakly onto his legs before realizing that his knees were the wrong way around. He gave an exasperated sigh before he shrugged as he regenerated his clothes with a quick magic spell, figuring that it didn't matter much since he floated most of the time, anyway. Backward knees were a small price to pay to have the most powerful engine of destruction that the universe had ever known at his beck and call at last.

"Thank you, Majin Boo," he sighed with relief as he dusted himself off before pointing at the Kaioushin and Gohan. "Now then, I command you to ki–"

"No!" Majin Boo declared emphatically, crossing his arms over his little vest and pouting.

"Excuse me?" Babidi asked, wondering just what the hell Majin Boo meant by "no." He was the master! Boo didn't _get_ to say no! How many of his minions could possibly defy him in one day?

"You said Boo get cake if he fixed you!" Boo reminded Babidi as he shook a mitt in his face. If Boo had individual fingers he would probably be jabbing one of them in Babidi's face. "Boo wants cake!"

"W-well I don't have it on me!" Babidi sputtered out in exasperation. Was this actually happening to him?! Gohan and Xī, for their parts, were mostly just… stunned by what was happening. They were also trying to figure out something resembling a plan but, mostly, they were stunned. "Just wait a little while and–"

"No!" Majin Boo whined, stomping his foot like a petulant child. "You said you give Boo cake! Boo want cake now!" That was when Dabura arrived, shaking some frost off of his shoulders.

"Ah, Master," Dabura sighed, trying to make himself look a tad bit more presentable despite his torn clothes. He stopped for a moment to look at Majin Boo, his mouth slightly agape. The creature who had laid waste to the Kaioushins… not what he was expecting. "Congratulations for resurrecting Majin Boo. I apologize for my tardiness. Did you know that this planet's moon has a woman's face on–"

"Oh, Dabura," Babidi greeted with another sigh of relief. "Just in the nick of time, as always." Then he turned to Boo and pointed at Dabura. "Make cake out of him, if you like." Boo looked at Dabura, who flinched under his gaze instinctually before looking at Babidi.

"Y-you can't be serious!" he stammered out in disbelief. Make _cake_ out of him? What did that even mean?! "Master Babidi, I have served you faithfully and unquestioningly!"

"And I appreciate that, I truly do," Babidi assured him. "But now that I have Boo, you're… what's the word?" he tapped his chin thoughtfully before grinning with melodramatic remembrance. "Ah, yes! _Expendable."_

"Expendable?!" Dabura echoed in a fury before he turned his attention to Majin Boo. "I'll show you expendable!"

"Boo make you cake now!" Majin Boo declared cheerfully, clapping his hands eagerly. Dabura snarled as he flew up into the air, raising his hands high overhead.

"So you're hungry, fat boy?!" he bellowed in an offended fury. "Well then, let's see you eat _this!"_ He flung his hands down and the air was filled with a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand razor-sharp blades. Swords, spears, axes, knives, all of them flying straight down at Majin Boo. Boo only let out an excited little coo before he opened his mouth impossibly wide and… ate the blades, just as Dabura had taunted him to do. His stomach was filled with jagged little metal pokes stretching out his stomach and making him look not unlike a pufferfish before they were instantly gone and Boo returned to his normal shape. "Wh-what?" Dabura asked in confusion.

"Boo's turn!" Majin Boo cheered as his antenna suddenly flipped forward, pointing at Dabura. A bolt of pink lighting shot from the antenna and struck Dabura, who cried out in agony before he was… turned into a Dabura-shaped stack of cupcakes, all of which fell into Boo's absurdly open mouth. Majin Boo gave a satisfied burp and patted his large stomach once they were all gone, grinning proudly to himself.

"That does it," Gohan muttered in disbelief. "This is officially the _weirdest_ fight that I have ever been in."

"Very good, Majin Boo, very good," Babidi told his monster encouragingly, like a parent with a child who was learning to read. "Now then," he turned his eyes to Gohan and Xī and pointed at them while smiling a smile most unpleasant, "Kill them." Boo turned to look at the pair… and grinned.

OoOoOoO

Krillin let out an alarmed cry as he and Piccolo were suddenly no longer stone, taking in a few deep gulps of air now that he could breathe again.

"Oh man," Krillin panted as he doubled over, holding onto his knees. "That was… the _worst._ I'm saying that as a man who got blown up."

"Yeah," Piccolo agreed as he rolled his neck and gave it its obligatory crack. "That could have gone better." They felt the Earth tremble under their feet and the pair turned toward what could only be the kis of Goku and Vegeta beating the shit out of each other.

"Nope," Krillin muttered with a shake of his head, "We are nooot fucking with that."

"Nope," Piccolo agreed. They turned to the other direction and sensed what they could only describe as… something much, much worse. Could _that_ be Majin Boo?

"On second thought," Krillin admitted as he gestured back toward the direction of Goku and Vegeta's ki, "Let's go fuck with that. That seems _much_ more manageable."

"Yep," Piccolo concurred as they flew off toward the fight. The Namekian _was_ curious, though. Why had Goku and Vegeta even started fighting? Why weren't they with Gohan, facing… whatever the hell that was?

OoOoOoO

"Okay," Launch muttered warily as the group stood huddled outside the Budoukai arena. "Everyone sensed that, right?" The group nodded, exchanging nervous glances. Whatever that new power was, it was like nothing that they'd ever experienced before. Even Perfect Cell was dwarfed by whatever they were sensing, both in its power and its raw, unbridled evil.

"It feels like it's evil incarnate," Tenshinhan observed, a cold shudder passing through him at the prospect. Was this what Suno had said Goku and the others had gone to deal with? Some monster that was going to destroy the universe?

"Well, I'm not waiting around to find out," Lazuli decided. "I say we all head up to the Lookout for the time being. We're pretty much the only people on Earth who know it exists and it's isolated enough from everyone else that we'll be safe." The others muttered their agreements and started to take off before Lazuli noticed that Lapis and his family weren't following. "Hey, bro," Lazuli said with Marron bundled in her arms. "Are you coming or what?"

Lapis shook his head. "Sorry, sis, but… that's a terrible plan. Whatever this thing is, the last thing we need to do is to have all of the highest powers on this planet collected in one place like a big target. The safest thing for us to do is to spread out." Lazuli gave her brother a suspicious look and he sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his duster jacket. "I've already talked it over with Amy," he explained. "We're taking the kids back to the house. We're out of the way and we'll be able to ride this thing out."

"What," Lazuli scoffed, "You're just gonna run away?"

"Yes," Lapis replied bluntly. "Yes, I am going to run away! Because it's the smart thing to do, sis. We are _not_ the heroes here. We were probably never gonna be. I can't save the world, but I can save my family." Behind him, Amy popped the capsule for the family minivan and everyone piled into it before Lapis hoisted it up onto his shoulders. "See you on the other side, sis," he muttered before flying off. Lazuli watched her brother fly off before taking off to follow the others. Even though she didn't agree with him, at all, she couldn't help but wonder. What _could_ she and the others do… against something like that?

OoOoOoO

Gohan let out a cry of power as he charged up to Super Saiyan 2 again and flew at Majin Boo, throwing out a ki-charged kick that crashed into the side of his head. Unsettlingly, the creature's head had conformed around Gohan's shin before he hopped away. He unleashed a barrage of blows against its bulbous belly, making the monster jiggle and giggle, denting its pink hide. He brought his hands up to its belly, charging his ki into them.

"Masenko!" he cried, blasting a hole through Boo's stomach and sending him staggering back. He recovered his footing and, almost instantly, Boo's skin popped back into place from where Gohan had hit him and the hole in his stomach was instantly repaired. "Crap," Gohan grumbled, "Why do _I_ always have to fight the regenerators?" He barely had a chance to plan how he might be able to overcome Majin Boo's regenerative properties when he was suddenly right on top of him, smiling down at Gohan with that nightmarishly childish face.

"Boo's turn now!" Boo declared merrily before punching Gohan once in the chest. That singular blow sent Gohan flying back and crashing through a mountain, burying him in the rubble. Gohan groaned under the rocks, his hair momentarily flickering red. Gohan normally wasn't one to swear, but…

"Fuck," he groaned out, collecting himself before he started shoving rocks out of his way. "Fuck, fuck, holy _fuck."_ That singular strike had hurt more than probably anything Super Perfect Cell had done to him. Did he have _any_ chance? Maybe not, he admitted to himself, but he had to keep fighting. His mom never gave up when it seemed impossible. He sure hoped she'd finish up with Vegeta soon, though. He shook his head to try and clear the more-than-mild concussion he was no doubt suffering and tried to lock onto Majin Boo's ki. Thankfully, since it was so frighteningly enormous, it didn't take long. He took a steeling breath and put his fingertips to his forehead, preparing to throw himself back into the fray.

OoOoOoO

Xī found herself alone for the moment, face to face with the monster who had taken everything from her. That awful laughing, smiling face that had continued to haunt her in her sleep for five million years. Yet he was here, now, free and alive in front of her. There was only one thing to do. She was the last of the Kaioushin. She _had_ to fight. She held her shuang go aloft and let out a battle cry as she swung it, attempting to fire a kiai from her eyes to distract Boo, trying to knock him off-balance so he'd be open for her strike. The kiai caught Majin Boo directly in the face, causing it to warp and distort grotesquely as the blade sunk into his gelatinous figure. To her horror, though, the sword was ripped right out of her hand and absorbed into Boo's being, taking the last remaining connection she had to her long-dead friends. Boo's head reformed and he grinned maliciously at her, his eyes flashing pink before he fired his own kiai, sending her flying away to crash, bounce, and tumble painfully across the ground. He hadn't even _touched_ her and she was already covered in scratches and bruises, pearlescent blood already beginning to seep into her godly garments. Xī struggled to her feet and tried to summon up her Qi, but Boo was already there. He drove a fist up into her gut, making Xī give a choked gasp of pain as she was lifted off the ground, high enough for Majin Boo to deliver a devastating headbutt, rendering her unconscious as it sent her flying off again. She hit the ground lifelessly like a rag doll, splayed out and defenseless.

"Awww," Boo whined petulantly, "Broken already?" Then Gohan was in front of him again, kicking Boo as hard as he could in the face again.

"You'd better hope not," he snarled as he pulled his leg back for another kick. "Because the only thing that's gonna break here is gonna be–" Boo caught his leg effortlessly and never stopped smiling. "...You?" Gohan finished weakly before Boo swung down, smashing him hard into the ground. He lifted Gohan up and smashed him down again, and a third time, and a fourth, before spinning him around overhead and tossing him away again. Gohan bounced painfully a few times before managing to right himself and land on his feet, grimacing as he put weight on his left leg, the one Boo had grabbed. That was definitely less a limb and more just a series of hairline fractures and muscle tears by now. He couldn't let it get to him, though. He had to just grit his teeth and keep on moving. He pulled his hands down to his side and gathered up all the energy he could muster before thrusting them forward. "Kamehameha!" he roared out, blasting Majin Boo's head clean off. Gohan was allowed maybe a second of satisfaction before Boo's head popped right back onto his shoulders again, though it grew back the wrong way around so that it was looking at Gohan. And just to make things even more horrifying, Boo was smiling at him.

Xī let out a weak groan as she watched Majin Boo's torso turn around away from her, facing the same direction as his head as he started skipping merrily toward Gohan again. She forced herself back onto her feet, staggering as she tried to charge at Boo from behind. She fired a Qi ball from her hands at Boo but he swatted it away with his antenna, not even looking at her before that same antenna snaked backward to wrap around her throat and fling her forward, sending her crashing into Gohan and knocking them both to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Gohan, the sturdier of the two, got to his feet first, trying to shield Xī from their enemy. He tried to power up as much as he could and charged at Majin Boo valiantly, drawing all his power back into his fist. If only he were strong enough to use the Ryuuhameha…

Buu pulled his own hand back, charging an enormous ki blast in his hand. He swung forward just as Gohan reached him with his fist, the blast millimeters from his face. Gohan's reaction time was just fast enough… to realize he was about to die.

OoOoOoO

The gang was gathered safely on the Lookout, everyone exchanging wary glances as they wondered just how "safe" they could actually be. When Suno realized that she couldn't sense Gohan's ki anymore… she fainted dead away, collapsing to the white tile floor in an unconscious heap.

OoOoOoO

Goku let out a snarl as she kicked Vegeta hard in the face, knocking him away again. They had both torn their gis ragged, shirtless, shoeless, and furious as blood trickled down from cuts and darkening bruises covered their bodies.

"Okay," she growled, "That's it." She spat out a mouthful of blood spitefully onto the desert floor as she balled her fists. "You want me to go all out? Give it everything that I've got? Is _that_ what you want?!" Vegeta's eyes, which had been wide with fury, now narrowed in contempt.

"You _dare?!"_ he spat venomously, every vein and muscle standing out as his face nearly purpled in rage. "You _dare_ hold back on me?! Yes, Kakarot," he insisted, "I want _everything_ you've got!"

"Okay!" Goku snapped at him. "You got it!" She brought her fists down to her sides and tilted her head back. A scream of power suddenly burst out of her and her aura began to grow, raising around her like a raging inferno as bolts of lightning shot out from her body and arced violently across the sky. At first, Vegeta thought that Goku was just bluffing. She _had_ to be. How could she still be stronger than him?! Then the ground began to shake under his feet as she continued to scream and her ki rose, higher and higher.

"Oh…" he barely managed to whisper. He'd made a mistake. He was completely frozen in place as he watched Goku's hair slowly begin to grow longer.

"Galick Gun!"

"Kamehameha!" The purple and blue beams, striking Vegeta and Goku respectively, didn't cause any actual damage to either fighter, but they did make them flinch and get their attention.

"Goten?!" Goku asked in horror as her Super Saiyan daughter came flying toward her. What was she _doing_ here?!

"Trunks?" Vegeta muttered in vague confusion, wondering why his son had dared to show his face. The children hit their respective parents like miniature missiles, tackling them as hard as they could and shoving them away from one another.

"Goten," Goku warned, "You _have_ to get out of here! Go back to your mother, this isn't safe!" Goten shook her head stubbornly, shoving up against Goku's abs with all her might.

"No!" she insisted. "You and Trunks' dad gotta stop fighting! Mama says fighting doesn't fix things! Please, just stop!"

"Out of my way, boy!" Vegeta snarled as he shoved Trunks off of him. Trunk stood his ground and came right back at Vegeta, wrapping his arms around his father's waist and flying as hard as he could. "This is _my fight!"_

"No," Trunks protested. "I'm not going anywhere! Dad, you've gotta stop! This isn't you! Just tell me what's wrong!" Vegeta ripped Trunks away from him and threw him away again.

"This _is_ me, boy!" Vegeta snarled in contempt. "This is who I _really_ am! Who I was always meant to be! The only thing that's 'wrong' is that you're standing in my way!" Trunks got to his feet and splayed his arms out wide, putting himself between his father and Goku.

"I don't believe that!" Trunks told Vegeta, his voice thick with heartache and worry. "You're my dad! You're _not_ a murderer!" That made Vegeta chuckle bitterly and he sneered at Trunks, advancing on him. "Something's wrong with you! Let me help you, please!"

"Goten, get out of my way, _now!"_ Goku ordered her daughter. She shoved Goten out of the way but was stopped as Goten's tail wrapped around her ankles and her daughter yanked back as hard as she could, tripping Goku and making her fall hard to the ground.

"I'm not going to tell you again, brat," Vegeta growled as he loomed over Trunks, "Get out of my way!" Trunks shook his head furiously as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Dad, please!" he begged desperately. "Tell me what's going on! Why are you like this? Is it something mom did? Is it something I did?" He chewed his lip, trying to bite back the tears even as they continued to flow. "I-I'll train harder, I promise! I won't ask for anything, ever again! Just come home, please!" Vegeta didn't respond. "D-dad?" Trunks asked, his tone pitifully hopeful. Then Vegeta's face twisted up in rage and he pulled back a fist to strike his son.

"Vegeta, no!" Goku screamed as she ripped away from Goten's grip, rocketing toward them. But something made Vegeta stop before he could have dealt what would have surely been a killing blow. Something Trunks did. His son didn't flinch and he didn't run away. It was the way his son looked at him. He didn't look scared in the way he had when Vegeta had struck him without warning during training. He didn't even look at Vegeta the way Vegeta had looked at his own father when his father had hit him as a child.

Trunks was looking at him… the way he had looked at Freeza when he was small. That look of sheer, unbridled, hopeless, heartbroken terror.

OoOoOoO

 _Vegeta was fifteen years old. At fifteen, he had already slaughtered hundreds of millions of beings in the name of his Lord Freeza. He was as ruthless and merciless as he would ever be. He was standing alone in the dark in his private suite on Freeza Planet 225. He had already begun to suspect that Freeza was the true culprit behind the destruction of his homeworld and the death of his people, rather than some act of cosmic chance. Lacking any token of remembrance or family heirloom to swear by, he had bitten into his own palm and painted the Royal Saiyan crest on the wall in his blood. Then he bent down on one knee before it, pressing his bloody palm into the floor._

" _Father, mother," he intoned softly as he looked up at the ceiling. "He will pay for this. For what he did to you, to our people, to our home… to_ me." _He raised his hand up toward the crest, squeezing it into a fist as blood ran between his fingers. "By all the Gods. By this Royal blood. I_ swear _it."_

OoOoOoO

Vegeta's hand dropped slowly to his side and all the anger went out of him. "By the Gods," he whispered. "What have I become?" Had he really sacrificed everything, had he really become the very thing he had once sworn to destroy, just for the sake of power? Had he become this… _creature,_ who would kill his own son, just for a battle?

"D-dad?" Trunks whimpered, his body still trembling with terror. Goku was in front of Vegeta then, her fists still up and ready for a fight. In the air above them, Piccolo and Krillin had finally arrived, still having no idea what the hell was going on.

"So," Goku asked testily, "Are we still fighting or what?" To Goku's surprise, Vegeta shook his head.

"You're right, Kakarot," he muttered softly. "We have to stop Majin Boo. Now." He held out a hand toward her. "Give me a senzu so I can fix this mess." Goku let out a sigh, visibly relieved as she picked a senzu out of the pouch on her hip and flicked it toward Vegeta, who caught it in his hand and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed on it, Goku turned to the two children, looking down at them admonishingly.

"Now look," she told them, "What you did was very brave and I'm proud of you for sticking by your friend, Goten. But it was also extremely dangerous! You both need to get out of here and go back h–" Goku's lecture was stopped by Vegeta punching her in the back of the head as hard as he possibly could. She collapsed forward, falling between the two children as she dropped out of Super Saiyan 2, knocked out cold.

"Damn it, Kakarot," Vegeta muttered mostly to himself as he shook the hand he'd just punched her with. "Why is your skull so hard?"

"H-hey!" Krillin exclaimed as he and Piccolo flew down toward Vegeta. "What the hell was that?! What's going on here, Vegeta?" He asked before noticing the tattoo on the other's forehead. "A-and… uh… wh-what's up with the ink?" Vegeta scoffed at him before turning his attention to Piccolo.

"Get Kakarot and the children out of here," he told the Namekian. "This is _my_ mess and I need to fix it. I need to atone for my mistake." He turned to fly off before Trunks grabbed his pant leg.

"D-dad, wait," Trunks stammered as he looked up at his father. "After you go do… wh-whatever you're gonna do, you're gonna come home, r-right? Mom said she was gonna take us all out to dinner if you won the Budoukai, remember? I mean… I know you didn't, b-but I did!" He sniffled, wiping his nose with his forearm. "I-I bet mom would still take us if you… if you asked her really nicely." Vegeta looked down at his son and tousled his hair, giving him a warm and genuine smile. Not a smirk, not a sarcastic grin, but a smile. It looked alien on his face and it made Krillin and Piccolo uncomfortable.

"Trunks," Vegeta said softly as he moved his hand to the back of his son's head. "You're my blood. My only son. My prince. Yet I haven't held you once, since the day you were born." His smile turned into a frown and Vegeta actually looked… ashamed of himself. The expression was even more foreign than the smile had been. "I'm sorry for that. Come here, son. Let me hug you." Trunks swallowed once and nodded, blinking back tears as he let Vegeta pull him closer and put his arms around his father's legs, putting his face against Vegeta's stomach.

Goten sucked her thumb awkwardly, not quite sure what she was supposed to do here. She felt like she should still be angry with Trunks' dad for punching her mom from behind but she just… wasn't, for some reason.

Vegeta closed his eyes slowly and carded his fingers through his son's hair. How had it taken _this_ to make him hug his own child?

"You've made me very proud today, Trunks," he said earnestly, his tone still soft as he spoke. Trunks looked up at Vegeta again, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Vegeta smiled down at Trunks before letting out a soft, regretful sigh. "I only wish I could see the man that you'll become." Then his mouth returned to the far more natural shape of a smirk. "I only know that he'll be a better man than me."

Trunks' brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you m–?" he started to ask before Vegeta's hand came swiftly on the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. Vegeta caught Trunks gently before he hit the ground and held him up gently. Goten gave a startled cry and started to protest when Vegeta dealt her a similar blow, catching her carefully in his other hand. He handed Trunks to Piccolo and Goten to Krillin.

"I couldn't risk them following after me," he explained. "They're too brave and foolish not to try." He turned to leave before catching himself. "Tell Bulma… I'm sorry." The pair nodded and Vegeta prepared to leave before catching himself again, smirking just a little. "And," he added, "Tell her and Suno that they have my permission to arrange for Goten and Trunks to marry." The girl had impressed him today, both with her skill in battle and her loyalty in standing by Trunks' side to stop his and Kakarot's fighting. Krillin rolled his eyes and flew off with Goten under one arm and Goku slung across his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"You know you can't beat that monster," Piccolo observed once he and Vegeta were alone. "It's suicide." Vegeta chuckled bitterly and shrugged.

"Maybe not," he conceded. "But I'd like to take a stab at it anyway." Piccolo turned to go, carrying Trunks under his arm. Vegeta almost left before one last thing stopped him. "Piccolo," he said, giving the Namekian paused. He couldn't remember Vegeta ever having said his name before. "When I die, will I see Kakarot again?" he asked. Piccolo only shook his head.

"Go–" Piccolo paused for a moment, deciding to give Vegeta the courtesy. " _Kakarot,"_ he corrected, "Lived her life nobly, protecting others and fighting evil. Because of this, she'll get to keep her body when she returns to the Otherworld and continue to train. You–" Vegeta cut him off with another bitter chuckle.

"Not so much, hmm?" he asked. Piccolo nodded.

"You will go to Hell," he explained bluntly. "Where your soul will be purified and you will be reincarnated. The person you are now will cease to exist." Vegeta frowned a little at that.

"I always thought I'd go to Hell," he admitted, "But that sounds _much_ less exciting than the one I was promised." Then he shrugged. "I suppose it can't be helped. A few domestic years and a noble sacrifice don't undo decades of genocide." With nothing more than that, he flew off toward the sky in a streak of golden light, toward the gathering stormclouds on the horizon.

OoOoOoO

Xī gave a groan as she pulled herself through grass, trying to figure out where in the hell she was. In the briefest instant before Boo could have blown Gohan and her to smithereens, she'd managed to grab him and move the pair of them away with her Instantaneous Movement, making Boo and Babidi think they were dead. However, she was far too battered to go to her original destination, which was the Sacred World of the Kaioushin. In fact, she was fairly certain they were still on Earth. She reached up and grabbed the low-hanging branches of a tree, wincing and hissing in pain as she pulled herself up to her feet. Where the hell was Gohan? She _had_ been able to save him… hadn't she?

OoOoOoO

As Vegeta came upon the site of Babidi's spaceship, he glowered down at the ship and raised a hand toward it, blasting it with a beam from the tips of two fingers. The bolt of yellow ki came down from his hand like lighting, striking the ship. He kept pouring it on until he was completely certain that the ship was destroyed. One way or another, that little green bastard wasn't getting off this planet. It was only then, as he looked contemplatively down at his hand, that Vegeta realized he couldn't sense Gohan's ki.

"The boy died fighting the monster that I unleashed," he observed regretfully. He bowed his head in a moment of mourning, still looking at his hand. He had often derided Gohan for being soft and for not taking his training seriously enough but he had been a true Saiyan, in spirit if not entirely by blood. He had been a skilled and powerful warrior and he had been brave, even when he was younger than Trunks was now, to stand up to Vegeta. True, Gohan would almost certainly be resurrected with the Dragon Balls once this business was finished, but that did not make this right. It did not undo what he did. "This horror that I have wrought," Vegeta whispered as he continued to look down at his hand. "I have to make it right," he declared resolutely before flying off again. As he flew toward that unspeakably vast, unfathomably evil ki, Vegeta recalled the times when his father had spoken to him as a boy. When he had tried to teach Vegeta how to be a King and what a King must do.

Sacrifice, his father had often spoken of. More than strength, more than courage, more than wisdom, a King's strongest quality had to be his willingness to sacrifice. As a boy, Vegeta had not known what he had meant by that but he'd been too afraid to seem foolish by asking. As he grew older, Vegeta assumed that his father had meant a willingness to make sacrifices of others. That resources, lives, all things were acceptable losses in the pursuit of an ultimate goal. Glory, peace, victory. It was only now, in this moment, that Vegeta realized what his father had truly meant: the willingness to sacrifice oneself. That there was no higher calling for a King than to die in service of his subjects.

Well, Planet Vegeta was gone. The Saiyan race was all but extinguished. But, Vegeta realized, Earth had been his home for a decade now. Bulma, his wife, practically owned most of the planet. His son had been born here. This was his planet now. These were his subjects. He would defend them as a King should. Vegeta realized in that moment that he was fighting for something other than himself for the first time in his life.

It felt… pretty good.

OoOoOoO

Boo was laughing and dancing merrily as black clouds gathered overhead, hopping from foot to foot with his hands on his hips. He was very proud of himself and how easily he'd defeated his enemies. He'd been carrying on like this for several minutes now and Babidi's giddiness at the Kaioushin's death had finally worn off.

"Majin Boo," he said to the creature, trying to get his attention. "Maj–… Majin Boo!" he said again, growing more irritated as Boo continued to dance. "Boo… Boo, over here, look at me! I command you!" Boo persisted and Babidi rubbed at his temples with both hands, groaning to himself. He finally picked up a rock off the ground and was half-tempted to throw it at the big pink idiot before casting a quick spell on it that turned it into a snickerdoodle. Or, at the very least, it _looked_ like a snickerdoodle, which would hopefully be enough to get Boo's attention. Babidi whistled and waved the cookie in the air, which finally got Boo to stop dancing, his permanently-closed eyes locking onto the cookie and his greenish-blue tongue licking his lips. "Thank you," Babidi groaned. "Now then, why don't we go out and cause some more chaos and destruction? I'm sure this planet's just _full_ of sweets that are yours for the taking!" Before Boo could render a decision one way or the other, Vegeta's golden form pierced the darkness of the clouds and came crashing down into a standing position not ten feet away from them. Babidi was quite confused by his appearance. On the one hand, his clothes were very badly torn and what fabric remained was covered with scrapes, dirt stains, and still-damp blood. On the other hand, Vegeta himself looked perfectly fine. Really, quite strange. "Ah, Vegeta," Babidi said smugly, feeling much bolder now that he had the invincible Majin Boo at his side. "Did you finish your little game? Come back to grovel at my feet now that you realize that it was only my power that allowed you t–"

"Shut up," Vegeta said offhandedly as he blasted Babidi without even looking at him, sending the shrunken spellcaster flying off with a startled and terrified squawk. "This isn't about him," Vegeta explained, now addressing Boo as he got into a fighting stance. "This is about _you."_ Even with all of his decades of experience fighting countless species, Majin Boo was… something different.

"Ooooh," Boo cooed excitedly as he clapped his hands. "We fight now?" he asked. Vegeta smirked. And he'd called _Kakarot_ a clown.

"Yes," he assured the beast. "We fight now." Then his face twisted up into a snarling fury as he threw himself at Boo, throwing out a roundhouse kick to the head. Boo's head retracted into his chest and Vegeta swung his heel down in an axe kick, turning Majin Boo's torso into a U-shape. Boo's head sprang back up and he seemed disoriented for a moment. Vegeta pressed the attack with a barrage of ki blasts, blowing holes out of the abomination and sending him staggering back, his cries more startled than painful. Vegeta slammed his palms together and sneered, electricity coursing up and down his arms. "Final Flash!" He bellowed, the golden beam of light roaring forth from his hands and blasting Boo before arcing off into space. He hadn't taken the time to charge it properly, he knew, but he needed to press whatever advantage he could. On top of that, it _had_ reduced Majin Boo to a pair of yellow boots, so maybe it had done something after all.

The very instant this thought had entered his brain, Majin Boo reformed out of those boots with a loud "Pop!" and a delighted squeal. Vegeta rolled his eyes as Boo pounded one fist into the other mitt, grinning. Of course not. It hadn't been able to kill Cell, why would it fare any better against this new, more obnoxious regenerator?

"Laser pretty!" Boo declared enthusiastically. "Boo's turn now!" He covered the distance between himself and Vegeta in an instant, swinging one of those yellow fists wildly. It was only Vegeta's far superior martial arts experience that allowed him to evade the incredibly telegraphed blow as he ducked under Majin Boo's punch, driving his fists into Boo's jiggling stomach. He swept Boo's disproportionately tiny feet out from under him and grabbed Boo by the cape, swinging him around and around before slamming him hard into the dirt. He flew overhead and rained down another barrage of ki beams. This time, though, Boo dodged them. He was getting smarter.

Boo came flying toward Vegeta with another telegraphed blow, this time a kick with an enormous windup. Vegeta barely managed to deflect the blow, catching it off his palms and flipping Boo end over the end, making him pinwheel through the air. He raised his hands overhead and locked them together, swinging with all his might and sending Majin Boo crashing into the Earth with an axehandle blow. Vegeta came flying down after him and just managed to catch the flash of something pink, bringing up his forearms to catch a ki blast. Only, he realized, it wasn't a ki blast at all. The creature's arm had stretched out impossibly wrong and his hand grabbed Vegeta by the forearm, yanking him back down to the ground and swinging him away. Vegeta flipped through the air and landed on his feet, bouncing once before skidding to a stop. He'd been extremely lucky so far, he knew. Majin Boo had yet to land an actual hit on him and Vegeta so far had the advantage in actual skill. Vegeta's greatest skill against his enemy was that his enemy was stupid. So, Vegeta decided to see if he could increase his advantage.

"Come on!" he taunted as he beckoned Boo closer, weaving between his punches as the great pink beast resumed his attack. "Is that all you've got? You big, pink punching bag!" Vegeta drove his fists into Majin Boo's gut, over and over, before jumping up and driving his knee down into Boo's head. " _This_ is the greatest evil in the universe?" He taunted. "You're nothing but a fat, stupid, joke!" Vegeta threw a punch at Boo and his fist was instantly swallowed up by Majin Boo's yellow fist. Boo's head popped up out of his torso again and for the first time, his eyes were open wide and he was _glaring._ Then, to Vegeta's horror, Majin Boo's power actually began to _grow._ He'd been holding back before.

"Boo not fat!" Boo howled angrily as steam whistled out of the holes along his arms and the top of his head. "Boo stocky!" With that, Boo drove his fist into Vegeta's stomach, sending him hurtling up into the dark sky. Boo was there when Vegeta reached the apex of his climb, smacking him down with a foot. Vegeta hit the earth hard enough to bounce off of it before Majin Boo came crashing down onto his back, sitting on him with the force of a falling asteroid. Boo hopped off of Vegeta and kicked him away, making the Saiyan King roll across the dirt in agony. In four hits, Boo had managed to do more damage to Vegeta than Kakarot had done in their entire battle. Boo prepared to continue his attack charging over to Vegeta and leaping up to drop all of his weight onto him again.

"Taiyoken!" Vegeta cried as he threw up his hands in front of his face, blinding Boo and stopping him in midair. Vegeta rolled away and got to his feet as quickly as he could while rubbing at his eyes. There was only one thing left to do, he realized, only one possible way for him to even stand a chance of destroying this creature. He brought his hands down to his side and closed his eyes, taking a long breath as he readied himself for the moment. It was going to hurt, he knew. But it was, perhaps, no less than he deserved. He opened his eyes with a burning look of determination.

"Why you stop fighting?" Boo asked as he stared at Vegeta curiously. "You give up?" he wondered before grinning wickedly. "You make Boo hungry! Boo turn you into cookies! Or maybe fudge!" Vegeta laughed at that, grinning at Boo as his aura suddenly flared into a great, swirling inferno around him.

"Oh, I'm not done yet!" he promised. "But _you're_ about to be! I'm going to crush you," he declared, "And scatter your ashes to the wind!" Vegeta's ki grew and grew as he gathered up all of his energy, the wind whipping around him from the power he was generating like a mighty hurricane. ' _This is a good death,'_ Vegeta told himself. ' _A King's death. Trunks, Bulma,'_ he thought with a smile, ' _I do this for you. Kakarot,'_ he added, ' _It seems your faith in me was not misplaced after all.'_ Then he threw back his head and roared as he poured out all the power inside of him. Every ounce of his strength, burning through his ki, his genki, through everything. He pushed out every last drop of energy until there was nothing left. Majin Boo screamed in shock and even just the smallest bit of terror as the raging inferno that was Vegeta bloomed out into an enormous, glowing, golden dome. All the while, Vegeta screamed, raged, and roared. It was lion's roar, it was a thunderclap. A mixture of pain, rage, and fury. He screamed until there was nothing left. Until _he_ was nothing left. Until King Vegeta, last of his bloodline, destroyer of worlds, died to save the world he had come to love.

OoOoOoO

Piccolo and Krillin stopped and turned to stare in amazement at the enormous dome of ki that could have only come from Vegeta. The force of it blew back Piccolo's cape and Krillin's hair. It stretched on for miles in all directions, pushing back the sea and devastating the land. It was simply breathtaking.

"Vegeta…" Krillin whispered in astonished disbelief. Then, despite everything, he found himself tearing up at the other's sacrifice. "Vegetaaaaaa!" He cried out, a tone of almost heartbreak in his voice. He would never have even _dreamed_ he could feel regret and pain for Vegeta's death before yet now…

OoOoOoO

Even from high atop the Lookout, those gathered could see the light from Vegeta's atonement down below. It was as if a second sun had sunken into the Earth. Bulma looked down from the Lookout's edge and felt a cold, undeniable ache in her chest.

"Vegeta…?" she whispered.

The King was dead.


	123. The Battle Isn't Over Yet!

Chapter Hundred-twenty-three

The Battle Isn't Over Yet! In the Realm of the Gods!

Piccolo and Krillin hovered in the air for a moment as they watched the dome that had once been Vegeta slowly vanish from sight. The wind blew through Piccolo's dark blue cape as they watched, waiting for a moment.

"Do you think that did it?" Krillin asked. "I can't sense Majin Boo." Before Piccolo could answer one way or the other, they could sense it already again. That overwhelming, mind-bending, absolute evil. It was just a flickering flame at first, yet it blossomed and grew with every passing second. "Oh no," Krillin said weakly in horror. "Oh, no. You've gotta be _kidding_ me! Even Cell would have been destroyed by something like that!" So Vegeta had died for nothing? "Should we… should we go back there and make sure?"

Piccolo shook his head sternly. "We can't take any chance for Majin Boo to see us. Even if we _weren't_ carrying three unconscious people, we'd be defenseless. We know he's still alive and that's all that matters. We need to get to the Lookout with everyone else." Krillin nodded forlornly and the pair flew off, trying to put as much space between themselves and the growing ki as they could, as quickly as they could. Still, Piccolo couldn't help but think what Krillin no doubt was thinking. If Vegeta wasn't able to destroy Boo with all of that power, what _would_ be enough to defeat this monster? It was insane to even think about.

OoOoOoO

Majin Boo reformed from a hundred twitching, writhing pink scraps. The scraps turned into tiny Majin Boos, all cheering and whooping in high-pitched voices as they flew toward one another, morphing and contorting before he returned to his natural size, fully restored and completely unharmed.

"Boooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Boo cheered as he was restored, bouncing on the tips of his toes from foot to foot and grinning. He was a little confused about where the angry guy had gone but he didn't really care that much. He wasn't that strong anyway. Now Boo was hungry again!

"M-Majin Boo," croaked a weak, paper-thin voice. It caught his attention and made him float back to the ground. "Majin... Boo…" the voice gasped. It was coming from the blackened, severed head of Babidi. One of his bulging eyes had burst from the heat of Vegeta's explosion. "R-restore me," he told Boo. "I c-command you!" He was clearly not in a position to be commanding much of anything, something that even Majin Boo could recognize with his limited brain capacity.

"Boo not wanna!" he declared emphatically. "Boo wanna eat! Boo wanna fight strong people!" Babidi glowered as best he could with one eye.

"When I am healed, we will find you some cake," he promised, knowing that he had, at best, less than a minute before death. "N-now fix me!"

"Boo already fix you!" Majin Boo pointed out. "Boo not need you to find cake! Boo make his own!"

"But you _do_ need me to be free!" Babidi reminded him. "I have just enough power left to put you back in your ball before I die! Then you will never, ever be free again! No more fighting, no more cookies, no more chocolates!" This was, of course, a complete lie. Babidi barely had enough magical power to cough up a butterfly, never mind cast the sealing spell. If he said it with enough conviction, however, and if Boo was stupid enough…

"Okay!" Boo agreed, holding out his hand toward Babidi as he showered him with pink sparkles again. Babidi grinned for a moment before howling in blinding agony. If growing back _half_ of his body had been unpleasant, this was the very _concept_ of pain.

OoOoOoO

As those on the Lookout watched the light slowly fade away, Bulma chewed her lip thoughtfully before producing a special orange capsule. "Good thing I gathered these a couple years ago for safe keeping, huh?" she asked as she popped the capsule and the seven Dragon Balls rolled out onto the tiled floor. They rolled naturally into a circle and began to glow and hum softly.

"So we're wishing back all the people that were killed today, right?" Yamcha asked while turning to Videl for confirmation. "Everyone killed by this Babidi guy's minions?" The young woman had filled them all in on the details on the way to the Lookout, as the most Lazuli or Suno had gotten from their spouses was "evil wizard wants to destroy the universe."

Videl nodded while chewing on her thumbnail. She wasn't really paying that much attention to She couldn't sense Gohan's ki. Why couldn't she? She had to tell herself that it was just because she wasn't as far along in her training as the others, though that didn't explain Suno's fainting spell earlier… No! Gohan was fine. He'd be fine.

"Okay, Puar," Chi-Chi told the floating, gray-blue cat encouragingly. "Do your thing." Puar tapped a paw to his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"Uh… how does it go again?" he asked. The others groaned and Puar puffed up indignantly. "Hey, I forgot, okay? It's been a long time and I'm getting old! Do you know how many cats there are that live to forty?"

"Korin?" Shouronpo pointed out with a bit of a grin. Puar huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That doesn't count!" he insisted. Launch rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," she grumbled, " _I'll_ do it!" Then she tilted her head back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Yo! Shenron! Get your big, scaly ass out here! I've got wishin' to do!" There was a long and awkward silence where nothing happened.

"Yeah" Puar muttered, "That's _definitely_ not i–" Then the sky turned back and thunder rumbled as the sky turned black and lightning flashed through the clouds. "Oh, how does that count?!" Kani, Shouronpo, and Ocha huddled near their parents, having never seen Shenron in real life before. Kani kept right on sketching, even as she watched with eyes wide and her mouth agape in wonder.

As the bolt of lightning raced out of the balls and snaked out across the sky, Piccolo and Krillin flew up over the edge of the Lookout, Piccolo carrying the unconscious children and Krillin carrying a very battered-looking Goku. At the sight of them, Lazuli, Marron, Suno, and Bulma pulled away from the rest of the group, completely ignoring the enormous dragon that appeared in the sky overhead. Dende followed quickly behind them once he saw the rough shape Goku was in.

"Goten!" Suno cried as she took her daughter from Piccolo, cradling in her arms. "My poor baby," she cooed softly, "Are you alright?" Goten groaned weakly and blinked awake slowly, squinting up at her mother before she was held in a tight, motherly embrace. "Oh, you had me so worried! I'm just glad you're safe!"

"Mama," Goten whimpered, "Why can't I feel big bro? Wh-where is he?" Suno bit down on her lip to keep from crying as she stroked Goten's hair.

"It's alright, baby," she whispered reassuringly. "It's alright. It'll be okay, you'll see." Goten gawked over Suno's shoulder up at Shenron and Suno smiled as she patted her back. "That's right. If anything happened to Gohan, Shenron will fix it."

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls," Shenron boomed as Krillin set Goku down gently for Dende to heal her, "State your wishes and I shall grant them."

"Okay, Shenron!" Launch called up to him. "I wish for you to revive everyone killed by the minions of the Wizard Babidi today!"

"What happened to you?" Lazuli asked Krillin as she and Marron hugged him tightly. I couldn't sense your ki for a little bit there. You had me worried."

Krillin gave a nonchalant shrug. "I'm fine," he promised. "But, uh… can we maybe take that statue out of the birdbath in the backyard for a little while?" Lazuli gave him an inquisitive look, clearly not entirely sure what that meant. "I'll explain later," he told her before noticing the absences from their party. "What happened to Lapis, Amy, and the kids?"

"They went back home," Lazuli explained. "Lapis thinks it'd be safer if we all spread out." Krillin chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. His brother-in-law might have the right idea. "What's going on?" Before Krillin could answer, Shenron's eyes flashed red.

"A simple matter," it declared.

OoOoOoO

Spopovich and Yamu gasped for breath as they awoke in the middle of the empty desert, the smoldering wreck of Babidi's spaceship behind them. The patted themselves down in disbelief, as if making sure that they were alive with all of their bits intact and inside their bodies.

"Alright," Spopovich admitted, "That was… awful. But we must have been returned to life for a reason! Master Babidi must have given us a second chance! We just gotta go find him and–"

"Excuse me?" Yamu interrupted. "What do you mean _we?_ The last time you pulled this _we_ shit, I got cut up into cubes. There is no _we_ anymore, Spop. I'm done." Then Yamu turned and started to fly off.

"Yamu, wait!" Spopovich called after him. "You can't leave! We're sworn to Master Babidi! W-we're brothers!"

"I know," Yamu called over a shoulder, "And _as_ your brother, go fuck yourself!" Then he rocketed off into the sky, leaving Spopovich alone. The muscled monstrosity of a man sat down in the dirt, alone and confused. He never even got to fight Hercule.

OoOoOoO

Kibito gasped for breath as well as he was returned to life, acutely aware of the fact that he had just been blasted to ash only thirty minutes before. It was an… unsavory memory, to say the least. He also noticed that he was alone, so the others had gone on without him. Good. He watched one of Babidi's bald minions (who he was _sure_ he'd seen horribly butchered by Dabura) fly away but before he could deal with that, he sensed the Kaioushin's Qi.

"Master!" he breathed out in worry. Her energy was weak and swiftly waning. He closed his eyes and traveled to her with Instantaneous movement, finding her leaning weakly against a tree in a forest not more than fifty miles from where they had been. She looked battered and bruised but her face lit up when she saw him.

"Kibito!" she cried with as much energy as she could muster. "Oh, in Zenou's name, am I happy to see you!" She staggered forward and clung to Kibito's red coat as he looked down at her in surprise.

"Your eminence," he said worriedly as he put his hands on her upper arms and began to use his healing magic on her, "What has happened? Where are the others?" Even as her wounds were healed, the Kaioushin sighed weakly and dropped her head in shame.

"I've failed," she muttered in defeat. "Vegeta fell and then he and Goku went off to fight each other. Their battle released Majin Boo. Gohan and I tried to stop him, but…" she shook her head. "I was too weak. I can no longer sense Vegeta's Qi, so I can only guess that Goku was able to kill him. You have to help me find Gohan, I _know_ he's around here somewhere." She pulled away from Kibito and started walking, her injuries reduced to a slight limp as her attendant followed after her dutifully. He could not sense the young mortal's Qi, so he was either gravely injured or already dead. "I know what you're thinking, Kibito," the Kaioushin told him, "But I _know_ Gohan is alive. He _has_ to be. He's the only hope the universe has for stopping Boo."

OoOoOOO

Goku sat up with a groan and gingerly touched the back of her head, the spot still sore even if her wounds were healed. "Friggin' Vegeta," she muttered under her breath before noticing the black clouds and the giant dragon in the black sky.

"It is done," Shenron announced. "What is your second wish?"

"Oh yeah," Yamcha muttered, "I forgot we get two of these now." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I… guess we could make everyone forget what happened today? Save us a whole lot of trouble when Vegeta gets back." Goku popped in instantly at his side, waving her arms to get Shenron's attention.

"Hey, Shenron!" she called out. "We don't need any other wish right now! Can you just hold onto that one?" Shenron nodded and closed his eyes.

"Farewell," he boomed before he vanished with a thunderclap, the Dragon Balls scattering in all directions.

"Goku, what the hell?!" Bulma asked irritably as she held onto Trunks, the boy clinging tightly to her middle. "Now we've gotta wait a year to use them again!" Like everyone else, she was trying desperately to ignore the fact that Goku was nearly naked.

"Actually," Dende put in, "Since you didn't use the second wish, the Dragon Balls will be usable again in four months."

"The best thing to do right now is wait," Goku told the others as Dende magicked up a new, clean gi for her. "We're not done with this Majin Boo stuff yet. We don't know how many more people are going to get hurt that will need to get brought back with the Dragon Balls." Before Goku could continue, Suno threw herself at her, wrapping her arms around Goku's neck and holding her tightly.

"Goku," Suno asked as Goten also hugged her mom, "Where's Gohan? Where's our baby boy?" She pulled away from Goku to look at him, her expression one mixed with an unavoidable knowledge of the truth and yet the desperate hope that she was wrong. "Why can't I sense our son's ki?" When Goku gave no answer, Suno buried her face in Goku's chest and wailed. ' _Not Gohan,'_ she thought desperately. ' _Not him, too. Please,_ please! _I can't lose Goku again_ and _my son in the same day!'_ Goten joined her mother in her grief, burying her face in Goku's leg as she sobbed helplessly.

"What about Vegeta?" Bulma asked. "Is he…?" even though she couldn't sense ki, she could feel that something was wrong. Goku nodded slowly and regretfully, her eyes downcast. Bulma crumpled to her knees as if all of the wind had been knocked out of her, shaking her head furiously as she let out wet, broken sobs, her face buried in her hands.

"I don't get it," Yamcha muttered as he scratched his beard. "Why didn't the wish bring them back?"

"Because Vegeta wasn't killed _by_ anyone," Piccolo explained. "He sacrificed himself trying to kill Majin Boo. On top of that, Shenron already revived Vegeta back on Namek. As for Gohan…" Piccolo stopped to purse his lips in thought. He couldn't believe that the boy was just… gone. "Perhaps," he guessed, "Boo is less firmly under Babidi's control than we thought, so he wouldn't necessarily be a 'minion'."

"Shut up!" Trunks snapped suddenly, his face red with fury and his eyes barely holding back unshed tears as he balled his fists. "My dad's _not_ dead!"

"Trunks…" Goku started to say softly as he shook his head.

"He's _not!"_ the young boy insisted vehemently. "He's _fine!_ My dad's the best! No one could kill him! Y-you all just can't sense him because you're weak! You're stupid, weak, and you all _suck!"_ Then he flew straight up into the sky, as high as he could. He needed to get away from them all. Their kis were getting in the way. He _knew_ his dad was alive, he just had to try harder to find him! He screwed his eyes shut and balled up his fists, concentrating as hard as he could. "Where is he…" Trunks muttered as he searched. " _Where is he?"_ He powered up to Super Saiyan, hoping that he could increase his senses by boosting his ki. Still, he couldn't find any trace of his dad. "Where is he?" he asked aloud, his voice desperate. "Where is he?!" He could find his dad. He _knew_ he could! His dad was fine! He was alive! He was… he was… The tears slowly started to roll down Trunks' cheeks, even as he fought them back desperately. "DAAAAAAAAD!" Trunks cried, throwing back his head and screaming in utter heartbreak as he finally started to break down and accept the truth.

As Trunks screamed in grief, he sensed another ki rushing up beside him. He let himself hope for just a second before realizing that the ki was much too small to be his father's. He turned his head to see Goten, her golden aura flickering around her and tears running down her cheeks. She put her arms around him and he let his head drop, burying his face in her shoulder as they cried together and slowly drifted back toward the ground. Trunks broke away from Goten and fell into his mother's arms, leaning against each other as they wept while Goten went back to her mothers. During all of this, Videl stood off to the side, hugging herself and looking down at her feet.

"Videl?" Suno asked as she wiped her eyes, slowly pulling away from Goku. "A-are you alright?" she knew how deeply Videl had cared for her son so she was a little surprised that her reaction was so reserved. "Talk to me," she urged gently, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's alright." Videl shook her head and pulled away from Suno's touch.

"He's not dead," Videl said firmly. Suno looked at her with concern. "I don't care what you say. I don't care that I can't sense his ki. I just…" she chewed on her lip for a moment and seemed to be on the verge of her breakdown before she caught herself. "I know in my heart that he's out there and he's alive." Videl hadn't realized the strength and depth of her feelings for Gohan until she couldn't sense his ki anymore. He _had_ to believe alive. The universe couldn't possibly be so cruel as to let her realize who she loved and then snatch him away. Could it?

"Goten, Trunks," Goku said to the children once they'd exhausted their reserves of sorrow. She crouched down to be at eye level with them, putting her hands on their shoulders. "I know how you feel," she told them. "I've lost people, too." Her Grandpa, Master Roshi, Krillin twice. "It hurts," she acknowledged. "It hurts worse than any wound someone could give to you with their fist or their foot or a ki blast. But," she went on, "I've got some good news." Then she grinned a little, catching the young pair off-guard. "I'm gonna help you get strong enough to beat Majin Boo."

OoOoOoO

Xī sighed with relief as she and Kibito found Gohan's body in a clearing just a little east of the forest. His body was a bruised, battered, bloody mess, but he was still alive, if only barely.

"We've got to get him out of here, Kibito," she told her Attendant as the large pink deity knelt beside Gohan and began to heal him.

"Where will we go?"

"Earth is lost," she admitted. "Majin Boo _will_ destroy it. The only thing we can do is train Gohan to be ready. We have to take him home." Kibito balked in dismay.

"B-but your holiness!"

"We don't have time to discuss it in committee, Kibito!" she told him sternly as she grabbed his shoulder. The trio was transported to the Sacred World of the Kaioushin, Gohan being the first mortal to ever set foot on that plane. The trio stood in a sea of soft, green grass, perpetually blown by an invisible breeze. Xī frowned down at Gohan as Kibito used his magic. Even with his wounds being healed, the demisaiyan was still in a sorry state of undress. She held her hands out and did a bit of her own magic, casting him in a fresh set of garments. At first, she had merely intended to dress him as one of them, casting him in a cerulean blue shirt and pants with red boots and a navy blue longcoat with an orange sash around his waist. Belatedly, though, she realized that she had dressed him in the exact same clothes that Dong had once worn. The revelation made her face heat up, a condition that was only worsened when Kibito looked back at her curiously. "Zip it," she warned him with a scowl. Before she could change Gohan's clothes again, though, the young man sat up. His vitality was truly remarkable.

"Ugh," he muttered as he touched a hand to his pounding head. "What happened?" He felt like his head was about to split open. "Oh…" he muttered as the memory came back to him and he slumped his shoulders forward in defeat. "Oh, yeah." He sighed and looked down at the grass. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

"Don't say that," Xī told him comfortingly as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You did all that you could. Besides," she added, "The fight isn't over yet. Not as long as we're still standing."

"But what can we do?" Gohan asked. "Boo took me out like I was nothing! Even now that I'm at full strength and probably got a boost from almost dying, there's no way I could match him!"

Xī offered him an encouraging smile. "Don't be so sure," she told him. "I think it's time you got back to training. In fact," she added as she pointed behind him, "I think I know _exactly_ what will give you the boost that you need." Gohan turned around to look where Xī was pointing, sitting up a little straighter as he looked up and up at an enormous pillar of stone. At the very top of that pillar, Gohan caught the glint of steel and squinted, trying to focus. There was something at the top, he realized. It was… it was…

"A sword in a stone," Gohan muttered. "You gotta be kidding me." Still, if it could help defeat Majin Boo, if there was even a _chance,_ he'd give it his best shot.


	124. The Metamoran Victory Dance!

Chapter Hundred-twenty-four

The Metamoran Victory Dance! Goku's True Power!

"Soooo what the heck is this thing, anyway?" Gohan asked as the trio flew up to the top of the great stone spire. "And don't say 'a sword'," he told Kibito wearily, "I can see that." The attendant simply rolled his eyes. To be honest, Gohan wasn't entirely sure how a cutting weapon was going to be useful against someone who could regenerate like Boo. Maybe it was really, _really_ sharp?

"It is the Zeta Sword," Xī explained. "A weapon of great power that can only be wielded by the greatest of warriors. I… I can't remember _exactly_ what it does," she admitted reluctantly, "But I know that Bei once told us that when freed, it will extract the wielder's hidden power. The two will become one and you will be able to cut down even the fiercest opponent." Or, at least, that's what Bei had told them. No one had ever actually been able to pull the damn thing out. Not herself, not Kibito, not Dong, not Bei, not Nan, not even mighty Shengda. Still, Gohan _had_ to be able to do it. It was their only chance.

Gohan looked down at the Zeta Sword, which was buried nearly to the handle in rock. "Huh…" he muttered as he crouched down in a squat and gripped the handle. "Here goes nothing," he said before gritting his teeth. He grunted and groaned as he started pulling up, tugging on the sword's handle as hard as he could. He snarled between his teeth and his face turned red from the exertion as he pulled back with all his might… only for his hands to slip off the sword's handle, burning from the friction, and for him to smash the back of his head on the rock. "Ah, sunnuvabitch!" he cried out painfully before sitting up and looking at his glowing red palms with a wince. "Man," he muttered, "That thing's really in there…" Kibito chuckled. "What's so funny?!" Gohan demanded hotly.

"It just all seems like a tremendous waste of time," Kibito explained bluntly. Gohan's face burned angrily and Xī gawked at him in shock. What was Kibito _doing?!_ "If the high and divine Kaioushins could not free the Zeta Sword, what makes you believe that a mortal such as yourself, even as powerful as you are, is worthy enough to wield this blade? If _you_ are the only hope for the universe then we might as well go back to Earth and let Majin Boo consume us, just to save everybody the time." Gohan glared at Kibito and got to his feet, balling up his fists.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, Kibito's words filling him with determination. "Oh _yeah?!"_ he said again as he powered up to Super Saiyan. He got down again and grabbed the Zeta Sword's hilt, snarling and straining again as he pulled with everything he had. Still, the sword held firm in the ground. Gohan didn't give up, though. He couldn't. He _had_ to keep pulling! Everyone was counting on him! He _needed_ to pull out the Zeta Sword. If it really had the power to make him strong enough to defeat Majin Boo then he would succeed. "Come on," he growled as he kept pulling the sword up. "Come on!" Finally, as his feet dug and cracked into the stone, he felt something begin to give. The sword began moving upward as Kibito and Xī gawked in amazement.

"That's it, Gohan!" Xī cheered as the ground shook under her feet. "Keep going! You can do it!" Gohan gave a mighty roar and pulled one last time with all his strength. But there was more to that moment than Gohan's raw, physical power. There was something different, something powerful, perhaps even an air of… destiny. Whatever it might have been, with that roar, Gohan ripped the Zeta Sword out of the ground and shot up into the sky, holding it high overhead. Xī and Kibito stared in open-mouthed astonishment as the pillar of stone crumbled to the ground and they hovered in the air.

"I did it!" Gohan cheered as he held the sword aloft. It was an _enormous_ weapon. The blade alone was nearly as long as Gohan's entire body! It was also nearly as wide as his head! Even as a Super Saiyan, he could definitely feel the weight of it in his hands. _'Kinda wish Trunks was here to help me figure out how to use this thing,'_ he thought. Then again, Trunks was self-taught, too. So he'd probably have about as much luck just flailing it around until he knew what he was doing.

"For the record," Kibito said as they all descended to the ground, "I was only ever saying all of that to motivate you. 'No hard feelings' is the mortal expression, I believe?" Gohan just smirked at Kibito as he hefted the Zeta Sword carefully over one shoulder.

"Depends," he said jovially. "You gonna help me with target practice?" Kibito's pink face paled slightly.

OoOoOoO

Before Goku could say anything further, Suno reached down and grabbed Goku by the ear, pulling her up to her feet and twisting her ear as hard as she could while pulling her wife away from the children.

"Goku," Suno said icily, "I _know_ you didn't just tell our daughter, who is _seven years old,_ that you're going to let her go fight the horrible monster that just killed our son. I know I just had something in my ear, _didn't I?!"_

"That _had_ to be it," Bulma snarled as she grabbed Goku's other ear with both hands and twisted it furiously. "I must've had the same thing, Suno! We both know Goku wouldn't be that! Fucking! Stupid!"

"No, look," Goku insisted against the onslaught on her ears, "I can explain– ow!"

"Oh, you can?" Suno asked as she twisted Goku's ear again. "I hope so! 'Cause I'm just _dying_ to hear how you justify sending our _children_ to fight Majin Boo! I mean, just because they can turn into Super Saiyans doesn't mean they're invincible! I thought we covered that with Cell!"

"Yeah," Bulma added, "We're all _ears!"_

"They're strong, you guys!" Goku swore. "They could be even stronger than me!"

"It's really sweet that you think that, Goku," Suno replied wearily, "And you might even be right! But that takes time, which is something that we don't have!" That was when Suno and Bulma felt Goten and Trunks tugging at their pant leg and the hem of her dress, respectively. They looked down at the children, who looked back up at them with determined expressions on their young faces.

"Mama," Goten said resolutely, "If mommy thinks we can help beat up the guy who killed big bro, I wanna help!"

"Yeah, mom!" Trunks added firmly as he pounded a fist into his palm. "That jerk killed dad! I'm the Prince of All Saiyans, I can't let him get away with that!"

Suno stared down at the children in disbelief. They were serious, weren't they? "But…" she began to protest.

"You two…" Bulma added weakly. How could this happen? She was the smartest person on Earth! How could her son be so _dumb?!_ He must have gotten it from his father. The pair sighed weakly before finally releasing Goku's ears and throwing up their hands in defeat.

"Oh, _fine,"_ Suno groaned. "Just… whatever it is, be careful, okay?"

Goku smiled gratefully at Suno as she rubbed the red skin of her ear. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Suno huffed and crossed her arms, still clearly not in favor of this, while Bulma gave Goku the stink-eye before stomping off. "Now," Goku began as she looked back down at Goten and Trunks. "The way you guys are right now, there's no way you can defeat Majin Boo on your own." She watched their faces deflate, disappointment mixing with confused anger.

"Then why did you–" Trunks began to say before Goku held up a finger.

"But!" she added, _"Together,_ you just might be strong enough. That's what I'm going to show you. It's a technique I learned from some members of a race called the Metamorans in the Otherworld. It's called the Fusion Dance!" Goten gasped excitedly and Trunks groaned. He was gonna have to _dance?_ With a _girl?!_

"A dance?" Suno asked curiously, one eyebrow raised incredulously. "What sort of technique is that? How is it supposed to help Goten and Trunks be strong enough to challenge Majin Boo?"

"When they do the dance right," Goku explained, "They'll go from being two people into one warrior that's more powerful than either of them individually or the pair of them put together!" Goten and Trunks looked at each other with wide eyes. They weren't sure which they were more of: confused, anxious, or excited.

"You mean me…" Goten started to say.

"And Goten…" Trunks added.

"Would be the same person?!" They asked in unison. Goku nodded and Suno was still confused.

"But Trunks is a boy," she pointed out, "And Goten is a girl. Wouldn't that be a problem?" Goku blinked, looking at her wife in confusion.

"Why would it be?" Goku asked. "Ki is ki. When the dance is complete, they'll turn into ki and transfer into one another, creating a whole new person from that transfer."

"Well, when you put it like that…" Suno muttered, stroking her chin thoughtfully. She guessed that it _did_ make sense. "How long does it last, though?" Suno asked. "I mean, it's not _permanent,_ is it? They _will_ change back, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Goku assured Suno. "The fusion only lasts for thirty minutes. After that, they'll split up again and won't be able to fuse for another hour." Suno let out a sigh of relief and nodded. With that, Goku put her attention back on the children.

"Now I won't have enough time to make sure you get it down pat, so here's what we're going to do." Then she looked back up at the others. "Hey! Krillin, Piccolo! Get over here! I need you guys to watch so you can show them after I leave!" Krillin and Piccolo exchanged wary glances before walking over to Goku, Goten, and Trunks. "Now, you two won't be able to fuse," she told them, "Since the partners in the fusion dance need to be of a similar size, build, and power."

"I have never been thankful to be short before this moment," Krillin muttered under his breath.

"So," Goku continued, "Here's how it works." She focused for a moment before there was suddenly a second Goku standing beside her, making the quartet give a cry of shock. "Hey, Goku!" she said to the other.

"Hi, Goku!" the clone said back. They high-fived and Tenshinhan rolled his eyes. Well, at least his technique was good for a teaching tool even if it was useless as an actual fighting technique.

"So," Goku narrated her actions as she and her clone moved in perfect synchronicity, "You move your arms across your chest, pointed away from each other. You have to keep them straight when you do this, okay? Then," she continued, "Take three steps toward each other." She bent her knees and pivoted her feet to the sides, taking three quick shuffle-steps and swinging her arms over her head in a smooth arch so that she and the clone were now pointing at each other while Goten and Trunks watched intently.

"While doing this," the clone added, "You both say 'Fu!' Then," the clone went on, "You say 'Sion,'" they brought their arms back across their chests and stood up straight, making quarter-turns with their hips and lifting up one leg to point their knees at each other in opposition to their arms.

"Finally," Goku said, "You bring it all together and say 'Ha!'" She and her clone swung their arms forward and pivoted their bodies to the side, their fingertips touching. In a brilliant flash of light, there was only one Goku left standing. "Make sure to touch _just_ the tips of your index fingers," Goku explained as Trunks and Goten nodded along furiously. "And the angle of your legs and the placement of your feet. Every movement has to be precise or it'll be a real mess, like the first time Pikkon and I did the dance."

"Pikk-who?" Piccolo asked.

"What do you mean a 'mess'?" Bulma added worriedly. She was picturing a mishmashed monster child with four arms or eyes coming out of their stomach. She tried _not_ to picture it, because that was horrifying.

"Long story, don't have time," Goku said succinctly. "Think of it like water," Goku explained as she kept her focus on the children. "Think of yourselves as two mighty rivers that get narrower and narrower as they get closer to one another. At the point where your fingers touch, those are the rivers converging at two small points. But the points give way under the pressure of the rivers' powers and the two unite into a single, greater river." Goten nodded intently, listening with focus, drinking in every detail as naturally as Goku herself had done when learning at the feet of Roshi, Kami, or the Kaiou. Trunks was also paying attention, but most of his energy was on trying not to think too much about how stupid he'd look. "We're going to go over this as many times as we can," Goku told them, "Then when you're ready, you're both going to go into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for as long as you can."

"The Hyper-huh?" Goten asked. Trunks' face brightened at the term, recognizing it.

"Oh, I know what that is!" he said eagerly. "It's the room up here where one day is a whole year! Dad told me about it! He…" Trunks' face fell as he remembered that his father was gone. "He told me he was gonna take me up here to train someday. When he thought I was ready." Goten put a comforting hand on Trunks' shoulder.

"Are you ready to do this?" Goku asked them both with her hands on her hips, taking a position of authority to pull the pair back on track.

"Yeah!" Goten said eagerly, nodding her head and throwing up a fist.

"Let's do it!" Trunks agreed, copying Goten's gesture.

"Okay," Goku told them, "Let's get started. Lemme see you power up!" Goten and Trunks nodded emphatically and let out a cry of effort as they powered up to Super Saiyan. The other adults gawked in amazement at the power of these godlike children.

"I know I already said it," Yamcha muttered, "But man oh _man,_ am I glad I'm retired." Ten, Launch, and Chaozu muttered in agreement. Goku, meanwhile, frowned.

"Stop," she told them, and the pair did so with no small measure of confusion on their faces. "Trunks," she told the boy sternly, "You're showing off. I know you're stronger than Goten, so power down."

"He is _not!"_ Goten protested fiercely. How could her own mom say that?!

"Yes, he is," Goku told her. "Not by much, but he is." Trunks puffed out his chest until Goku turned a steely gaze on him and he was suddenly _very_ afraid. "I told you to power down," she told him. "You and Goten's ki needs to _match._ This isn't the time for you to be goofing off." As Suno watched, she couldn't help but think that Goku could make an _excellent_ martial arts instructor. Reluctantly, Trunks powered down and Goku nodded approvingly. "That's better," she said encouragingly. "Now put yourselves a few extra inches apart so that you don't touch fingers accidentally and mess up." Goten and Trunks nodded, shuffling away from each other awkwardly. "Now, begin!"

OoOoOoO

Babidi grimaced irritably as Majin Boo flew them around far too fast for his liking. Boo had destroyed a few towns and villages haphazardly and was, thankfully, amusing himself at least. But it wasn't enough for Babidi's liking. He was still burning at Vegeta's defiance against him. The first of his minions to _ever_ defy him! Well… Dabura, but that hardly counted. He blamed Vegeta. The smug bastard breaking his control must have weakened his magic and his hold on Dabura. That was the only explanation for it. So since Vegeta was dead, Babidi could still make him pay. He recalled the images he had seen inside of Vegeta's head when he had first tempted the proud Saiyan to submit. There were names and faces that Vegeta held dear. Names that he no doubt had died for. Wouldn't it just be _awful_ if they were to die anyway and his sacrifice was for nothing?

 _'_ _Bulma and Trunks,'_ Babidi thought plaintively. It was a shame that Vegeta didn't really seem to know or care what city he lived in, as that information was still out of Babidi's reach. Still, he had other ways of sussing it out. "Majin Boo!" he said sharply as he gave his creature's antenna a hard tug, making him wail painfully. "Stop," he ordered, "I command you!" Boo _did_ stop, but he stopped so suddenly that Babidi was nearly flung from his back and would have been sent hurtling to the ground below. "Imbecile!" Babidi snapped before regaining his composure. He closed his eyes and reached out with his hands and his mind, broadcasting a spell of his powerful magic to all of the feeble minds on this wretched little planet.

All across the world, every man, woman, and child suddenly had their heads filled with the image of a weird pink man in a purple cape and a funny outfit floating over a city. The residents of Ginger Town soon recognized it as _their_ city and were _extremely_ confused and more than a little bit worried.

OoOoOoO

"Oh no," Chi-Chi muttered nervously. She did _not_ like where this was going. She only hoped that wherever Majin Boo's path took it that it would least stay away from North City.

"Forget about it," Goku told Goten and Trunks firmly. "Keep practicing. Anyone that Majin Boo kills, just use that as fuel to train that much harder. We can always bring them back with the Dragon Balls, just like we will for Gohan and Vegeta." Goten and Trunks did their best to follow Goku's instructions, biting their lips to focus and trying to keep their movements precise and in sync. Despite the uncertainty and the terror, they all couldn't help but think the same thing: _That_ was Majin Boo?

OoOoOoO

"People of Earth!" Babidi's voice broadcasted inside more than five billion heads. "I am Babidi, Great and Powerful! I am the Master of Majin Boo!" There was a muttering of confusion and Babidi's brow furrowed in irritation. "Really? Nothing? Oh, never mind." He let out a sigh before continuing. "You will know the terror of Majin Boo soon enough unless you do as I command! I am looking for _these_ two individuals, Bulma and Trunks!" Their likenesses flashed across the minds of the world.

OoOoOoO

"Ohhh crap," Bulma whimpered. Nothing good could come from this. Trunks' foot slipped and he nearly touched Goten's fingertips with his closed fists before Goku put a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"Focus!" she told him. Trunks nodded and did his best to keep his mind on the dance.

OoOoOoO

"If any of you knows the location of these two," Babidi told the world, "You _will_ tell me. If not, well…" Babidi chuckled wickedly. "Are you hungry, Majin Boo?" Boo clapped his hands excitedly as his barely-qualifying brain fired off as he seemed to connected the dots.

"Boooooo-hoo-hooo!" Boo cheered as his antenna whipped forward. A bolt of pink lightning zipped forward from the tip, zooming down toward the city. The people of Ginger Town cried out in horror as every last one of them was transformed, painfully by the looks and sounds of things, into a jawbreaker candy. Then Boo's mouth transformed into an enormous funnel and he took in a great breath, the sound of it like a tornado as he sucked them all into his mouth, disappearing down his gullet and into his stomach, which distended for a moment before returning to its original shape.

"Very good, Boo," Babidi said encouragingly. "Now, finish the job." Majin Boo held out his hand and a single pink ki ball popped forth from his palm to fall gently down onto Ginger Town like a snowflake. Then the entire city was consumed in an enormous fireball that left a pink mushroom cloud in its wake. "Until Trunks and Bulma's location is revealed to me," he warned, "This shall be the fate of _every_ city on this planet!" Babidi cackled as the world was forced to watch Majin Boo fly off toward another city.

OoOoOoO

Back on Papaya Island, Idasa and Ikose were burying their faces in a pair of enormous "It wasn't your fault those brats cheated and used devil magic to beat you, you tried your very best and you'd win if life was fair" sundaes while their mother showered them with empty platitudes about what good little fighters they were and how it wasn't their fault, that they'd do so much better when they tried next time. It seemed that not even the deaths of millions of innocent people could spoil their appetites.

"Ey, mama," Idasa said as he came up for air, "Weren't that blue-haired boy the one that done did punch Ikose in his face and knock out his front tooth?"

"Hey, at least I didn't get beat by no gotdang girl!" Ikose needled his twin brother, sticking out his tongue and flicking a cherry at him.

"She didn't beat me!" Idasa denied despite the existence of facts.

"Yeah she did!" Ikose taunted. "She plum knocked your lights out with one hit like a punk!"

"Yeah, well I didn't get no beatin' from a city boy with girly hair!" Idasa shot back.

"Shut your mouths, the botha ya!" their mother warned as she shook an enormous finger sternly in their faces. "Or I'll tan yer hides so fast and so bad I can take strips of ya off fer belts!" They shrank worriedly away from her as she rubbed one of her many chins thoughtfully. "Yeah," she said in response to Isada's initial question, "That _is_ that boy! That other lady must be his mama! The one who made a pact with the devil so's he could beat my precious little angel," she cooed as she tugged on Isada's cheek.

"Ain't that Bulma lady the one who runs Capsule Corp?" Isada asked.

"Don't they live in West City?" Ikose added. Their mother's eyes lit up fiendishly at the thought. Yes, yes they most certainly sure did live in West City.

OoOoOoO

Lazuli balled up her fists and was forced to watch as Majin Boo devoured Purple City. She grit her teeth and bit down a curse with Marron so close to her as that monster turned everyone in her hometown into miles upon miles of black licorice before watching the entire city be destroyed.

Krillin saw his wife's powerless rage and squeezed her hand, trying to give her some comfort. "It's okay," he whispered to her softly. "It'll be okay. It'll all work out." It always did in the end and it would work out again. Wouldn't it?

OoOoOoO

Lapis bit down on his own rage as he held Amy to him, thankful that their home was far enough out of the way that Goku and the others would be able to figure out a solution before that bastard ever found him. God, though, he wished he could do _something._

Adrian didn't know what was going on, as he was not affected by Babidi's magic. He only knew that his family was in distress and wished he could help them.

OoOoOoO

"People of Earth!" Babidi announced. "I have good news! Your suffering is nearly at an end!" No one was quite sure what to think about that. "One brave soul among you has stepped forth and told me the location of my enemies! Within moments, West City and all those who live in it shall be no more!"

OoOoOoO

"Grandma," Trunks gasped as he came to a sudden, screeching halt. "Grandpa!" They were going to die! He couldn't let that happen. He had to do something! He couldn't lose any more of his family.

"Goku," Bulma said in a tremulous voice as she looked at her oldest friend. "Goku, you've _got_ to go do something! He's going to kill my parents, not to mention millions of innocent people! He'll destroy the whole city!"

Goku winced regretfully for a moment before speaking. "I mean… Dragon Balls?" she pointed out. Bulma sprinted across the Lookout, hopping on one foot for a few strides to take off one of her high-heeled shoes, and started smashing Goku violently over the head with it, over and over, even after the heel snapped off. "Hey! Bulma! H-hey, knock it off!"

"Dragon Balls aren't the answer for everything, Goku!" Bulma screamed furiously. "I'm not just going to sit up here and let my family die!"

"It's not like you're the only one!" Lazuli pointed out tersely. "Boo just ate the city where I grew up and then he blew it up!"

"We can't just assume everyone will be brought back," Piccolo pointed out, "There might be those in West City who attended the Budoukai and were killed by Vegeta. If Majin Boo destroys West City, they'll be dead forever."

"Maybe we can wish for Shenron to just restore the Earth to the way it was before Majin Boo was free," Goku suggested. "That would take care of everything, right?" Bulma started hitting Goku with her other shoe. "Hey! What'd I say?!"

"You won't be able to wish for _anything_ if Boo destroys West City!" Bulma snapped at her. "The Dragon Radar is still in my lab!" Goku's eyes widened with shock at the sudden gravity of the situation.

"Ohhh… shoot," she muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "Okay, okay. Here's the plan," she turned back to Trunks. "Trunks, go to West City. Fly as fast as you possibly can. I'll stall Majin Boo and buy you as much time as I can."

"I wanna go, too–" Goten warned before Goku shot her daughter a glare.

"No," Goku told her, "You'll stay right here and wait. I know you wanna help but you and Trunks will just get in each other's way." She turned to the boy, who was standing there and looking at her. "Why are you still here?!" she barked.

"R-right!" Trunks yelped. "S-sorry!" Then he flew off as fast as he possibly could, rocketing off in a golden streak. Then Goku put her fingers to her forehead and sighed. She knew what she'd have to do. She just hated that it would take up nearly all of her time on Earth.

OoOoOoO

"Slow down, you big ignoramus!" Babidi scolded Majin Boo harshly as they flew to West City. "You're going to make me fall off!"

"You fly!" Boo pointed out in annoyance. "Stop yelling at Boo or Boo'll–" before Majin Boo could complete his threat, Goku was floating in the air in front of them and the pair cried out in shock.

"Oh," Babidi breathed out once he recognized Goku. "It's you. Son Goku, right?" he scratched his big, wrinkly head in confusion. "Funny, I figured you were dead." Goku flicked her halo and Babidi rolled his eyes.

"Hey there, Boo," Goku said with a bit of a smile while ignoring Babidi entirely. "You're pretty strong. I guess Vegeta and I should've taken you seriously, huh?"

"Nevermind that," Babidi said quickly, not enjoying being completely blown off for his dimwitted underling. "Get out of the way, we have business to attend to."

"Bulma and Trunks aren't in West City," Goku said while still looking at Boo. "So you can just leave it alone."

"Are you going to tell us where they are?" Babidi asked wearily.

"Nope!" Goku replied. "Look, I won't be around long and then you can have Trunks all to yourself. I just want you to wait a couple of days for him and my daughter Goten to get strong enough to beat you." Babidi and Boo exchanged incredulous looks before they descended into peals of hysterical laughter. Babidi fell off of Boo's shoulders and kicked his feet in the air as Goku rolled her eyes.

"E-even if," Babidi gasped as he wiped his eyes while Boo floated away to go look at clouds, "Even _if_ I actually believed that anyone could be powerful enough to defeat my Majin Boo, why would I _possibly_ do that? What conceivable reason would I have to _let you win?!"_ Goku shrugged, smirking a little.

"I kinda had a feeling you'd say that," Goku admitted as she got into a fighting stance. "Looks like it's my job to stall you, then." That made Babidi laugh again. Hoping against hope, she stretched out her mind to contact Trunks telepathically. _'Trunks!'_ she thought. _'Have you found the Dragon Radar yet?'_

 _'_ _I'm looking as fast as I can!'_ Trunks promised, his voice fretful in Goku's head. _'My mom's lab is a mess!'_

Goku gave a mental sigh. She should've known her luck wouldn't work out that well. _'Don't worry,'_ she told him, _'Just keep looking. I'll buy you as much time as I can.'_

 _'_ _Can you really fight Majin Boo?'_ Trunks asked. _'Even my dad couldn't beat him and he's the_ best!' Goku allowed herself a smirk.

 _'_ _Oh he is, huh?'_ she asked. _'We'll see about that.'_ With that, Goku turned her attention back to Babidi, who had finally stopped laughing.

"Very amusing," he sighed, "Very amusing. Now then," he called out with a clap of his hands. "Majin Boo! Kill this fool so that we can be on our way!" He blinked when no reply came. "M-Majin Boo?" he looked around for a moment, spinning in the air before looking up and seeing that Boo was playing in the clouds, shaping them in his hands and stacking them to make snowmen. "Majin Boo!" he snapped. "Get down here this instant and do as I command, you big, stupid, brainless wad of chewing gum!"

"Jeez," Goku muttered as Majin Boo floated down reluctantly, "Why do you let this little creep push you around like that?" she asked.

"Don't turn this around!" Babidi warned Goku sharply. "Majin Boo, you do what I say and you _annihilate_ this gnat, or I will put you back in your egg!"

"You won't do that!" Boo said sharply, catching Babidi off-guard. "Without Boo, lady kill you!" Babidi stared at Boo in shock. The silly brute was actually… getting smarter. "Boo still fight you, though," Boo said to Goku as he turned his focus back to her. "Boo make you dead!" Goku grinned as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh you will, huh?" she asked. With the entire world still under Babidi's spell, everyone saw what the green wizard saw. "Well, before you make me dead, how about I give you a lesson about Saiyans? This," she gestured to herself, "Is my base state. This," she continued as she powered up to the first level, "Is a Super Saiyan. You with me so far?" Boo nodded as Babidi rolled his eyes. "Beyond that," Goku continued as she transformed again, lightning arcing around her body as her hair stood even higher and all but one of her bangs swept up, "Is what happens when Super Saiyan has transcended the level of a Super Saiyan. Or, for shorthand, Super Saiyan 2." Yeah, it was wordy, but she was explicitly stalling for time.

"Yes, yes," Babidi muttered with a roll of his wrist, gesturing for Goku to get a move on. "We've seen this already, it didn't work, let's get on with it!" Then her next words gave him a start.

"You're right," Goku growled as she hunched forward suddenly, "You _have_ seen the first two before. But you haven't seen this!" She'd only done this once before and it had _sucked._

OoOoOoO

"Oh no," Kaiou muttered as he watched from Otherworld. "Goku, what are you doing?! You _know_ how powerful that form is! You'll use up all your time on Earth and you need every goshdarn second!"

OoOoOoO

"Goku's bluffing, right?" Yamcha asked the others. "She _has_ to be." There was no way she'd found a level _beyond_ the power Gohan had shown against Perfect Cell.

"Has Goku _ever_ been the type to bluff?" Roshi retorted. Besides, if anyone could discover that kind of power, it would be Goku.

OoOoOoO

"This!" Goku exclaimed, "Is to go… further beyond!" Then she let out a scream of fury and power, unlike anything mortal ears had ever heard. Her aura flared out in all directions like a star, blindingly bright and brilliant as she howled and raged. Within seconds, the clouds began to pull towards her, her power so great that it transformed her into a gravity well. Goku's ki climbed higher and higher with every passing second as she screamed and screamed. Veins bulged across her body and in her forehead as sweat ran down her frame in sheets, instantly evaporating into steam from the heat of her ki.

OoOoOOO

"U-unreal," Piccolo gasped in shock, the power nearly taking him off of his feet. "I-it's just… it's _impossible!_ How is Goku generating this kind of power?!" How could something like this exist?!

"I-it's too much!" Krillin cried in pain, the overbearing weight of Goku's ki almost physically painful.

"Come on, mommy," Goten encouraged with nothing more than a wince, "You can do it!"

OoOoOoO

The sound of Goku's scream echoed across every corner of the Earth as its people watched on in amazement, barely able to comprehend the Godlike figure they were all beholden to in that moment. The ground under their feet shook as typhoons and cyclones swept the land, thirty-foot waves swelling at sea, all breathed into life by Goku's enormous power.

OoOoOoO

"H-hold onto me, guys," Upa stuttered as he put his massive arms around his family and held them close to his broad chest. "We just gotta wait it out. Goku's on our side!" Still, he couldn't figure out what Goku was doing. If she didn't stop soon, the whole planet was going to break in half!

OoOoOoO

"Hercule, darling, make it stop!" Miguel cried as she buried her face in Hercule's chest as they flew in their luxury Capsule Craft back to Satan City, the pilot doing his damnedest to fly against the turbulence.

 _'_ _Make it stop?!'_ Hercule thought in horror. _'What the hell am_ I _supposed to do?!'_ What could _any_ of them do against powers like these?!

OoOoOoO

Goku felt the wall of pain that she'd hit the first time she'd transformed. That sheer, blinding wall of agony that tried to make her stop. Her screams turned from power and rage to pain as her whole body burned, as if it was forcing her to stop because what she was doing was physically impossible. Well, Goku had never been one to listen when she was told she couldn't do something, even when the thing saying it was her own body.

She reached down deep inside as she had before, to that place her mind hadn't been since she was a child. It was a primal place, the place of her Saiyan ancestors. She had lost most of it with the loss of her tail but it was still there, buried deep down inside. When she found it and held it, the wall shattered like glass. In that moment, she released it, letting feral rage consume her as she threw her head back, arched her body backward with it, and roared. She roared with all her strength, bellowing and pounding her chest as the light grew even brighter, drawing everything into her. Her hair began to grow longer as she roared, her canines showing as she screamed her throat raw, bending forward again.

OoOoOoO

Gohan stopped his sword in mid-swing as he, Xī, and Kibito all gaped in bewilderment. "Mom?" he muttered in shock. It _had_ to be her. Was she really _this_ powerful?

OoOoOoO

Far away on Cooler Planet One, Cooler had taken one step out of his training facility when the tremendous power hit him like a slap in the face. With a weary sigh, he turned right back around and returned to his training.

OoOoOoO

Goku's roaring ceased and the blinding starlight died down, her ki returning to a raging inferno that swam around her. Babidi stared at her and could only squeak in terror. Her long, wild golden hair roamed down her back like a raging sea, reaching the back of her knees. Her eyebrows had vanished completely and her eyes were now green with dark pupils set in them. They were burning with ferocity and focus as she locked onto Majin Boo like a hunter.

"This," Goku growled, her voice noticeably deeper, "This is Super Saiyan 3." Boo gave an excited coo before he pulled back a fist.

"You pretty!" Boo declared. "Boo smash!" He swung his fist forward and smashed it into the side of Goku's face, though he was surprised that she was still standing there and let out a confused little noise. Slowly, Goku turned her head to face him, pushing his fist back as she glowered, her gaze unbroken and her face unbruised.

"No," she snarled as she allowed herself a smirk. "No, I don't think you will." Then she punched Boo in the face and watched him go sailing off toward the horizon.


End file.
